How do you align your core competencies with your vision, mission, and goals?

1 What are core competencies?

Core competencies are the unique capabilities that give your business a competitive edge and enable you to deliver value to your customers. They are not just skills or resources, but the combination of knowledge, expertise, culture, and processes that make you stand out from the crowd. For example, Apple's core competencies include innovation, design, and customer loyalty, while Amazon's core competencies include logistics, technology, and customer service.

2 How to identify your core competencies?

To identify your core competencies, you need to ask yourself three questions: What are you good at? What are you better at than your competitors? And what are you passionate about? These questions will help you narrow down your list of potential core competencies and focus on the ones that are most relevant and valuable for your business. You can also use tools such as SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, or VRIO framework to evaluate your core competencies and how they contribute to your competitive advantage.

3 How to align your core competencies with your vision, mission, and goals?

Once you have identified your core competencies, you need to align them with your vision, mission, and goals. Your vision is your long-term aspiration, your mission is your purpose and value proposition, and your goals are your specific and measurable objectives. Your core competencies should support and enhance your vision, mission, and goals, and help you achieve them. For example, if your vision is to be the leader in your industry, your core competencies should enable you to outperform your competitors and satisfy your customers. If your mission is to solve a problem or meet a need, your core competencies should enable you to deliver a superior solution or service. And if your goals are to increase your market share, revenue, or profitability, your core competencies should enable you to create and capture value.

4 What is the Ansoff matrix?

The Ansoff matrix is a strategic tool that helps you decide how to grow your business by choosing between four options: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. Each option has a different level of risk and reward, depending on whether you are targeting existing or new markets, and offering existing or new products. The Ansoff matrix can help you align your core competencies with your growth strategy and identify the best opportunities for your business.

5 How to use the Ansoff matrix?

To use the Ansoff matrix, you need to plot your products and markets on a grid, and evaluate each option based on your core competencies, your vision, mission, and goals, and your external environment. For example, if you have a strong core competency in innovation, you might choose product development or diversification as your growth strategy, as they allow you to leverage your creativity and offer new solutions to your customers. However, if you have a strong core competency in customer loyalty, you might choose market penetration or market development as your growth strategy, as they allow you to retain and expand your customer base and increase your market share.

6 How to implement your growth strategy?

After you have chosen your growth strategy, you need to implement it effectively and efficiently. This means you need to align your resources, processes, and culture with your core competencies and your growth objectives. You also need to monitor and evaluate your performance and results, and adjust your strategy as needed. You can use tools such as the balanced scorecard, the SMART framework, or the OKR framework to track and measure your progress and outcomes.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?