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Episode Description

When's the last time you made a big business decision and felt genuinely confident - not hopeful, not optimistic, but truly confident - that it was the right call?

If you're scratching your head right now, you're in good company. And that's exactly why we're starting Season 1 of Positioned for Success with business acumen.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Smart, passionate leaders are making decisions every day without fully understanding the business they're leading. They've got the drive, the vision, the credentials - but when it comes to business fundamentals? They're making educated guesses. And leadership can't be built on guesswork.

In this episode, Dr. Kelvin Thomas shares lessons from 15+ years of leadership across retail, higher education, and startups - including watching his own parents nearly lose their fabric store because passion and hard work alone weren't enough.

What You'll Learn:

✅ The Business Blind Spot - Why organizations promote people and expect them to figure out business acumen through trial and error (and why this approach is costing you)

✅ The Three Dimensions of Business Thinking - Financial fluency (the language of business), strategic perspective (looking beyond today's fire drill), and organizational intelligence (reading the room and the building)

✅ Real-World Examples - From the retail manager who celebrated a 20% sales increase while margins dropped 15%, to the operations leader optimizing the wrong processes

✅ Practical Development Tools - How to develop business instincts without an MBA, including the business case framework, stakeholder impact analysis, and resource optimization review

✅ From Expert to Leader - Making the critical shift from functional thinking to business thinking

The Research: Harvard Business Review shows that executives with strong business acumen deliver 30% higher returns. McKinsey research reveals that companies with financially literate leaders outperform their peers by 40%. That's not luck - that's clarity.

Why This Matters: You didn't get promoted to figure this out through trial and error. You got promoted because someone believed in your potential. This episode gives you the tools to fulfill it.

Your Challenge: Pick one aspect of your business you don't fully understand and have a conversation this week with someone who can help you understand it better. Business acumen starts with curiosity and one conversation at a time.

Perfect for: Mid-level managers stepping into senior leadership, functional experts taking on broader business responsibility, anyone who feels confident in their area but uncertain about the bigger business picture.

About the Host: Dr. Kelvin Thomas is a leadership coach and strategist who has led transformations across multiple industries. He brings real-world frameworks that actually work in practice, not just theory - no fluff, no corporate jargon, just practical insights you can use immediately.

This is Positioned for Success - leadership development that meets you where you are and takes you where you need to go.

🎧 Subscribe now so you don't miss Episode 2: Leading Through Change Without Losing Your Mind

Connect with Dr. Kelvin Thomas: Website: positionconsultants.com LinkedIn: Dr-Kelvin-Thomas

#Leadership #BusinessAcumen #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #CareerDevelopment #StrategicThinking #ExecutiveDevelopment #LeadershipPodcast

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