Advanced Business Unit Performance Management for Senior Professionals Course – Paris, 3–14 May 2027

Business Unit Performance Management for Senior Professionals is a 2-week training course for heads of function and senior professionals who run a unit's results, built around a business unit performance plan. Units now compete for capital, talent and attention inside the same group, so leaders must show how their KPI cascade turns strategy into measurable contribution. Jupiter Prime Training designed the course for leaders who answer for unit outcomes.

Why Business Unit Performance Management Matters Now

Three forces shape how units are judged today. Group executives allocate capital to units that prove return, investors and boards ask for clearer segment reporting, and shared digital platforms make results visible in near real time. A unit that links its targets to its business model earns resources and room to act; one that reports activity without contribution loses both. The course rests on established performance frameworks: the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), Objectives and Key Results (OKR), Economic Value Added (EVA) and driver-based forecasting, each applied to the realities of a single unit inside a larger group.

Who Gains Most from Business Unit Performance Management

• Leaders accountable for a unit's revenue, margin and operating targets
• Heads of function who set and cascade objectives across several teams
• Finance business partners who translate unit results into performance reviews
• Senior specialists who chair cross-functional decision forums and steering groups
• Strategy and transformation leads who track initiatives against unit scorecards

The greatest gain comes when a unit head, the finance partner and two or three function leads from the same unit attend together and agree one shared set of drivers.

Business Unit Performance Management Capabilities

Participants move from reading unit results to steering them, linking each measure to the driver it controls and the forum that decides on it.

• Map the unit's business model and profit drivers — investment cases presented to group executives
• Design a KPI cascade from unit goals to team targets — objective setting with function heads
• Calculate contribution margin, unit economics and economic profit — portfolio and pricing choices
• Build cross-functional decision forums with clear decision rights — escalation and trade-off calls
• Run monthly and quarterly performance reviews that trigger corrective action — the unit's leadership group
• Communicate unit performance through a concise scorecard narrative — boards, investors and group finance

Key Business Unit Performance Management Terms

• KPI cascade — the linking of unit-level key performance indicators to the targets of each function and team beneath it.
• Contribution margin — revenue minus variable costs, showing how much each product or segment adds towards fixed costs and profit.
• Economic Value Added (EVA) — operating profit after tax minus a charge for the capital the unit uses.
• Driver tree — a diagram that breaks a headline result into the operational and financial drivers that produce it.
• Decision rights — an agreed statement of who proposes, decides, is consulted and is informed on each recurring choice.
• Rolling forecast — a forecast updated each period for a fixed horizon ahead, replacing a static annual view.

Business Unit Performance Management Day by Day

Day 1: The Unit Inside the Group

• Group Portfolio Roles — Whether the Unit Grows, Sustains or Harvests
• Parenting Advantage Analysis — What the Group Adds to the Unit
• Unit Mandate Statement — Scope, Boundaries and Shared Service Dependencies
• Stakeholder Expectation Map — Board, Group Finance and Customer Demands
• Performance Maturity Diagnostic — Where the Unit's Measurement Practice Stands

Day 2: Business Model Economics

• Business Model Canvas for a Unit — Revenue Streams and Cost Structure
• Profit Pool Mapping — Where Margin Sits Along the Value Chain
• Unit Economics per Customer — Acquisition Cost Against Lifetime Margin
• Cost-to-Serve Analysis — Segments and Channels Worth Keeping
• Competitive Position Scan — Price, Service and Capability Gaps

Day 3: Financial Performance of the Unit

• Segment Profit and Loss Statement — Contribution After Allocated Overheads
• Contribution Margin Analysis — Product and Channel Mix Choices
• Working Capital Levers — Inventory, Receivables and Cash Conversion
• Economic Value Added (EVA) — Return Against the Cost of Capital
• Transfer Pricing Between Units — Fair Internal Charges and Incentives

Day 4: Driver Trees and Targets

• Driver Tree Construction — Linking Headline Results to Operational Levers
• Leading and Lagging Indicators — Early Warning Versus Outcome Measures
• Target Setting Methods — Stretch, Benchmark and Capacity-Based Goals
• Sensitivity Testing of Drivers — Which Levers Move Profit Most
• Measure Definition Sheets — Owners, Formulas and Data Sources

