The Savvy Manager: Add Value to Your Business by Understanding the Business

By Mike Bohlmann

June 1, 2008 — (Page 2 of 3)
Part of knowing the industry is knowing your organization’s position in the industry. Be particularly watchful for industry coverage that mentions your company. You can also take things to a more proactive step and talk to your supervisor about getting involved in industry groups. Most industries have trade shows, special interest groups or other ways for companies to get involved. Getting involved in one of these activities not only gives you insight into the industry and your company, but it can also be a way for your company to gain prestige in the industry and for you to demonstrate leadership skills.

Understanding Your Organization
Now that you have taken some proactive steps to increase your understanding, getting in the door with people in your organization is going to be much simpler. You might have some specific ideas or questions about the company that came from learning about business or discovering the industry. Before you start talking to individual people, you should get a little familiar with what your company does and how it operates so you can ask informed questions. If your company is publicly traded, there are financial reports publicly available that describe the general financial health of the company. You should also be able to find press releases and other information on your organization’s Web site.

From there you want to explore specific processes or strategies that your company uses to accomplish its tasks or reach its goals. While every organization has an accounts payable process, every organization is going to have its own way of doing things. You can find out how these things are done by talking to people that work in that area of the organization. Want to learn how the company does inventory accounting? Talk to someone in accounting. Want to know how changes are made to a product? Talk to someone in product development. Ask them to talk you through a process or, even better, ask if you can job shadow them for part of a day.

Related Search Term(s): Professional development

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The Savvy Manager: Add Value to Your Business by Understanding the Business

By Mike Bohlmann

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