What is Business Acumen?
"Business Acumen is the learned ability applied constantly in business to focus on what is important and manage the drivers of business success, which results in improved business performance and measurable outcomes."
What is Survey To Mastery (STM)?
Corporate learning models have long been dominated by hierarchical, linear progressions like Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK). These frameworks, adapted from academic environments, assume that learning must move step-by-step: recall, application, analysis, and finally, strategic thinking.
But in today’s business environment, learning doesn’t follow tidy sequences. In earlier decades, employees often rose through the ranks in a similarly structured way—learning step-by-step as their responsibilities grew. Today, roles shift quickly, responsibilities evolve, and teams flex across functions. Learners are expected to step into new situations fast—often without time for traditional learning models.
And while budget and time limits aren’t new, they’ve become even more central—shaping not just how learning is delivered, but whether it happens at all.
Survey to Mastery is a flexible learning model that answers the need for speed, adaptability, and role-specific depth in today’s corporate environment. It offers a modular, non-linear approach built for real-world business demands.
Read: How Work Has Changed—and Why Learning Must Catch Up →
A look at why traditional models no longer fit today’s fast-moving, role-fluid workplace.