Day 5: The KPI Cascade

• Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for a Unit — Four Perspectives in Balance
• Strategy Map Linkages — Cause and Effect Between Objectives
• Objectives and Key Results (OKR) — Quarterly Focus for Function Teams
• Cascade Alignment Matrix — Gaps and Overlaps Between Function Targets
• Shared Metrics Across Functions — Joint Ownership of Customer Outcomes

Day 6: Cross-Functional Decision Forums

• Forum Architecture — Operating, Tactical and Strategic Decision Layers
• Decision Role Charts — Who Recommends, Agrees and Decides
• Escalation Thresholds — When Issues Move to Unit Leadership
• Meeting Charters and Agendas — Decisions Rather Than Status Updates
• Trade-Off Protocols — Resolving Sales, Operations and Finance Tensions

Day 7: Performance Reviews That Drive Action

• Monthly Business Review Cadence — Variance, Cause and Corrective Action
• Variance Root Cause Analysis — Volume, Price, Mix and Efficiency Effects
• Rolling Forecasts — Replacing Static Budgets with Forward Views
• Action Logs and Follow-Through — Accountability Between Review Cycles
• Performance Dialogue Skills — Challenging Results Without Blame

Day 8: Value Creation Decisions

• Investment Case Appraisal — Net Present Value and Payback Logic
• Initiative Portfolio Prioritisation — Value, Effort and Risk Scoring
• Pricing and Margin Decisions — Discount Discipline and Price Realisation
• Make, Buy or Partner Choices — Capability Versus Cost Trade-Offs
• Exit and Pruning Decisions — Retiring Products That Dilute Returns

Day 9: Reporting and Incentives

• Unit Scorecard Narrative — Telling the Performance Story to Executives
• Performance Dashboard Design — Few Measures, Clear Thresholds
• Incentive Alignment — Linking Rewards to Unit Drivers
• Behavioural Side Effects of Targets — Gaming, Sandbagging and Silos
• Board and Investor Briefings — Segment Results in Plain Language

Day 10: Practising the Business Unit Performance Plan

• Driver Tree and Cascade Review — Testing the Unit's Measures End to End
• Decision Forum Simulation — Resolving a Live Cross-Functional Trade-Off
• Performance Review Role Play — Variance Challenge and Recovery Actions
• Peer Critique of Investment Priorities — Sharpening the Value Case
• Business Unit Performance Plan — Final Targets, Forums and Review Calendar

Applying Business Unit Performance Management After the Course

• Rebuild the unit's driver tree with the finance partner and use it to reset next quarter's KPI cascade for each function.
• Redesign the monthly business review around variance causes, rolling forecasts and a tracked action log.

Business Unit Performance Management Questions (FAQ)

What is business unit performance management and why does it matter now?

Business unit performance management is the discipline of linking a unit's business model, targets, decision forums and reviews to measurable contribution. It matters now because groups allocate capital and talent to units that can prove their return, and results are visible faster than before.

Which roles gain most from business unit performance management training?

Heads of function, unit leaders and finance business partners gain most from business unit performance management training. Senior specialists who chair steering groups or own initiative portfolios also benefit, because they translate targets into decisions across several functions.

How does business unit performance management differ from business process management?

Business unit performance management focuses on the economics, targets and decision rights of a whole unit. A process management course looks at how individual workflows are designed, owned and improved. This course works at the level of profit drivers, KPI cascades and performance reviews rather than process maps.

What do you bring back from business unit performance management training?

You bring back a tested set of unit drivers, a KPI cascade, a decision forum design and a review rhythm. Together they form a document you can present to your unit's leadership group and group finance in the first weeks after the course.

Business Unit Performance Management: The Way Forward

The business unit performance plan first informs next quarter's target reset, when unit leaders and function heads agree which drivers each team owns. Finance partners use it to frame monthly reviews, and executives use it to judge investment requests. After its first full review cycle, revisit the decision rights in each forum, since that is where friction between functions usually shows first.