Define your organization's core strengths from "summary" of Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley,Roger L. Martin
To win in the marketplace, it is essential to understand and leverage your organization's core strengths. These strengths are the unique capabilities and competencies that set your organization apart from competitors and enable you to deliver value to customers in a distinctive way. Identifying and defining these core strengths is a critical exercise that requires a deep understanding of your organization's capabilities, resources, and market positioning. To define your organization's core strengths, start by conducting a comprehensive assessment of your internal capabilities and resources. This involves identifying the key skills, expertise, technologies, and assets that your organization possesses and that give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Look at what your organization does exceptionally well, what sets you apart from competitors, and what customers value most about your products or services. Once you have identified your organization's core strengths, it is essential to prioritize and focus on developing and leveraging them to drive competitive advantage. This means aligning your strategy, operations, and resources around these core strengths to ensure that they are fully utilized and integrated into every aspect of your business. By concentrating on your core strengths, you can build a sustainable competitive advantage that is difficult for competitors to replicate. When defining your organization's core strengths, it is also important to be realistic and objective. Avoid overestimating or underestimating your capabilities and instead focus on identifying the unique strengths that truly differentiate your organization in the marketplace. This requires a clear-eyed assessment of your organization's strengths and weaknesses and a willingness to make tough decisions about where to focus your resources and efforts.- Defining your organization's core strengths is a fundamental aspect of developing a winning strategy. By identifying and leveraging these unique capabilities and competencies, you can create a competitive advantage that sets your organization apart in the marketplace. Focus on what your organization does best, prioritize your core strengths, and align your strategy around them to drive success and sustainable growth.