Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators - by Matthew W Ragas & Ron Culp (Paperback)

About the Book

Drawing on Ragas and Culp's prior books, this workbook offers hands-on learning opportunities to help put newly acquired business acumen knowledge into practice. Through briefs, exercises and discussion activities readers will learn to analyze and interpret key business materials produced by companies and nonprofits organizations.

Book Synopsis

Business fluency is essential today for effective strategic communication. To fulfill the mandate of trusted counselors and advisors to executives and the C-suite, communication professionals must no longer just have excellent communication skills, but they must understand and speak the language of the business world. The challenge is that many communication graduates and professionals did not go to business school and do not hold an MBA.

Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook provides the essential practical learning needed to help upskill communication professionals into bona fide business leaders and advisors. Through briefs, exercises and discussion activities, readers will learn to analyze and interpret key business materials produced by companies and nonprofit organizations, including CEO letters, annual reports, financial statements, earnings releases, CSR, DEI and ESG reports, and more. A revised and expanded glossary is provided, as are answer keys for the exercises.

Drawing on the success of Ragas and Culp's prior books, this innovative workbook offers hands-on learning opportunities to help put newly acquired business acumen knowledge into practice.

Review Quotes

>In this terrific new workbook, Matt Ragas and Ron Culp demonstrate the importance of both acquiring and applying business acumen in strategic communication. I wish such resources had been available decades ago when I was a rookie corporate communication professional tasked with drafting quarterly earnings reports I knew virtually nothing about!

--Kathy Fitzpatrick, JD, APR (Director & Professor, The Zimmerman School at the University of South Florida)

PR pros who claim they entered the industry because they don't like numbers are doomed. Students and ambitious pros will learn how to find and use important information in balance sheets, annual reports and more in Ragas and Culp's 'Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook'.

--Kim Sample (President, PR Council)

Timely and relevant, Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators offers clear insights and actionable advice for communicators looking to elevate their role and impact globally. With practical examples and vital strategies, this workbook is essential for navigating today's business landscape.

--Tracy Faulkner (Chief Communications and External Relations Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank)

Employers continue to tell us that communicators often struggle with basic business acumen. That's why Ragas and Culp's books have been fixtures in my master's degree classrooms for years. This volume provides the advice and tools needed to improve business fluency. Active learning is achieved through exercises and dynamic group activities. I highly recommend this important new book.--Matt Tidwell, Ph.D., APR (Director, Professional Graduate Studies William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas)

As your communications career progresses, you become part of a larger team charged with making business decisions - not simply communications decisions. Your communications functional expertise will be expected, but it is your business knowledge - especially your financial literacy - that will accelerate your career growth. Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook is the perfect roadmap needed to start this journey.

--Ron DeFeo, (Executive vice president, chief communications and marketing officer, American Airlines)

Kudos to Matt and Ron for writing a workbook that focuses on strategic communicators to think and operate as business leaders. There is no doubt that the business side of the craft is directly proportional to the impact of the enterprise. The workbook will provide a guide to the profession that truly wants to understand how the CEO and the board of directors, in particular, thinks and how she or he makes decisions. This will only make CCOs more valuable to all stakeholders.

--Kim Hunter, (CEO, LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS. Chairman & CEO, The LAGRANT Foundation. Managing partner, KLH & Associates)

Ragas and Culp's workbook provides students with an in-depth and accessible way to understand, apply, and practice complex business and finance-related concepts. The terms and skills students will learn in this book are essential to them becoming more well-rounded communication professionals and, eventually, valued advisors to and members of the C-suite.

--Arunima Krishna, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Boston University College of Communication; Senior Editor, Health Communication; Associate Director, Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability)

This workbook is an invaluable addition to the Ragas and Culp books on business acumen for communicators. Students learn best by actively applying skills. It is one thing to read about income statements; it is another thing to have to analyze one. I will definitely be incorporating this workbook into my classes.

--Karla K. Gower, Ph.D. (Director, Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations; Behringer Distinguished Professor, Department of Advertising & Public Relations, The University of Alabama)

This workbook provides public relations students and professionals at all career stages with practical knowledge, exercises, and insight to build a rich array of business mindsets and actions that deliver communication excellence. I am excited to share the authors' wisdom in my PR leadership course at the University of Georgia.

--Juan Meng, Ph.D., (UGA Athletic Association Endowed Professor of Public Relations and Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Georgia)

Business acumen is crucial for communication leaders, yet it remains one of the most underdeveloped skills. By bridging the gap between communication and business acumen, this book equips leaders at every level with the necessary skills to provide informed and strategic counsel to the C-suite, ensuring they are not just heard but also heeded in critical decision-making processes.

--Tina McCorkindale, Ph.D., (President and CEO, Institute for Public Relations)

This book is an essential resource for communication professionals aiming to bridge the gap between communication expertise and business fluency. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, this workbook empowers readers to become trusted business advisors, enhancing their ability to navigate and interpret key business documents and strategies effectively.

--Adrienne A. Wallace, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Grand Valley State University; Editor in Chief, Journal of Public Relations Education)

I wish this book was available much earlier in my career - it would have saved me a lot of time, energy and embarrassment. And I'm sure I'll keep it handy at this relatively late stage of my professional life - the glossary alone is an enormously valuable resource!

--David Gallagher (Managing Partner, Next Practices Group)

Matt Ragas and Ron Culp continue to champion the need for deep business acumen among communications' professionals and to provide a critical roadmap and tools to attain such knowledge. The 32-page glossary alone provides us a rich collection of essential terms from which to guide pursuit of the knowledge essential to better fulfill our roles as strategic communicators.

--Rodrigo Sierra (CCO, American Medical Association)

Business acumen and command of business language, protocols, systems and economics helps practitioners stand out and earn respect. This easy-to-follow workbook and valuable glossary will go a long way in improving the business acumen of anyone who absorbs its wisdom.--Grace Leong (CEO, HUNTER)

The insights, examples and workbook exercises cut to the chase, providing the reader with just the essential knowledge and 'inside baseball' aspects of how organizations measure and disclose their performance. With this one book as a guide and ongoing reference, you and your team will gain the understanding and the vocabulary necessary to become more sophisticated, valuable and influential advisors and leaders.--Paula Davis (Former CCO, Colgate-Palmolive; Communications Search & Advisory Consultant, Heidrick & Struggles)

With 'Business Acumen for Strategic Communicators: The Workbook, ' Ragas and Culp have added yet another valuable resource for communications students and professionals striving to increase their business IQ. I wish I had this book at the beginning of my career when I transitioned from journalism to the corporate world!--Linda Rutherford (Chief Administrative Officer and former CCO, Southwest Airlines)

About the Author

Matthew W. Ragas, Ph.D. is Professor, College of Communication, DePaul University, USA. An award-winning teacher, researcher and adviser, he was the founding director of the DePaul Master's in Professional Communication program and served as the academic director of the Master's in Public Relations and Advertising program during which it was named the PRWeek Awards PR Education Program of the Year.

Ron Culp is Professional-in-Residence, College of Communication, DePaul University, USA. Before joining DePaul, he served as a managing director and partner at global public relations firms Ketchum and Sard Verbinnen (now FGS Global). Earlier in his career, Ron held senior communications positions at four Fortune 500 corporations. He has received numerous professional awards, including the Gold Anvil for lifetime achievement from the Public Relations Society of America.