Getting ahead
Understand how your company makes money
A simple exercise to understand the business you work in, and see where your work fits
Read your company's strategy or financial materials, then map where your work shows up in revenue, cost or risk.
- About 45 minutes
- Just you
- Once a year
- Go find it
Why this can work
Almost everything a company does comes back to how it brings money in, what it spends, and what it's trying to avoid. Once you see that, priorities that seemed arbitrary start to make sense, and you can describe your own work in the terms leaders think in. It's one of the quieter differences between people who get pulled into bigger decisions and people who don't.
Read moreHow to understand your company's business model
You’ll come away with a simple map of how your company makes money, and where your work fits in it.
- Find what your company already publishes.
If it's public, look for the annual report, the latest earnings call or the investor presentation. If it's private, look for all-hands slides, strategy memos or planning documents shared internally. For a nonprofit, the annual report and where its funding comes from.
Tip: Start with the opening letter or the prepared remarks. That's usually where leaders say what matters most.
- Answer three questions in plain words.
Who pays us, and for what? What does it cost to deliver? What could go wrong that leaders worry about? A sentence or two each is enough.
- Map your work to revenue, cost or risk.
Take the main things you do and ask which one each touches. Does it help bring money in, spend less of it, or avoid something bad? Most work touches at least one, even if indirectly.
- Check your map with someone who knows.
Your manager, or a colleague in finance or sales. Bring what you found and what you think it means, and ask what you've got wrong.
You“I've been trying to understand how the business works. Here's how I think my work connects to it. Does that match how you see it, and what am I missing?” - Use it in one real conversation.
In your next update or 1:1, describe one piece of work in these terms. Not every time, just where it genuinely helps someone see why the work matters.
Good times to repeat it: once a yearafter an earnings call or an all-handswhen you join a new company
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
Plenty of important work reduces cost or risk: keeping systems running, customers happy, the company out of trouble. Knowing which one you're in helps you describe it well.
What might make this harder
Skip the tables at first. Read the opening letter or the prepared remarks, where leaders explain the business in plain language, and look up a term or two as you go.
Questions people ask
How do I understand my company's business model?
Start with what it publishes: an annual report, an earnings call or all-hands slides. Answer three questions: who pays and for what, what it costs to deliver, and what could go wrong. Then check your read with someone who knows.
What is business acumen?
A practical understanding of how a business makes money, spends it and manages risk, and how decisions affect those things. It's less about finance skills than about seeing your work in context.
How do I connect my work to company goals?
Map what you do to revenue, cost or risk, then describe your work in those terms when it helps. Most work touches at least one of the three.
Where can I find my company's financial information?
Public companies publish annual reports and earnings materials on their investor relations pages. Private companies often share strategy and results internally, at all-hands meetings or in planning documents.
Why this works, and where it comes from
You probably know your own job in detail and your company only in outline. That's normal, but it has a cost. Decisions that look arbitrary from inside a team often make sense once you can see the business behind them. The reorg, the project that got cut, the sudden focus on one customer: these usually trace back to how the company earns money, what it costs to run, and what it's worried about.
The materials to understand this are usually closer than people think. Public companies explain themselves on a regular schedule, in earnings calls and annual reports written partly for this purpose. Private companies do something similar at all-hands meetings and in planning documents. Read the opening sections for what leaders say matters. Three plain questions do most of the work: who pays us and for what, what does it cost to deliver, and what could go wrong.
Then comes the useful part, finding yourself on the map. Most work touches revenue, cost or risk, sometimes a couple of steps removed. Knowing which lets you describe your work in the terms leaders think in, and helps them see why it matters. Understanding what the company needs is what lets you offer things it will be glad to get. It also helps you make good calls on your own, because you know what the company would want.
Test your map with someone who knows, and bring it in three parts: here's what I saw, here's what I think it means, here's what I think we might do. It's respectful, it invites correction, and it usually starts a better conversation than either silence or a confident guess. And keep internal numbers internal. Understanding the business is the goal; passing on what isn't public is not. If you're new and still learning the job itself, this can wait a few months. It lands better once you know the work well enough to place it.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Getting ahead
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.