The importance of Business Acumen is shown by the ability to understand and respond to risks and opportunities within with the organization and create solutions that result in positive outcomes. One of the best ways to enhance business acumen is by presenting occasions to learn about how the larger organization operates.

Attending guest lectures, participating in career shadowing opportunities and highlighting department showcases are just a few of the tools UFIT to help increase their overall Business Acumen.

• Start with UFIT knowing what UFIT is doing
• Career Shadow Opportunities
• Department Showcases
• Guest Speakers:
• In 2015 UFIT initiated a speaker’s series to broaden staff understanding of the university’s efforts to Rise to Five. The speakers’ presentations are provided below.
• How does UFIT impact UF and contribute to the Rise to Five
• Teaching and Learning
• Research

Creating a sense of purpose in the workplace connects what we do with the impact we are having on the organization. 

The famous story about President John F. Kennedy’s first visit to NASA’s headquarters in 1961. As the story goes, President John F. Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man, and asked, “What are you doing?” “Well, Mr. President,” the janitor responded, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” Watch this video to learn more about how you can create your purpose.

This story illustrates how seeing a bigger purpose for one’s work than just the tasks at hand can foster engagement and provide work satisfaction. It is easy to see that seeing the bigger purpose serves both an employee’s personal and the organizational goals. Experiencing work as “meaningful” can be linked to individual outcomes, such as work engagement, job satisfaction and motivation, and to organizational outcomes, such as performance.