Business Acumen Defined

Our Research into Business Acumen

Our research has shown that there are underlying personality inclinations that affect business decisions and lead to poor and unintended financial results. Because each individual has unique personal financial traits, there are innate calculi that manifest in our financial decisions; financial signatures that aren't capable of change. The expression of these financial traits is an individual's financial mission, which, through the growth of an individual's business acumen, can be altered. Though unconscious, these behaviors can be targeted and controlled in order to maximize profit through the development of business acumen.

Impact of Business Acumen on Financial Outcomes

Business acumen, sometimes referred to as financial acumen, is behavior that directly results in positive financial outcomes, especially when synergized with high business literacy, or knowledge of how business works. However, even if business literacy is high, failure will result with low business acumen, as it is integral that one understands the inter-relationship between each financial decision and its chain effects that ultimately impact bottom-line results.

Business Acumen Assessment Instruments

Through the various assessment instruments of the Perth Leadership Institute, behavioral models are used to describe the direct links between behavior and financial outcome, so that business acumen development programs can intervene and improve the financial decision making capabilities of an individual. This is because business acumen sharpens one's ability to link insightful appraisals of the external business playing field with an acute awareness as to how money can be made in that environment. Thus, the art of business acumen is the ability to strategically position the company despite working in a universal economic landscape. Perth's Programs, Seminars, and Assessments are designed to provide awareness and development of business acumen at the individual, team, and and company level.

Business Acumen and Financial Literacy

It is important to note that business acumen does not equate to financial literacy, which is formal knowledge that can be learned, as it deals with basic overviews of finance and business; rather business acumen demonstrates behavior under different financial and business conditions. It emphasizes the depth of perception one has related to practical business matters and the importance that plays in positioning one's organization advantageously. In short, business acumen lays the foundation for a profitable financial culture, aiding in identifying and executing a strategy that delivers desired results.

For more of Perth Leadership's insights on business acumen, you may be interested in our White Paper, The Role of Business Acumen in Leadership Development.