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Business Acumen and Strategy for Managers

Create and implement winning business strategies

Many successful 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 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 as to how a compelling vision can be effectively translated into an understandable, actionable strategy. We have all met people who have this ability, and we understand early on that this skill will carry these people much further than specialized expertise alone. This course will “jump start” your business acumen skills and help you move ahead in your career.

Learn how to:

  • Create a vision for your company or business area that can be used to drive key decisions
  • Examine the external environment and understand how changes in the external environment might affect your company
  • Analyze where your business stands in relation to where your key competitors are today, as well as to where they may be going in the future
  • Understand how to measure the performance of your business area, using standards that are highly correlated with value creation
  • Create effective execution and communication plans

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.