The Three Most Important Core Competencies an Organization Must Have

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A landscaper from Louisiana called me the other day to talk about her company’s business model, strategic plan, and organizational culture. Rapt with fulsome sincerity, intelligence and energy, the landscaper began sharing information on diverse topics, practical issues, and prescriptive actions intended to improve her company’s strategic position amongst an increasingly competitive local environment.

As her soliloquy accelerated, I interjected a detour by intimating that she should first examine her company’s fundamentals before addressing the aforementioned ethereal concepts. That detour centered on her inability to identify the company’s core competencies.

Core competencies are the unique qualities, proficiencies, and capabilities that give a business a distinct advantage over its competitors; the core competencies are the exclusive, chromosomal elements that manifest singular themes, accountabilities, and practices that no competitor can reasonably replicate. Some generic core competencies include: high-quality service, sustained innovation, creative marketing, economies of scale, integrated efficiency, seamless technology, and focused cost containment.

I suggested the landscaper initially consider the three core competencies that all companies must possess to approach their potential, succeed in the marketplace, and serve as a mature industry leader.

Alignment. This core competency emphasizes the precision with which a company’s major subsystems integrate efficiently, in both operational and strategic applications, to improve decision-making, results, and sustained value.

Per the Galbraith “Star Model” shown below, the basic alignment model defines five subsystems that must be inextricably cohesive. Strategy is the company’s business goals, values, and mission. Structure specifies the placement of resources and power as depicted in an organizational chart. Processes delineate accuracy with which business functions are conducted; commonly captured in standard operating procedures. Rewards are the systems of reinforcement or reprimand to validate desired execution. People represent the degree to which the company’s human resources are non-bureaucratic, legal, and efficacious.

Achievement. This core competency is the degree to which a landscape company embodies a capitalistic spirit to attain stated business objectives (e.g., revenue, job quality, revenue per employee, gross margin, staffing levels) consistently. Examples include bonus systems, compensation plans, rewards and recognition programs, career ladder ascendancy, and intrinsic motivators that encourage, affirm, and promote entrepreneurial growth, prudent risk-taking, and multidimensional prestige.

Accountability. This core competency is decision ownership; the variance of one’s actions relative to a performance standard. Common accountability methods include assorted employee feedback mechanisms: 30-day new hire review, monthly one-on-one meetings, financial/operations review meetings, annual performance evaluations, ongoing communication, clarification, and coaching.

With that principled framework conveyed, I suggested the landscaper revisit her company’s business practices to define their breadth, strength, and utility relative to the three essential core competencies, and perhaps others, that are capable of increasing the success quotient of the company’s business plan, organizational culture, and ordinal placement in the competitive local green industry marketplace.

Oh, by the way, tell me again. What are your company’s core competencies?

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