# Core Competencies Worksheet

## Overview
Core Competencies are the unique strengths and abilities that give an organization its competitive advantage. Developed by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel, this framework helps identify what your organization does exceptionally well that provides customer value and is difficult for competitors to imitate.

## Pre-Analysis Setup

**Organization:** _________________________________
**Date:** _____________
**Assessment Team:** _________________________________
**Industry Context:** _________________________________
**Strategic Objective:** _________________________________

## Core Competency Identification

### Competency Brainstorming
*List all potential competencies your organization possesses*

**Technical Capabilities:**
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________

**Process Excellence:**
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________

**Knowledge & Expertise:**
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________

**Relationships & Networks:**
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________

## Core Competency Evaluation Criteria

### Test 1: Customer Value
*Does this competency provide significant value to customers?*

| Potential Competency | Customer Benefit | Value Rating (1-10) | Evidence |
|---------------------|------------------|-------------------|----------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

### Test 2: Competitive Differentiation
*Does this competency differentiate us from competitors?*

| Potential Competency | How We're Different | Uniqueness (1-10) | Competitor Comparison |
|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|---------------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

### Test 3: Extendability
*Can this competency be leveraged into new products/markets?*

| Potential Competency | Current Applications | Future Potential | Extendability (1-10) |
|---------------------|---------------------|-----------------|-------------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

### Test 4: Difficult to Imitate
*How hard would it be for competitors to copy this competency?*

| Potential Competency | Barriers to Imitation | Time to Copy | Imitability Score (1-10)* |
|---------------------|---------------------|--------------|------------------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

*Note: 10 = Very difficult to imitate, 1 = Easy to imitate

## Core Competency Scoring Matrix

| Competency | Customer Value | Differentiation | Extendability | Hard to Imitate | Total Score | Rank |
|------------|---------------|----------------|---------------|----------------|-------------|------|
| | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 | /40 | |
| | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 | /40 | |
| | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 | /40 | |
| | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 | /40 | |
| | /10 | /10 | /10 | /10 | /40 | |

## Confirmed Core Competencies

### Core Competency 1: _________________________________

**Description:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Key Components:**
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

**Supporting Resources:**
- People: _____________________________________________________________
- Processes: __________________________________________________________
- Technology: _________________________________________________________
- Knowledge: __________________________________________________________

**Current Value Creation:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Future Opportunities:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

### Core Competency 2: _________________________________

**Description:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Key Components:**
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

**Supporting Resources:**
- People: _____________________________________________________________
- Processes: __________________________________________________________
- Technology: _________________________________________________________
- Knowledge: __________________________________________________________

**Current Value Creation:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Future Opportunities:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

### Core Competency 3: _________________________________

**Description:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Key Components:**
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

**Supporting Resources:**
- People: _____________________________________________________________
- Processes: __________________________________________________________
- Technology: _________________________________________________________
- Knowledge: __________________________________________________________

**Current Value Creation:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

**Future Opportunities:**
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

## Competency Development Strategy

### Strengthening Existing Competencies

**Competency:** _________________________________
- [ ] Investment needed: $_________________
- [ ] Development timeline: _______________
- [ ] Key actions: ____________________________________________________
- [ ] Success metrics: _________________________________________________

**Competency:** _________________________________
- [ ] Investment needed: $_________________
- [ ] Development timeline: _______________
- [ ] Key actions: ____________________________________________________
- [ ] Success metrics: _________________________________________________

### Building New Competencies

**Target Competency:** _________________________________
- [ ] Strategic rationale: _____________________________________________
- [ ] Build vs. Buy vs. Partner: ______________________________________
- [ ] Resource requirements: ___________________________________________
- [ ] Development roadmap: _____________________________________________

**Target Competency:** _________________________________
- [ ] Strategic rationale: _____________________________________________
- [ ] Build vs. Buy vs. Partner: ______________________________________
- [ ] Resource requirements: ___________________________________________
- [ ] Development roadmap: _____________________________________________

## Competency Protection Strategy

### Protecting Core Competency 1: _________________________________
- [ ] Legal protections (patents, trademarks): ________________________
- [ ] Knowledge management systems: _____________________________________
- [ ] Key person retention: ____________________________________________
- [ ] Continuous improvement plan: ______________________________________

