A quick introduction to basic business concepts aimed at engineers and all who wish a simple and quick explanation. Part 5 in the series is covering the concept of core competencies.

1. BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS:
CORE COMPETENCIES
Jan Isakovic
@iYan

2. SO WHAT IS A CORE
COMPETENCE?
“A specific factor that a business sees as being central to the
way the company or its employees work”
1. It is not easy for competitors to imitate.
2. It can be reused widely for many products and markets.
3. It must contribute to the end consumer's experienced
benefits.

3. IN SHORT..
= what we do BEST and what we cannot outsource
• Amazon and its platform
• Netflix and content delivery
• Apple and product design process
• Google and search+advertising

4. WHY IS IT USEFUL?
• Core competencies help us focus on doing only
the stuff that we do best and don’t waste time
with the rest
• “Why are these non-essential things being allowed to
consume valuable resources?”

5. YOUR CORE COMPETENCIES
• Reminder: underlying skill, ability, knowledge, experience, technology or process
!
• So what are the core competencies of your
company?
• How do they relate to your products and
services?

6. CORE COMPETENCE VS. CORE BUSINESS
Core business today
CC1 CC2
CC3 CC4
Core business today
CC1 CC2
CC3 CC4
!
• They describe who you ARE, not what you DO
• You can add new core competencies, too
• Netflix: from content delivery to content creation
• Amazon: from utilizing to selling the platform
Core business
tomorrow

7. NEW CORE COMPETENCIES
What core competencies might be useful for your
company?

8. BUSINESS FOR ENGINEERS
1: Customers and sales 4: Value proposition
2: Product conception 5: Core competencies
3: Minimum Viable Product 6: Company values
Jan Isakovic
@iYan