Why Every Manager Should Understand How Your Company Makes (and Loses) Money

And How Earnings Calls Can Sharpen Their Strategic Thinking

Many organizations want their managers to “think more strategically,” “own the numbers,” or “lead with impact.” But if managers don’t know what drives profitability, how the business operates, or what executives are focused on this quarter, how can they possibly align?

It’s not a motivation problem. It’s a visibility problem.

Smart Managers Need the Whole Picture

We hear it all the time: “My team is talented, but they don’t connect their daily work to financial outcomes.”

And honestly, that’s not surprising. Managers are rarely taught how to think like executives. They’re promoted for operational excellence, then expected to make strategic decisions without a clear view of the big picture.

If you want your managers to act like business leaders, you have to give them business-level insight.

Earnings Calls: A Real-Time Window Into Strategy

Public companies hold quarterly earnings calls with analysts and investors to explain how the business performed, what challenges they’re facing, and what the strategic focus is moving forward.

These aren’t just finance updates. They’re the most unfiltered look your managers will get at how your executives are thinking. And they’re packed with insights that connect directly to their day-to-day decisions:

• Where is the company growing—and where is it under pressure?

• What operational costs or inefficiencies are executives watching closely?

• What products, markets, or customer segments are getting prioritized?

• How is leadership framing success for the next quarter?

If your managers listened to just one earnings call per quarter—with the right lens—they’d get a sharper understanding of how their work contributes to the business.

Business Acumen in Action

This isn’t about turning managers into accountants. It’s about developing business acumen—the ability to understand how the company makes money, how it’s positioned to compete, and how individual decisions impact the whole system.

When managers understand this, a few powerful things happen:

• They stop working in silos.

• They coach their teams with purpose.

• They make trade-offs that support the bigger picture.

  
  

Suddenly, it’s not just “another process change”—it’s “a shift that helps reduce costs and improve margins.”It’s not just “hiring another rep”—it’s “adding revenue capacity aligned to our growth targets.”

That mindset shift is what elevates managers from reactive doers to strategic leaders.

Help Your Managers Listen Like Executives

At Acumen Learning, we built the Quarterly Earnings Call Workbook to help managers decode these calls. It’s a simple, structured guide that helps your team:

• Understand how earnings calls are organized

• Pick out the financial and strategic signals that matter

• Ask better questions and align their work with executive priorities

You don’t have to guess what matters to leadership. They’re telling you every quarter. You just need to know how to listen.

Final Thought

If your managers aren’t being trained on how the business actually works, you’re leaving alignment—and money—on the table.

Don’t let business acumen be an afterthought. Make it part of how your managers think, lead, and execute.

Want to help your managers think like executives?