Outlook Journal, June 2004
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Mastery of a core skill, talent or competence is essential to achieving high performance in nearly every endeavor. Look no further than the Olympic Games for inspiring examples of focus, discipline and determination to perform at the highest levels—in essence, mastery in action.
In the business world, we see these same attributes in the drive to achieve mastery. Leaders of high-performance businesses understand which core competencies are critical to driving value. They develop strategies to master those core competencies and to differentiate their organizations from competitors. They also understand when and how to deepen their mastery by partnering in areas outside of their core businesses—resisting the “made here” mentality and choosing, instead, to pursue alliances, partnerships and outsourcing relationships.
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The concept of mastery has emerged as an important theme in Accenture’s comprehensive research initiative to identify the characteristics of high-performance businesses. In the cover story of this issue of Outlook, we define a framework that addresses mastery within a given function or process, as well as mastery across functions. In addition to the framework, the authors present mastery scales, developed from our research, to help companies further their mastery efforts. Using these scales, companies can assess their levels of mastery and build road maps to help them advance from basic to progressive to pioneering mastery. The article also focuses onthe true pioneers, whose innovations in mastery have led to standout performance, setting them apart in their industries.
I hope this reading provides inspiration as you reflect on your own organization’s core competencies and the options available to take mastery to the next level. I also hope you enjoy this issue’s other articles, which offer more insights and ideas.
As we continue to emerge from the global economic downturn, now is the time for us as leaders to focus on mastery as a path to high performance and a brighter future. In a sense, we are all athletes in this pursuit, so let the games begin.
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