Building Business Acumen: to Stay Ahead with Nelly Shein

In order to build a successful business, you need more than just a good idea. You need business acumen. That means having the skills and knowledge to make your business thrive. It’s not something that everyone has, but it can be learned. Here Nathaniel Schooler interviews Nelly Shein, author of 25 Business books on finance and Ex Media CEO.

Before we dig into the Podcast interview let’s look at the meaning of business acumen: According to Wikipedia: “Business acumen, also known as business savviness, business sense and business understanding, is keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation (risks and opportunities) in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome.[1] Additionally, business acumen has emerged as a vehicle for improving financial performance and leadership development.[2] Consequently, several different types of strategies have developed around improving business acumen.”

Wikipedia

Former Journalist 25+ Years, author of 25 Business books and Ex Media CEO Nelly Shein and I discuss what people need to know in business. We both tell some funny stories about building business acumen and deliver lots of valuable information about business management and ongoing learning.

On today’s podcast, my guest is Nelly Shein. Nelly is a former journalist who has written 25 business books and is the ex-media CEO of Scandinavia’s largest media company. She now helps people build their business acumen so they can stay ahead in today’s competitive marketplace. We discuss what it takes to build business acumen and how important it is to ongoing learning. We also share some funny stories about our own experiences in building our businesses. If you’re looking for some valuable insights into business management, then tune in to this episode of the Build Business Acumen Podcast. Thanks for listening!

Recently Nelly was asked about where to begin building business acumen and business skills and she said it boils down to the skills and the courage that you need and it is imperative you find the qualifications and the acumen.

If you don’t have the courage and the skills then it will be much harder to create success and building business acumen is crucial!

In Silicon valley they do not look at failure in the same way, they understand that without failure there is no success; much like when we were children learning how to walk! Building business acumen is the same in this way.

Both Nelly and I agreed that we are really grateful for the times we failed and got up and fought another day and took new chances and challenged ourselves to do that.

We need to understand that in society people are obsessed with success stories and not failures, failures build character and those mistakes shape us to be the messenger to other people who need to learn and many are building business acumen. Entrepreneurs and business leaders seem to have a better angle on learning these skills, it is never to late to improve though.

Many people within businesses are pulling in different directions and many can’t explain what the business they are in does.

I explain about my family business and my Dad and Grandfather and I discuss the entrepreneurial journey and how my grandfather worked two jobs and built a factory, both my Dad and my Grandfather Nathan Schooler went to MIT, and my Dad is still a lifelong learner at the age of 88 years old; he exercises every day and reads the new scientist.

We discuss the product and how that it must be right and especially if you are selling something that is rubbish you won’t become successful. Once you get everything right and your staff are pulling in the right direction it is super fun. You can also feel when your teams are pulling in the wrong way, which enables you to take action!

Nelly explains that the best thing you can do in business is to “be a sponge” and be curious about what you want to know, running with the excitement and naturally going on to build business acumen.

When you love what you do, use that charisma and if you can’t be charismatic and you own a business perhaps then sell the business or change jobs.

We also shared some amusing stories, Nelly explains about the late founder of IKEA and how he actually behaved in his business and I mentioned a good friend of mine and the time he bought me a £1 ready meal when I was invited for dinner on his boat!

How can I develop business acumen and become a leader?

How can we optimize profit in our businesses? What metrics are considered the most important in business management? How will you determine how much you can do to improve your team’s performance? What are the steps for achieving success? In some jobs, your answers may not be available to everyone. This may be an interesting question. Maybe you remember hearing similar words during one of those meetings. You’ll be surprised if they didn’t exist for a long time. This question is an example of business intelligence. All the leaders in organizations must learn about these kinds of issues.

How can I improve my business acumen?

What is the best strategy for building business acumen? Are we in need of some help? How do we increase our business skills? You must understand everything involved in running your company. It also helps in making profits in important relationships driving a business reputation. Often, business people concentrate on a particular sector. They are utterly abysmal at developing business acumen in their own right. While focusing purely on a given field can be extremely beneficial to certain aspects, it may even be unbelievably damaging to other aspects.

A guide to developing strong business acumen

Getty Images. For gaining business success, it is essential that you have good financial and management knowledge and skills. It’s an art you can learn through the proper technique. Learning Business Management involves an interesting process. Although work is often an office job there is still no innate ability to gain business skills. Many workers work in their positions for several years and have no future prospects. Tell me a way to learn a skill to succeed? How can I develop effective business skills?

How to Develop Strong Business Acumen

All businesses need leadership from all directions to make decisions to benefit the organisation. They are usually called strong businesspeople by their reputation as a seasoned businessman. Tell me the importance of business intelligence to a successful person’s success? Shutterstock | Stocks G7. In this book, we look at business acumen as an important tool. We also give you tips on developing business intelligence that will help you grow and develop leadership skills.

The Benefits of Strong Business Acumen Skills

This may seem interesting but you’ll wonder whether business knowledge will help you develop career opportunities for yourself. It’s yes if it means you could benefit from excellent business acumen, good business acumen will help you in places you never imagined personally and professionally. Having business knowledge is essential for your success as a professional. Any significant leadership roles often require seeing bigger than life – without which you can no longer win. You must be capable of connecting small parts and linking the various strings. You must also develop strategic thinking. This can be helpful for entrepreneurs as the business helps to increase their potential in business ventures.

