Your leadership team wants to know: Did that business acumen training actually work? You tell them participants loved it, engagement scores were high, and the feedback was glowing. They nod politely—and slash next year's training budget. Because "participants loved it" isn't ROI.

In this episode of our series on choosing the best business acumen simulation, we tackle the question every L&D leader eventually faces: how do you measure impact in ways that secure buy-in, demonstrate value, and prove that business acumen training creates real business outcomes?

Discover why a well-chosen simulation does more than create an enjoyable workshop—it influences decisions, improves conversations, and fundamentally changes how people think about the business. But to prove that value and earn future investment, you need evidence those changes are actually happening.

We examine a powerful case study: when Beam Suntory trained over 500 employees (most outside finance) in their Finance & Strategy workshop, they didn't just improve cost control—they strengthened long-term commercial acumen across the organization. Six weeks post-training, measurable improvements appeared in confidence and strategic alignment. One participant made a single sourcing change that saved $700,000 annually. But even more valuable? The incremental gains and culture shift toward financial clarity and ownership thinking.

Five Key Metrics That Actually Matter:

• Knowledge retention & application: Do people understand the business better? (Foundation, not ROI—but essential) • Participant engagement: Highly engaged learners reflect more, ask better questions, and spread what they've learned • Behavior change: Are managers seeing different decision patterns? Are teams challenging assumptions and acting like owners? • Learning transfer: Are participants using the language and concepts back on the job? • Impact on business KPIs: Look for improvements in inventory levels, days payable outstanding, time-to-decision, or reduced firefighting

Learn why you don't need dozens of dashboards—just focus on what matters to the stakeholders who fund your programs. The easiest thing to measure is retention. The most meaningful thing is behavior change. Use one to spark the other.

Because business acumen training isn't a feel-good investment—it's a business investment. And like any business investment, it should create measurable outcomes that compound over time through better conversations, smarter trade-offs, and decisions that align with company goals.

Essential for L&D leaders who need to prove value, secure budget, and demonstrate that learning initiatives drive real business impact—not just satisfaction scores.

Read the full blog post.