Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company

Seeing the Big Picture teaches the reader how to assess and reason about the financial present and future of a business — to see its big picture. It teaches this by exploring a model of business health and using that model to interpret example financial statements. This sounds dry and technical. However, the model places the highest importance on organisational culture and leadership. Furthermore, story-telling and examples illustrate every concept. The author's motivating argument is that:1. The most effective employees and leaders act in the interest of the big picture.2. Company leadership will entrust decision making power to employees who can see the big picture.The book is couched in plain, simple language and is perfectly organised. I wouldn’t change a thing. I also genuinely appreciated the absence of rubbish. I didn’t have to suffer the author’s ego for even a second. I could learn without friction or frustration.The only danger is that a reader may mistake this simplicity for a lack of depth and read without thinking. The upside is that the book is so short and simple that a slow, in-depth reading is still possible in good time.The second half on financial statements is slightly more tedious. However, the author is well aware of this and offers quick run downs (e.g. The Income Statement in a Matter of Minutes) followed by optional in-depth explorations (e.g. The Income Statement in About 30 Minutes). The second half of the book could even be left as a reference for when actually attempting to read financial statements.All in all, the clarity, conciseness and low price add up to an incredible return on time and money spent for non-finance readers. The author suggests to continue learning about business after reading the book. I have been reading and taking courses on corporate finance. This book has provided an excellent basis for learning the principles of accounting and finance. It is the best place to start. In fact, learning from other sources just makes me appreciate this exceptionally clear book even more.

I am sad, this is for a gift and the cover came ripped in 2 places, I’m not really sure that I want to give to him.

In my role as a workforce optimization coach, I have found it the best practice to recommend this amazing book to my clients who are growing their business and leaders. If your organization is growing and you have young leaders that have been loyal to the business and should be given the opportunity to grow right along with it then this book is a must-read [no brainer] in order for them to really start connecting the dots. On the talent management side, I believe the section titled "Securing Your Seat at the Table" enables the right type of conversation with direct reports that are looking to grow with the business because like any great relationship, the success revolves around the value proposition. This book rocks my socks!

Great book for corporate book club learning and discussion. Provides an overview of business acumen fundamentals without diving too deep into finance and accounting. The author uses good “real world” examples to connect concepts in a linear progression without overwhelming the reader with jargon and opinionated perspective. A must read for anyone who wants to elevate their game in any organization.

I’ve never been a “numbers” person and the class I struggled with the most in business school was Accounting. But reading Seeing the Big Picture helped weave together for me the story that is told by the financial statements. It’s so fascinating to follow profitability through a company’s financial journal, starting with a customer sale to benefiting a shareholder. Cope’s book not only helped tie together those loose ends for me on this subject, this read also helped me understand core business concepts on a granular level to then apply to my role and my company. Terrific read! Highly recommended for anyone who impacts the bottom line….which is every employee. (You’ll find that out in this book, too).

I was introduced to Kevin Cope and "Seeing the Big Picture" during a rigorous Leadership Development Program at a former employer. During this program Kevin led a seminar that walked us through the practical application of the concepts in the book and helped many in the class understand how to distill financial information into actionable plans to improve business results.I am in the process of introducing this book to my current team as required reading and know that our company will benefit from the education it provides.Highly recommended.

Very easy to follow. This book provides great examples and illustrations. I look forward to putting these tips into practice.

The book arrived in perfect condition and rather quickly, to boot!What else can I say? Great experience and fully satisfied!

I've read a few "finance for non finance" books, and this one beats them all!Rather than teaching non-finance folks statements like the P&L or the Balance sheet, it focuses on helping people understand the different key elements of business and how they're tied to one another and how they influence (and get influenced by) daily decisions.A must read

Auch wer Deutsch als Muttersprache hatte, es ist einfach lesbar. Inhaltlich immer auf den Punkt gebracht, was Zeit beim Lesen spart und man behält die Kernaussagen besser im Gedächtnis. Es müsste sich für jeden der eine oder andere Impuls aus der Lektüre ergeben. Anwendungsmöglichkeiten in der Praxis: Erstaunlich hoch. Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis: Ausgezeichnet.

An ok read dependong on your level of business knowledge and experience. very remedial and basic level of information

A very good book for those who want to understand business better.

Excellent leadership perspective , gives you perspective of angles which you probably knew but cared less about.