My two paisa on the topic of "Core Competence"

by Amjad Desai

Disclaimer : If you are Not an Indian from the city of Mumbai born in the 70s, 80s or 90s who speaks Hindi then i'd advice don’t bother reading further as this essay might not be suitable for you. Also note that the overuse of hinglish (Hindi written in English) in the article and reference to certain places and lingo might cause existential crisis in some NRIs from Mumbai so if you are one of them then read at your own risk. And last but not least, as a Mumbaikar who bleeds chai, i strongly believe that if something can’t be explained using food, films, mythology or cricket then it isn't worth understanding. Consider yourself warned and now with the disclaimer done, let’s move aun & give #GyaanPeDhyaan.

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I am not much of a traveller but i do love visiting my dual hometown - Nashik & Mumbai. Whenever I am in the city of Nashik, I never leave the city without having the timeless "Salim bhai ki chai". Similarly in Mumbai, I have a favorite eatery every few kilometers from Churchgate to Goregaon for e.g. I have to eat the Vada Pav near Mithibhai college or the Sandwizza in Santacruz. Don't worry, I won't make you cry by mentioning the super popular spots from downtown and neither is this essay  a top 10 list of my favorite food spots. Though, it is about how a Business stays on top of our mind because of its speciality.

For e.g. below is my top of mind list for certain food items

  • Sizzler bole to Yokos
  • Chinese bole to Discovery / Uncle's kitchen
  • Kabab bole to Bade miyan
  • Falooda bole to Haji Ali juice centre

Its like baaki sab to Aeiwayi hai.. time pass kar rahe hai. #bharosa hi nahi hota hai kisi aur pe. I could be having falooda anywhere in the world and i would go " Ye to kuch bhi nahi hai.. Mumbai mein Haji Ali ka falooda try kiya hai? superb hai " As if i am getting paid to make the comparison everytime.

It seems that once we are in love with a product & brand, we are more than happy to give it our stamp of authority by recommending it to every one including the minuscule reader base of one's essays. And i am willing to bet that just like me many of you al always ready to recommended a place or two to friends or colleague.

Associations based on trust in quality last as long as quality exist and the longer the relationship last with a brand the stronger the trust in quality. Its like #Fevicol ka jod, tootenga nahi.

Even the Pan Tapri waala's across mumbai knows that word of mouth is the best form of advertisement. All you have to do as a business is to do something so good that your customer can't stop talking about it. Do something that define your core competence and helps build your brand. It’s what everyone would trust you or recommend you for. Once you have it, boss... "#Life Set"

So did you ask what is core competence ?

It is a kind of work/thing that you are really good at and can get done better than anyone else. You may have the talent to do other things decently but this is not any other thing it is that one thing that you know you can’t be beaten at.

Jaise ke,

  • Mom ke haath ka khaana
  • Nashik ka angoor
  • Nagpur ka Santra (orange)
  • Mumbai ka streetfood
  • Sardar ki gaali
  • PM ka Bhaashan aur Man ki baat

Your core competence is something you can do with your eyes closed, your hands tied, locked in a box with the keys thrown into the bottom of the sea.. oh did I forget to mention while sipping your day/night beverage .. (mere mortals might be wondering how would one do that - keep thinking).

Core competence is that thing you are so good at it sometimes you are also wondering why people pay you so much for having fun.

Bole to total “Bacchan” mode.

Still need more assistance to understand then imagine

  • Sachin ki batting
  • Harshad ki betting
  • Messi ki goal scoring
  • Schumi ki Racing ( prayers are with him)
  • MJ ki dunking
  • Nadal ka clay court pe tennis
  • Madhuri ka dance
  • Bacchan ki awaaz
  • Jackie Chan ka Kung fu

It’s your speciality and the key reason why your customers/ audience remembers you, loves you and why the competition feels helpless yet can’t hide their admiration.

Your core competence is key ingredient of your competitive moat (DalDal) my friend.

“Competition ke liye is daldal ko paar karna mushkil hi nahi, na mumkin hai, Mona darling”

Core competence is a special thing that can make your business untouchable for years to come.

Aisi divya shakti ke koi choo nahi sakta tumhein, Shaktiman

Samjha? Nope!

Koi baat nahi dost, let’s look at some examples from business - Google ki search engine, Amul ka butter, Amazon ki supply chain, Microsoft ki office,Apple ki design, Salesforce Ki APIs, aur Zoom ki kismat.

Let me explain, say for example if you are looking for something online, its a very high chance the first place you will start with is Google search page. Bole to dimaag mein pole position.

Why would you do that?

Cause you know that there is a very high chances of finding something relevant from there. Google wold recommend a list based on its algorithm and you might find what you are looking for in the first few listed items. People tend to forget that Google is at its core a recommendation engine which is listing sites based on a bias that it has developed. Instead of revolting against this bias we actually bend and twist to please the overlord of the Internet.

But we have to admit that Google's search engine is very good at finding things and the results it shows are most of the times relevant. Without Google, the chances for finding what you are looking for is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Their entire business model depends on how good they are at helping people find things on the internet.

In short, it is their core competence that has build a competitive moat around their advertisement business making them untouchable.

You get the drift now, don’t ya?

It’s the skill, expertise and the secret sauce that you built over time that’s puts you ahead of your competition.

As Javed Jaffery would say in the Maggi ads "Its Different"

Hope it’s clear now and we can move ahead. What !!! still don’t get it.

Bhai tu ek kaam kar .. Samajh meri baat. Tu Netflix pe nayi series aayi hai vo dekh le.. ye moh maya tere liye nahi hai. Baaki ke log you can please continue to put more dhyaan on the gyaan

So now that you understand core competence the next thing the Shaana’s from Dongri would ask.. Kaiko? In other words, why do we need core competence?Dada, It’s part of your USP.

USP ? Ye kis chidiya ka naam hai, bhai ?

Hmm , imagine a gangster calling an rich businessman for vasooli and threatening his family - guaranteed sale, right?  So in this case the builder is the client, product is families long life, Bhaigiri is your business, Kidnaping for ransom is the business model, threatening family for money is the core competence and quality gunmen / goonda log is your USP. Bole to “isko laga dala to life jhinga lala”.*

(Note: This Sales strategy may have a high conversion rate but is highly not recommended or it could lead to customers being added to extinct species and you to the endangered category which is never good for business)

To Chote, USP is the Pan Parag that you will use for the ‘Baratiyo ka swagat’. People get attracted to your business because of this and might stay on for more.

Ab tu phir poochenga “Iski zaroorat kya hai, bhai ?”

Soch !!! Agar tera ek judwa bhai hota. DITTO tere jaisa, to phir kuch differentiate karne ke liye chahiye na. Teri pehchaan kya hai? Aur Bhai mere, In business every second business is Judwa i.e. selling the same services.

To jaise lalita ji kehti hai “Daam kum ho aur vahi safedi to bhai koi kuch aur kyon le”

Your USP and your core competence is that part of your business which helps you become the Surf excel, the phantom cigarette, the Thumps Up, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitaabh Bachchan, Piyush Pandey of your business I.e. you own the “top of mind” spot in your category. Its part of your business that will define to a large extent your story and your legacy. It’s what drives people to your business.

In other words, your core competence is that stuff that when you do it stays done. Bole to Khallas.

Chalo Bhai log, aaj ke liye Kaafi hai. Now back to work.