Business Acumen and Strategy for Managers

Create and implement a winning business strategy plan

Many successful, critical thinking decision making executives have difficulty bridging the gap between functional expertise and general management skills. All too often, the specialized skills that made them invaluable in their former role become far less useful in a general management role, while the need for general business skills and decision making tools increases.

This skill is often referred to as “business acumen,” which is described as an intuitive understanding of how companies make money and a realization that a compelling vision can be effectively translated into an actionable strategy. We have all met people who have this ability, and we understand that this skill will carry these people much further than specialized expertise alone. This course will “jump start” your business acumen, help you develop compelling business strategies and a communications plan.

Learn how to:

• Gain a realistic picture of your company’s position, market, and potential  
• Examine the external environment and understand how external changes affect your company’s ability to succeed 
• Analyze where your business stands in relation to your key competitors and what the future will look like
• Understand how to measure the performance of your business, using standards that are highly correlated with value creation
• Integrate your competitive analysis and financial metrics to improve your business decision making 
• Create an actionable business strategy, create stakeholder buy-in and a complete strategy implementation map
• Improve your business skills by learning the right financial terminology

The University of Wisconsin–Madison, as a member of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), authorizes this course for 2.1 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 21 hours.