When organisations have switched from owning their client base to being driven by their clients, from looking for customers for their products to finding products for their customers, one must wonder if what we called “business acumen” has also changed? In our new leadership and economic paradigm -with new norms and values- what does it really take to be business savvy?

The digital revolution has affected markets, work, and our social connections and what tech didn’t change, COVID threw upside down, so where does that leave business acumen? It seems to mean that it is no longer what it was, and that even those who thought they possessed business acumen have to re-skill.

Even the basic notions of supply and demand are in shock. Political and competitive pressure and changing views on globalisation and economic nationalism are all on the agenda. The map has changed, the landscape is different.

It’s a bit like global warming – more and less of all kinds of weather, all at the same time. More individual freedom, more financial management, more data, more governance, more innovation, more transformation, more technology. Less hierarchy, less control, fewer people, less time to market, less investment locally, less focus on the top and more on the team.

We believe a fundamental of business acumen is learning agility. That means scanning and spotting the need to learn and doing it fast. It’s a personal skills evolution accelerated by learning. Not just any learning, learning that will equip you to #ChangeTomorrow. That’s what we call business acumen today. Find a programme to take you there.