Acumen Is a Process, Not a Place

Mark Mullaly is president of Interthink Consulting Incorporated, an organizational development and change firm specializing in the creation of effective organizational project management solutions. Since 1990, it has worked with companies throughout North America to develop, enhance and implement effective project management tools, processes, structures and capabilities. Mark was most recently co-lead investigator of the Value of Project Management research project sponsored by PMI. You can read more of his writing at markmullaly.com.

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A big deal is made about business acumen and its importance. (Including making it the theme of this site for the last quarter of the year). In particular, many writers have reinforced the essential requirement for project managers to have business acumen.

To possess a solid and deep understanding of the organization they support, the business they deliver and the dynamics that shape its success. While I will go along with this idea to an extent—the sentiment isn’t wrong—I do take exception to some of the nuances.

Business acumen is often framed as something that is possessed. It is presented as if it is a defined and distinct thing, clear and quantifiable. Acumen is framed in possessive terms—It is described as something that you have, or you do not. Not only is this notion incomplete, but it is a dangerous one. It presents business acumen as a tangible something to be acquired, a checkbox to be attained, finite and specific.

Business acumen is not a place. It is not a thing. There are no boundaries. There is no formal definition. There is no itemized checklist of accomplishments to be earned in order to be able to say that you have acquired business acumen, or you have not. Acumen is not a place of being, but a process of becoming.

More specifically, business acumen is not framed by the knowledge and insight that you have acquired. Instead, …

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