Head For Business

A BRAIN FOR BUSINESS: DEFINING BUSINESS ACUMEN

Heather Moore

University of the People

Have you ever heard the phrase, "He's got a head for business?” When the expression first entered my consciousness, I did not understand what a business-oriented mind entailed and was not sure if I had a head for business. Business acumen has always been a subject of interest due to its attractive vocabulary personality, but also for its inherent mystery to my discernment. No one in my family ever discussed business or the requirements necessary to run a successful business. There was never a mentor or friend that I had the privilege to impart upon me the knowledge of the 'business sacred'.Self-defined I classify

Business acumen is the "keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome.”(Roven, 2015). I find the subject wholly fascinating due to the fact that I consider myself to be a creative, keen individual. From that foundation, I seek to understand how to integrate the skills that I do possess and learn those aspects I am not as intimately familiar with; a businesses' financial, bookkeeping, advertising and procedural segments. If I am intelligent and quickly responsive to produce original and innovative ideas, create catchy slogans, sketch advertising concepts and connect with consumers emotionally then knowing the complimentary facets of a commercial enterprise will aid me in gaining the ultimate business

Cope best states my interest in developing business acumen characteristics in his 2012 work Seeing the Big Picture, Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career and Company. Someone who "understands how the moving parts of a company work together to make it successful...how financial metrics like profit margin, cash flow, and stock price reflect how well each of those moving parts is doing its job.” That is the exact insight into business I hope to gain by studying at University of the People. I seek to discover my "executive mentality” (Cope, 2012).The ability to see all the working parts of a business, understand them and how they come together to achieve the successful business sum is the knowledge I seek to gain. In addition, Cope outlines additional abilities that describe someone with' strong business acumen such as understanding important communications, data and financial statements, using personal knowledge to make good decisions for the company, understanding how an individual's actions impact crucial company procedures and the objective of leaders within the organization and the ability to effectively communicate your ideas to others in the organization.' (Corporate Executive Board Company,