--- title: Key Capabilities Create the Value that Drives Competitive Advantage description: Key Capabilities are processes and people who perform the value-added activities that build a company’s product/service offerings. image: http://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/hub/358589/file-2538615292-png/img/Blog_Photos/Key_Capabilities.png --- [![Thinking_Dimensions_Global_Logo_black.png](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Thinking-Dimensions-New-Logo-FINAL-1_2.png-1.webp?width=600&height=280&name=Thinking-Dimensions-New-Logo-FINAL-1_2.png-1.webp "Thinking_Dimensions_Global_Logo_black.png")](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com) ![TDG_BLOG_Head](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TDG_BLOG_Head.jpg?width=2000&name=TDG_BLOG_Head.jpg "TDG_BLOG_Head") # Blog - Operational Problem Solving ## [Key Capabilities Create the Value that Drives Competitive Advantage](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/key-capabilities-create-the-value-that-drives-competitive-advantage) Feb 24, 2015 5:09:00 PM ![Key_Capabilities](http://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/hub/358589/file-2538615292-png/img/Blog_Photos/Key_Capabilities.png?width=275&name=Key_Capabilities.png "Key_Capabilities") Key Capabilities are those processes and people who perform the value-added activities that build a company’s product/service offerings and support the growth of markets served.  Projects to enhance capabilities minimize business/operational costs, maximize product/service quality, and deliver repeatable on-time performance.  Key Capabilities are the value creation engine that forms the foundation for building business [Competitive Advantage](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/resources/blog/strategy/the-power-of-competitive-advantage). * The following is an abridged version of the full article, which you can download here.* *[![Download the full article here...](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/358589/ae93aa70-003a-42c5-845e-f677ab4e77c2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/358589/ae93aa70-003a-42c5-845e-f677ab4e77c2) * ** Myth:  Building process and people key capabilities takes a long time.  (Often Key Capabilities can be created in weeks) ** **1. Analyze Performance **– What are the strengths, weaknesses, and competitiveness of your key business processes/people capabilities that drive strategic and operational value for your organization? **2. Prepare Stakeholders **– Set capability project expectations and responsibilities that expedite performance change.  Establish criteria that builds consensus on project priorities and solution design focus.  ** 3. Implement Capabilities** – Aside from just delivering the desired results, effective implementation means changing performers’ behaviors and providing the tools to track, measure and manage results.  **4. Optimize Capability Performance** – Sustaining and improving key capabilities is a prerequisite for creating competitive advantage.  Key Capabilities generate the product and service offerings that create business profits and growth.    **Summary** – Building key capabilities is more than streamlining a process to maximize performance, it is also about changing people’s behaviors.  People performance is often overlooked in key capability project implementation.  Solution design is easy, it is the ability to embed sustained performance management of keycapabilities that differentiates your company’s competitive advantage and ensures client results.  [![Download the full article here...](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/358589/ae93aa70-003a-42c5-845e-f677ab4e77c2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/358589/ae93aa70-003a-42c5-845e-f677ab4e77c2) Topics: [leadership](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/topic/leadership) ![Keith Pelkey](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/file-667449521-jpg/img/Profile_Pictures/Keith_Pelkey.jpg?width=100&height=100&name=Keith_Pelkey.jpg) #### Written by [Keith Pelkey](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/author/keith-pelkey) St. Louis, MO, USA | Partner of Thinking Dimensions Global Mr. Pelkey facilitates the design and implementation of strategically focused process and people capability enhancements to drive business competitiveness. His expertise lies in building operational management and team relationships to construct business process performance that delivers measureable and strategically aligned results. With 20 years of global experience Mr. Pelkey has advised clients in multiple industries across North America, Europe, and India. CATEGORIES [IT SERVICE ](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/it-csi) [OPERATIONS ](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving) [STRATEGY ](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/strategy) [KEPNER QUOTES ](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/kepner) ### Recent Posts SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER Sign up for our newsletter and receive updates that will help your business to grow. 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