Get comfortable with your company’s financial statements and strategies

It may seem daunting and not necessary to learn to understand your company’s budgeting and financial strategy overnight. Focus on gaining knowledge about your company’s financial statements. Your mentor is an excellent resource to guide you through this stage, and online resources are available to help you learn basic financial data. Investopedia has a variety of informative short films that are digested by a user. Similarly, have a good idea of how the supply chain works for a successful company.

What is business acumen?

Business intelligence refers to the ability to understand business situations. This is a collection based on a range of general information on what goes on and why. Those qualities can be seen in questions and in the decisions people are asked by others. However, business knowledge does not only help understand the business problem. It also involves knowing your particular company and identifying the right decision for you. Developing business skills improves entrepreneurs’ abilities.

Listen to your company’s quarterly earnings calls

There may be things you don’t really know and this is okay. Your mentor will be there with you to understand which data is relevant to you and your teams and how you should impact each individual project. Continuous improvement will improve your skill sets each quarter. Check out other business owners’ or business units’ monthly calls too. Your understanding of what to look for opens your eyes to challenges in your sector and helps you understand how your company’s strategy has worked out.

Make business acumen one of your core competencies

Typically businesses are focused on developing certain core competencies and identifying and enhancing these competencies. If business acumen wasn’t a core competency for your firm, make it a personal core competency and become an expert for putting it on your company list. Make business acumen the major focus for your personal professional development; you’ll reap the benefits.

Find a mentor

Identify someone you love within an organisation ideally in a financial or similar role and make them available in their role. Get in touch with them about what role they play and what they need to support them in this endeavor. Finding your own trustworthy mentor will help you achieve your goals.

DEVELOPING STRONG BUSINESS ACUMEN THROUGH FOUR KEY ELEMENTS

When you want your business to grow you need to consider four important aspects. Below, we will review the following information and offer suggestions for improving your skills in this field.

Business skills

How do I become incredibly successful at work? There is much beyond a few business knowledge. This list is eight skills for boosting business intelligence.

Examples of business acumen skills

A business person has certain qualities that enable the company’s decision-making process to be effective. This skill is an example of business acumen.

What are the 4 disciplines of business acumen?

There are four important things that drive the business decision-making process. It’s all about planning, operations, finances and strategic planning.

Can you develop business acumen?

Building business skills requires time. Once your journey starts, you should immediately learn how to apply your skills to the business. I’m sure. Over the years you have learned the basic business concepts, namely pricing strategies.

What are the five key business elements under business acumen?

According to my experiences in the last 25 years there are 5 important factors: Developing and applying business strategies and products. … Understanding financial acumen. ‘ ) How to develop marketing strategies? … A thorough overview of the operations, supply chain, and production processes. … Simulation of businesses.

How would you describe strong business acumen?

People with strong business skills can understand business problems more easily and be adaptable to changing conditions, understand the operation of the enterprise and provide valuable insights into the business strategy.

Business acumen is one of the most useful things you can learn in life, it doesn’t matter what part of the business you work in, the importance of it is fundamental to career progression into management. Business acumen is the combination of business skills and knowledge that enables a person to make sound decisions in all areas of business. It includes understanding financial statements, being able to read a balance sheet, having an awareness of different marketing strategies and being up-to-date with current affairs affecting businesses.

Developing strong business acumen can be the key to success in any career. Here are four ways you can develop strong business acumen:

1. Take a business course

One of the best ways to build business acumen skills is to take a course in business or a related subject. This will give you the opportunity to learn from experts and gain essential theoretical knowledge. Business courses also offer the chance to network with other professionals and gain practical experience through internships or work placements.

2. Get a job in a business-related field

Another great way to develop business acumen is to get a job in a business-related field. This will give you first-hand experience of the day-to-day running of a business and allow you to develop important skills such as problem-solving and decision-making.

3. Read business news and books

Staying up-to-date with current affairs affecting businesses is essential for developing strong business acumen. Reading business news will help you understand the challenges and opportunities businesses face while reading books on business strategy and management will give you insights into how successful businesses operate.

4. Try different jobs and take on new responsibilities

You won’t really find specific business acumen training in the business world, so it is up to you to build your foundations so you can learn how a business operates and what is part of that big picture, what are the necessary skills you must learn to build a basic understanding and learn about various things such as management styles, cash flow, company strategy, customer experience and develop a good business sense, good communication skills.

5. Learning to be more business savvy does involve learning about cash flow, financial metrics, and how to read a cash flow statement, to learn about how business works is time well invested. Giving you a better understanding of your company’s business model and your key business metrics is really crucial to giving you more business acumen.

This blog discusses the importance of building business acumen in order to be successful in a career. It outlines five ways in which this can be achieved, including taking a business course, getting a job in a business-related field, reading business news and books, trying different jobs and taking on new responsibilities. Business acumen is the combination of class-based learning and on-the-job learning.

Build business acumen and strategies to stay ahead with Gunilla Shein.