ACUMEN
TRAINING
ACUMEN
TRAINING
A Powerful Business Acumen Simulation
Successful organizations rely on their employees, managers, and sales directors to make smart day-to-day decisions by thinking like business owners. As a business acumen simulation that is suitable for a variety of industry settings and geared toward specific audiences (Manufacturing, Services, Healthcare, Sales), Zodiak®: The Game of Business Finance and Strategy challenges learners with the realities of business ownership and empowers them to make smart decisions back on the job.
Zodiak Versions
Each version of Zodiak can be adapted to empower Sales Professionals. Successful sales personnel require insights into how their customers’ businesses really work and how they can successfully guide them on their decision-making journey.
IN AN EXAM CONDUCTED BY THE BUSINESS LITERACY INSTITUTE AT ALLIANT INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY:
of test takers couldn't pick the definition of "free cash flow"
of U.S. managers were unable to distinguish profit from cash
of those surveyed thought discounts had no impact on gross margin
“After completing Zodiak, our sales team is more comfortable having business conversations with senior leaders about the business.”
— Sales manager
“After completing Zodiak, our sales team is more comfortable having business conversations with senior leaders about the business.”
— Sales manager
Overview
Zodiak is a fast-paced, classroom-based simulation designed to improve the business acumen and financial literacy of managers, employees, and sales professionals. Zodiak allows learners to experience the financial and strategic determinants of organizational success. Through discovery learning, participants experience how their own actions contribute to the organization’s top and bottom lines.
The Experience
As small teams of learners become new owners of the struggling Zodiak, they take out loans, attract investors, purchase equipment and materials, invest in product development and innovation, and deliver products and services to customers.
By understanding the big picture of how business works and how organizations make money, participants begin to see how their actions effect their organization’s bottom line. Company-relevant information is woven throughout the Zodiak experience, resulting in a rich experience that leaves participants feeling accountable and motivated to make a positive impact.
Watch our video to learn more about the power of Zodiak.
Learning Outcomes
After completing Zodiak, participants will:
- Align personal and department goals with the organization’s financial objectives and strategies
- Demonstrate personal understanding of company terms, concepts, and goals
- Use relevant financial data and analysis in day-to-day decision making
- Ask informed questions about financial and strategic issues when taking action on the job
- Use financial terminology and concepts in discussions with others, including team members
- Take personal action to impact targeted financial, strategic, operational, and/or customer objectives
Customization
Zodiak has been successful not just because it’s fun and engaging, but because it uses real-life situations that participants can apply to their own work. Throughout the simulation, client-specific exercises and discussions are integrated to reinforce the connection between the simulation and the real world. These activities allow learners to make insightful connections to your company, their departments and the real world.
Facilitation
As a facilitated simulation, Zodiak sessions can be led by:
- a Paradigm Learning master facilitator
- a train the trainer Zodiak Certified client facilitator
“I’ve always thought that if our managers knew as much as I do about how we make money, they would make better decisions. But how do I transfer that knowledge from my head into theirs? That’s basically what Zodiak did.”
— Corporate CFO
“I’ve always thought that if our managers knew as much as I do about how we make money, they would make better decisions. But how do I transfer that knowledge from my head into theirs? That’s basically what Zodiak did.”
— Corporate CFO
Sustainability
ZPLUS Online allows the lessons of the simulation to reach beyond the classroom. It’s designed to review the actions of participants, aid in the creation of action plans, and allow learning and development professional to track progress.
Zodiak is Great For:
MANAGERS — Business Acumen is a critical competency for managers. It links directly to business success and the skill to align departmental and personal actions to financial and strategic objectives.
EMPLOYEES — Every day, the actions, decisions, and attitudes of employees impact organizational success. With increased business acumen and an attitude of engagement, they’ll understand how they fit into the big picture and contribute to organizational success.
SALES PROFESSIONALS — To build the foundation for long-term customer partnerships, sales professionals must effectively speak the language of their customers’ businesses. Honed business acumen increases skills – and results – in consultative selling.
PARADIGM LEARNING IS PROUD TO BE AN:
