For years the emphasis on communication was from the 'front office' to the 'shop floor'. Many companies had training programs which helped the white-collar workers develop and improve their communication skills, however these same skills were not seen as being necessary or even useful to the blue-collar work force. Much of the communication, therefore ended up being too technical, or not technical enough for the people who were in a position to actually act on the information. In today’s agile and reactive environment, the information flow must be bi-directional, in many companies this 'reverse flow' of information has become increasingly critical to the success of any company. However, communication training has often not kept up with the needs. It requires more than just speaking (or listening) but an interactive exchange of useful and timely information, everyone needs to be aware of the need to actively communicate. There needs to be an understanding of a 'shared vocabulary, even when people use the same words, this does not always mean they are saying the same thing. This does NOT mean dumbing things down, but rather understanding the wording that will mean the same thing to all parties in the exchange. Technology may be a component, but often it becomes an inhibitor of real information exchanges. How many times has the response "I put it in the shared drive, or SharePoint or website", been used as an explanation of how communication was missed?

Improving Business Acumen to Drive Organizational Success

As organizations become more agile, and the fulfillment of the firm’s strategy becomes more urgent, executives need emerging leaders to understand how the gears of the business work and how the company creates and executes its strategy. Cultivating business acumen, regardless of title or role, is the definitive key to the future. 

But what exactly is business acumen?  Ask 20 people for a definition, and you’ll likely get 20 different answers.  Simply stated, business acumen is a portfolio of skills, behaviors and capabilities needed to support an organization in the achievement of its financial and strategic goals. 

This webinar will create a common understanding of the main pillars of business acumen using a dynamic tool: The Business Acumen Canvas. You’ll be shown how to interpret business acumen so that you can fine-tune your senses to the market where your company operates, the mindset to think strategically and the hard-core skills that comprise people, processes, products, finance, strategy and performance.  

You’ll be led on a journey toward business acumen excellence that will ignite new ways to think about talent and leadership development and to open the door to the third decade of the 21st century.

Learning Objectives:
1.    Provide a context for business acumen: Vocabulary and intent
2.    Describe the building blocks of business acumen using the Business Acumen Canvas
3.    Underscore the need for strategic thinking, entrepreneurial managers and leaders, and how to fine tune your company’s organizational development strategy

In addition, participants will be able to obtain a link to a complementary online assessment that can be adopted by participating companies so they can have employees assess their own levels of business acumen, which can be used with their managers to include explicit business acumen skill building in their performance plans. 

Additionally, all registrants will receive a complimentary copy of The Business Acumen Handbook by Steven Haines. 
 

This session will focus on a strategic, democratic approach to leadership called the Circle of Influence, which has proved effective for Saso Krstovski’s lean leadership at Ford Motor Co. The Circle of Influence consists of five components: acknowledge, listen, agree, rethink and effectively close. It emphasizes compassion, accessibility and inclusion. We’ll examine each of these charismatic leadership traits in depth and show how they work together to transform teams—and entire organizations. Attend this session and learn how the Circle of Influence can help improve your organization.

Manufacturers face unprecedented talent management challenges — the ongoing battle for skilled workers, record turnover, the pending silver tsunami of Baby Boomer retirements and negative perceptions of the industry among the Gen Z workforce.

Frontline hourly team members are the primary creators of value in operations, so manufacturers must act now to reimagine the workplace for the largest segment of their workforce. The first step is to understand the unique factors that attract, motivate, engage and retain the critical hourly employees in manufacturing.

Join us as we explore how manufacturing leaders can create a winning talent management strategy to become an employer of choice in this competitive landscape.

We’ll discuss:
• Insights into the unique needs, motivations and preferences of the hourly workforce
• Actionable practices and policies you can implement to address these unique needs
• The role of technology in creating a better experience for frontline employees