Know Your Core Competencies For Effective Business Messaging (Kaizenblog Recap)

There is this client I’m working with who is trying to come up with a more interesting elevator pitch. Crafting a more interesting message has become more important as he brings his business to a more organized and sophisticated level. Before he could just explain his technical skills and that was effective but it’s not working as well now.

Another client is focused on shifting out of the role of chief technical expert/team leader to more of a CEO-type leader. The way he leads meetings, the questions he chooses to ask, and even how he provides accountability to his direct reports is undergoing a major change. The way he frames his messaging is two-fold: 1) establishing himself in his new role and 2) clearly communicating the day-to-day expectations of the organization so his people can effectively do their jobs.

What is common with both of these business owners? Knowing their core competencies supports how effective they are at communicating. It is always easier to operate from a position of strength since you’ve already honed these skills anyway. People respond better when you are confident.

In this week’s #kaizenblog chat on Twitter, we focused on this topic: “Know Your Core Competencies For Better Biz Messaging.” Messaging is more than marketing to your customers. You also have to pay attention to internal messaging. But Valeria Maltoni (@ConversationAge) and I got curious about what relationship knowing your core competencies had on business messaging. As usual there are bits of wisdom and side conversations that could be Twitter chats of their own so here is the Transcript for #kaizenblog – Core Competencies for you.

It seemed to make sense to start at the beginning, How do you know your core competencies?

It is tempting to focus entirely on the marketing view of messaging and there is value in that since it can be a great place of learning since we had tweets that described core competencies in terms of relationships with clients and customers. However, we also had tweets that described flexibility has being a part of implementing our core competencies effectively.

• Karimacatherine (@karimacatherine)-”Core competency comes from experience and dirty hands, as well as ability to be flexible.”
• Stephen Denny (@Note_To_CMO)-”Core competencies=the intersection of what you are passionate about doing and what others think we do well.”
• Danny Brown (@dannybrown)-”As long as your core competencies are fluid so you can adapt as needed.”

The conversation seemed to morph into a recognition that some environments and people have different expectations. The desire to have a niche for one’s business was acknowledged. It may even be that flexibility is a core competency that one may need to cultivate.

• Mr. Brown tweeted, “Niche is good for for “bread and butter” but needs to be more flexible to offer to more outlets.”
• Mr. Denny stated,”…w/ F500′s/MNC’s, deep specialization helps. Domain or functional expertise req’d.”

Which led us to our second question, how do we keep message focused on what we really do?

• Danny Brown-”Re. Q2: By setting your stall out from start (ethics, business practices, people skills) & living them each day.”
• This seemed to be echoed by Tom A. Sacker (@tomasacker), “Q2 How do you keep message focused on what you really do? Do it! Actions speak louder than messages.”
• Joshua Pearlstein (@jpearlstein), “Clear communication within your company and your clients.”
• Mark Chidwick (@markchidwick),”Do what you’re good at…and not one thing more.”
• Lizzie Pauker (@lizziepauker) further elaborated this point,”Q2-U need solid understanding of what u really do & what that means to ur target market in order to keep ur message focused.”
• Valeria Maltoni reminded us to use self-awareness,”also, listen to yourself. When do you light up when you are explaining what you’re about.”

There was a fascinating side conversation that encompassed the process of learning one’s core competencies (trial and error) and using “unlearning” as a way to deepen one’s skills. Please check out the transcript for this part of the conversation!

When you know what you are most talented at, it makes sense to determine what truly brings the most value to your client and customers. What criteria do you use to determine the real value you bring to your clients/customers?

• Jeff Hurt (@jeffhurt)- “Q3: Answer-A level of self confidence needed that I & my service is worth my fee.”
• Karimacatherine-”Acknowledging core competency can take time. it can take falling, stumbling and sometimes, striking gold. do it w/ passion.”
• MaryAnnHalford (@MaryAnnHalford)- “Client WIIFM is definitely a critera cornerstone”
• Nancy Garcia (@digitalng)- “Value can’t always be measured in dollars. Van Gogh added value to society and culture.”

What did we figure out in our chat? Well, there is something to be said for self-knowledge. Core competencies are more than a set of skills. They are accompanied by passion and a process of self-discovery. Feedback from others aids in understanding of our true talents that also bring value. In the end, our messages are more powerful when we are willing to fail, unlearn, and develop relationships with other people.

What are your core competencies and how do you know they are?

How would you answer the discussion questions?

What do you wish we had discussed in more depth?