### Protecting Core Competency 2: _________________________________
- [ ] Legal protections (patents, trademarks): ________________________
- [ ] Knowledge management systems: _____________________________________
- [ ] Key person retention: ____________________________________________
- [ ] Continuous improvement plan: ______________________________________

### Protecting Core Competency 3: _________________________________
- [ ] Legal protections (patents, trademarks): ________________________
- [ ] Knowledge management systems: _____________________________________
- [ ] Key person retention: ____________________________________________
- [ ] Continuous improvement plan: ______________________________________

## Competency Leverage Opportunities

### New Product/Service Applications
| Core Competency | New Application | Market Potential | Development Cost | Priority |
|----------------|-----------------|------------------|------------------|----------|
| | | $_____ | $_____ | H/M/L |
| | | $_____ | $_____ | H/M/L |
| | | $_____ | $_____ | H/M/L |

### New Market Applications
| Core Competency | Target Market | Entry Strategy | Investment | Timeline |
|----------------|---------------|----------------|------------|----------|
| | | | $_____ | |
| | | | $_____ | |
| | | | $_____ | |

### Partnership Opportunities
| Core Competency | Potential Partner | Synergy Opportunity | Value Creation |
|----------------|-------------------|-------------------|----------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

## Gap Analysis

### Missing Competencies for Future Success
1. Competency: _________________ Importance: H/M/L  Acquisition Strategy: _________
2. Competency: _________________ Importance: H/M/L  Acquisition Strategy: _________
3. Competency: _________________ Importance: H/M/L  Acquisition Strategy: _________

### Declining Competencies
1. Competency: _________________ Reason: _________ Action: _________________
2. Competency: _________________ Reason: _________ Action: _________________
3. Competency: _________________ Reason: _________ Action: _________________

## Implementation Roadmap

### Immediate Actions (0-3 months)
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

### Short-term Initiatives (3-12 months)
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

### Long-term Development (12+ months)
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________
- [ ] _________________________________________________________________

## Success Metrics

### Competency Performance Indicators
| Core Competency | KPI | Current | Target | Timeline |
|----------------|-----|---------|--------|----------|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

### Business Impact Metrics
- Revenue from core competencies: $_______  Target: $_______
- Market share gain: ____%  Target: ____%
- Customer satisfaction improvement: ____  Target: ____
- Innovation index: ____  Target: ____

## Risk Assessment

### Competency Risks
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation Strategy |
|------|-------------|--------|-------------------|
| Key talent loss | L/M/H | L/M/H | |
| Technology disruption | L/M/H | L/M/H | |
| Competitor catch-up | L/M/H | L/M/H | |
| Market shifts | L/M/H | L/M/H | |

## Review & Evolution

### Competency Audit Schedule
- [ ] Quarterly competency review: _____________
- [ ] Annual strategic assessment: _____________
- [ ] Competitive benchmarking: _____________
- [ ] Customer value validation: _____________

### Evolution Triggers
- [ ] Major market shift
- [ ] New technology emergence
- [ ] Significant competitor move
- [ ] Customer needs change
- [ ] M&A activity

## Example Core Competencies Analysis

**Company:** Global Logistics Provider

**Core Competency 1:** Real-time Supply Chain Visibility
- Components: IoT sensors, predictive analytics, control tower platform
- Customer Value: 99.9% shipment tracking accuracy, proactive issue resolution
- Differentiation: Only provider with end-to-end visibility across all modes
- Protection: Proprietary algorithms, exclusive partnerships

**Core Competency 2:** Last-Mile Delivery Innovation
- Components: Route optimization AI, gig economy network, urban micro-hubs
- Customer Value: Same-day delivery in 50+ cities, 30% lower cost
- Differentiation: Largest flexible delivery network
- Protection: Network effects, brand relationships

**Core Competency 3:** Sustainable Logistics Solutions
- Components: Carbon tracking, green fleet, circular packaging
- Customer Value: 40% lower carbon footprint, sustainability reporting
- Differentiation: First carbon-neutral logistics provider
- Protection: Long-term renewable energy contracts, certified processes

**Strategic Focus:** Leverage technology competencies to expand into new verticals (healthcare, cold chain) while strengthening sustainability leadership.

---
*Completed by:* _____________
*Date:* _____________
*Next Review:* _____________