Good question.

I think sometimes we find ourselves asking very generic questions like "how can I be more business-minded?" I prefer more specific, direct questions. "What makes us profitable? What are our biggest uncontrollable expenses?" Or even - "Help me understand what the biggest revenue drivers are for our business?" These are specific questions that are easy to answer and then you can use your design research 101: 5 whys. Why is it so profitable? Why is that important to customers? How did we determine that? What else have we tried in the past?" Design really does have the enviable job of tying the customer experience back to the business metrics.

AND like I said: business models, purchase funnels and payment flows ARE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES. They're emotional and they're ripe for improvement and re-evaluation. If a leader asks why you're interested - tell them that.