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only will you benefit from hearing the latest information and thinking in your sector, you will develop
your professional network.

5. Ready to continue your education? Take a class. Formal education classes provide a supportive
and structured approach to learning about business. They offer the opportunity to come together with
a group of like-minded people learning together. Research the business courses that are offered
online and by your local college or university. You’ll find that you don’t have to take on a full-time
degree or MBA program to further your business education. There will be ways for you to take it one
lesson at a time.

6. Want to learn from the pros? Surround yourself with wise counsel. Find a business mentor.
Look inside and outside your organization. Consult someone whose business skills you admire and
want to emulate. A long-tenured individual who has navigated events such as recessions, booms,
unemployment, mergers, acquisitions, product or service shifts, and reorganizations. Someone who
will take an interest in your career and help you think. Spend time with them. Ask them to share
experiences and give you advice on the best way to learn about different areas of expertise. Do more
listening than talking. Take your ideas and problems to them for discussion and guidance. Write down
what you learn, when you learned it, and from whom. Test what you learn and use your mentor
conversations to review your successes and failures. Read up on some of the benchmark names in
business, for example: Muhammad Yunus (Grameen Bank), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Katsuaki
Watanabe (Toyota), Steve Jobs (Apple), Richard Branson (Virgin), Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook).

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive…
Broder, L. (2013, September 18). Networking tips for novices. Fox Business.

Chowdhury, R. (2011, May 26). The importance of networking. Business Insider.
Hannon, K. (2011, October 31). How to find a mentor. Forbes.

7. Stuck in tactical mode? Engage with the strategy. Successful organizations have well-thought-out
strategies. They know where they are, where they are heading, and how they are going to get there.
They understand their competition. They know where they have competitive advantage. For a
strategy to be successful, individuals need to understand it at a local level. Actions and decisions that
are taken need to be aligned to it. Ask for lunch or just a meeting with the person who is in charge of
the strategic planning process in your company. Have them explain the strategic plan for the
organization. Particularly, have them point out the mission-critical functions and capabilities the
organization needs to be on the leading edge of to win.

8. Superficial understanding of your business? Think like an executive. Read what you can about
the organization as a whole. Study your annual report and other important communications, including
financial reports. Learn about the structure, systems, functions, and processes. How do the moving
parts work together? What is your value proposition? What are your key performance indicators?
How do you go to market? What makes you different? Who are your competitors? Build up your
understanding enough to be able to articulate clearly how your business operates, how it makes
money, and how you contribute to that.

© Korn Ferry 2014-2015. All rights reserved. WWW.KORNFERRY.COM

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