The CEO and management team of the institution must over time desire to move to wards a strategy of "Managing for Value," focusing not only on a number of new metrics and indicators across the organization, but also on a new philosophy of working within the group. This new direction means a change in how success will be measured for the individuals, the business units and how strategic plans and business reviews will to be crafted. Therefore, there is a need to ensure understanding and alignment at all levels.

The Solution - Drum Beat Productions - Business Acumen Curriculum

Business Acumen 201 - Business Acumen Essentials & Industry Acumen for Manufacturing (2 -day board simulation) - the relationship managers become more comfortable with financial and business acumen concepts such as: interpreting financial statements, the power of price, the impact of forecasting, and thinking strategically (like their senior customers).  The relationship managers have the opportunity to "walk a mile in their customer's shoes" by running a simulated version of their customer's business.

Business Acumen 202 - Researching Your Customer's Business (1-day workshop) - the relationship managers practice researching their customer's business quickly with high quality results. They learn a 5-step research methodology that can be applied to any customer in any industry.

Business Acumen 203- Enterprise Risk Management - (1/2 day interactive simulation & workshop for Leadership, Directors and Customers) the first step in strategic planning is to determine where an organization wants to be sometime out into the future. This is followed by creating a road map that starts from where the organization is now, and clearly outlines how to get to where it wants to be.  If strategic planning decides the future goals for an organization and determines the best path to get there, then enterprise risk management planning can be defining process of selecting the future initiatives or projects a company wishes to engage in and determining the best allocation of time, money and resources to execute these initiatives in balance with the risk associated with the action.

Business Acumen 204 - Growing & Expanding Accounts (2-day simulations & mapping) - the relationship managers practices how to navigate accounts & client politics, how to have consultative relationships, and how to win short- and long-term deals.  How to say NO, and keep the customer; Negotiation skills for banking officers and more strategic and situational simulations position the banking officer to create more value within their managed portfolio.

Business Acumen 205 - Managing Risk in the Portfolio (1-day interactive review) - This is a "Turnaround" specialist approach to account management.  What makes one account viable and another high risk?  Alternative approaches to account management that do not risk the bank's capital or the customers business.  Three surefire ways to know it is time to foreclose.  Two leading indicators that suggest work out or perhaps just a careful re-evaluation and rework of existing debt to create a win / win situation.  We will introduce you to two INTERNET tools that may prove beneficial in standardizing the risk portfolio across the enterprise.    

Business Acumen 206 - Continued strategic initiatives - the relationship managers meet weekly to discuss strategy and account opportunities, leveraging the common knowledge and ability of the team to win, reviewing leading performance indicators like: customers gained, customers lost, bankruptcies, complaints, products, foreclosures, and more.  Special facilitated monthly sessions are regularly scheduled meetings and part of the continued sales and marketing efforts of the bank.

This curriculum is designed for the experienced commercial loan officer and risk management team of a commercial leading institution.  This is not sales 101 or account management 101.  These programs are designed to address the challenges of today's financial markets where lending practices are conservative and in some cases - on hold, the economic challenges are significant, and the upside potential for gaining market share is serious.

This program is carefully customized to each financial institutions needs and current portfolio.

Results are targeted at increasing the "value" of the institution by 2 times within a two year window.  The program is a year-long engagement, delivered as strategic planning sessions with upper management, simulations and one on one meeting with lending officers over the course of the year on a schedule designed to stimulate spaced repetition, remapping of learned functions and accountability for new actions.

This course design comes from direct application of Texas Banking customers and the research done by McKinsey and Company reported September 2008.   Incorporated is how US banks can attract middle market customers, adapting lean for customized bank processes, identifying the saving opportunities at banks and deals without delusions.

Additional Business Acumen Services:

Business Acumen 101 - Customer Surveys - Keep in touch with your most valuable asset through professional telecommunications.  Showing customer appreciation is the most often quoted reason for consumers and customers of all types to favor a business with their custom.

Business Acumen 102 - 360 Evaluations - Internal surveys and feedback that provides employees open communication and management the ability to stay in touch and to evaluate the cultural of the business. The surveys provide a 360°TM appraisal of the company and each of its units, from the inside, through the eyes and perspective of its managers.  They put hard numbers on factors that cause, predict, drive and also block performance.

Business Acumen 103 - Strategic Introductions - Some opportunities require the attention of the bank's busiest management personal.  In these cases warm strategic introductions can expedite the process and increase the positive assessment of the business opportunity.  This is a very target customized service.  You give us the contacts you wish to make and why and we complete the introductions - not by telephone but by warm personal introduction.

Business Acumen 103 - Profiles of Success - Every business has top performers.  Being able to insure the next hire will be as productive and successful has been the aim of every HR director.  Frank McLaughlin, has more than 25 years of interviewing banking officers and has a track record of placing successful people into roles where they make immediate positive contributions.  If you are looking to improve the level of your game then this service is a must for your bank.

Business Acumen 104 - Messaging - Everyone in business acknowledges that your message is your brand and your brand is your business.  Get this right and the world beats a path to your door.  Get this wrong, change it be uncertain about it, be unclear about it or send mixed messages and your business will never thrive.  This team of professionals will work with you to develop the unique message for your banking enterprise that will resonate with the customer base you want to attract.

Business Acumen 105 - Pre Call Due Diligence - This basic course in finding new customers that fit the banks risk profile is offered in two versions one is 6 weeks in length the other is 13 weeks.  The shorter version is for the relationship officers that are pros, looking for new information to aid them in their time management, and improve their close ratio.  The longer version is applicable when the need is to change old habits that are NOT working into new habits that will.