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How to Nurture and Protect Your Company's Core Competencies

Chris Anderson

September 20, 2007

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An organization's core competencies are the bread and butter of their business. In Jerry Porras and Jim Collins "Built to Last" (a best selling US based blueprint for company success), both authors mention visionary companies as promulgators of the extraordinary, citing companies like Boeing who capitalized and made billions off commercial airliners during a time when competitor Douglas Aircraft balked. In this respect, Boeings core competency was the ability to innovate and take risks – a cold and calculated smart risk that broke the company free from the reigns of military jets and into new territory.

Companies need to invest in their core competencies to help them succeed. One way to do that is by preserving its most valuable asset – its identity. For example, Apple preserves its brand through the use of slick marketing campaigns and constant innovation (how many Macbooks and Ipods have been developed in the last few years?) Continuous investment must be made with strong attention paid to preserving production methods. In addition, winning with core competencies means becoming an expert in your field and anticipating trends. They constantly test their strengths to meet the demands of consumers, competitor moves, and industry dynamics both in-house and outsourced.

In "Built to Last", the authors make reference to using home grown management to run business affairs. According to the visionary companies they surveyed for five years, almost all hired from the inside as opposed to the outside. Consistency in leadership where leaders have adapted to a specific ideology and understand the everyday functions of the organization works towards guarding core competencies while stimulating progress. This makes it more likely for employees to embrace core values themselves. When core values are preserved through tightness of fit (hiring employees who believe in the core) and indoctrination from the inside, core competencies can be better maintained.

All in all, nurturing and protecting your company’s core competencies requires investing in new ideas, preserving your assets, and keeping a core ideology.

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