What is business acumen? It’s hard to pin down, but as Justice Potter Stewart said in 1964 when trying to define pornography, “I know it when I see it”.

Managers these days live in a world of ambiguity, paradox, and conflicting requirements. It sounds uncomfortable – and it is! Managers are told they should:

• Think global but act local
• Be collaborative but also compete
• Manage change but maintain order and stability
• Make the numbers, but nurture their people

You almost need five heads to be able to do it all – and coincidentally that is exactly what Dr. Henry Mintzberg of McGill University said. Well actually he did not say that you need five heads – rather he said that managers need five “mindsets” to be able to integrate these contradictory concerns and goals.

Mintzberg went on to say that managers must focus not only on what they have to accomplish but also on how they have to think. They must apply judgment and insight across a wide range of issues and consistently make good choices. They must evaluate the best alternatives while minimizing risks to the organization. Then they must use financial savvy to integrate data, identify key issues, trends and opportunities.

The five managerial mindsets that Minzberg identified are:

• The Reflective Mindset – take the time to think, reflect, ponder, and cogitate (long walks on the beach? – yea right!)
• The Analytic Mindset – the ability analyze, synthesize, and evaluate data
• The Worldly Mindset – have the practical experience to put data into context to make sense of it
• The Collaborative Mindset – the ability to work effectively with and through others to achieve the goal
• The Action Mindset – a “can do” attitude with a bias for taking action

You will notice that some of these mindsets tend to oppose each other. Can someone with a reflective mindset also be effective in taking action (and visa versa)? Can someone with an analytic mindset be flexible enough to collaborate (and maybe compromise) with others? Developing business acumen requires the integration of five heads into one. It’s almost like one person acting like an effective team – bringing different perspectives to the problem all by themselves.

Can this competency be developed? Definitely yes! With the right coaching and experience, business acumen can be developed and accelerated among employees who demonstrate potential.

Building Business Acumen programs are a good place to start. These programs are based on methodologies used in many MBA courses. Classroom work is recommended, but time spent in the field researching real business problems and coming up with recommendations for creative solutions is essential. Participants of such courses must also manage their regular jobs while participating in the program. Contact us to learn more about how a Business Acumen program can add value to your organization.

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