Defining Moments - Business Acumen
This post is the second in a series about a “Defining Moment” – Business Acumen
Defining Moment - Part Two
What does a train have to do with my business acumen?
Let me describe an early defining moment in my career…
During my university placement year, I worked for a train manufacturing company in Derby, UK. After a few months, the finance director assigned me to the finance team within the Chiltern Railways project. The company located all employees working on the same project under one roof.
So, as I looked out of the open-plan office, I could see trains being built.
All of the supporting teams were based in the same office space; finance, purchasing, quality, production, customer relations, etc.
I found this cross functional environment to be very educational in terms of hearing and seeing what other functions were doing, and having broader exposure than just finance.
However, the defining moment came when I was assigned the task of sorting out the foreign currency contracts. On a regular basis, the finance manager was receiving calls from the bank that certain foreign currency forward purchases were maturing and asking for instructions. Somehow the controls were missing around what currencies were ordered and why.
What did I do?
In order to gain control over this situation I interacted with a wide variety of stakeholders:
The production manager actually walked me through the production line, he pointed out what each of the components was and what it did.
By the end of this assignment, I had documented for each train component, how many were still required, when they were due to be delivered, when due to be paid, how much and in which currency.
Why was this a defining moment for me?
What I produced was not just a spreadsheet full of numbers, but I actually understood clearly how this impacted shop-floor production and other stakeholders.
Above all, I knew what I was talking about and had successfully acted as the bridge between finance and operations.
How have I benefited from this moment?
From that moment onwards, I always wanted to connect finance to the business and for any financial figures I deal with to have real meaning. Therefore, in every business I have worked, I’ve taken the time to understand the business operations. In my opinion, it is the only way to develop business acumen.
I love helping business unit managers and business owners to understand and take an interest in their financial reports and see how they can positively impact the financial results.
Being a business partner can only be achieved when the business views you as a credible partner.
Yes, I’m proud to say I know what a bogie is, and a wheelset. And I know the difference between a DMU and an EMU.
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