Seven sorts of knowledge constitute the foundation of abilities. Abilities usually do not come naturally but need to be developed. This post explains how to determine objectives for developing abilities.
Steps to determine objectives
Suppose that you have identified an ability that you deem relevant for a given purpose. How can you determine an objective to develop this ability? You can do this in three steps.
Significance
Define what the ability means for your purpose.
Direction
Define a course of action for developing the ability.
Priority
Define the importance and urgency of developing the ability.
Significance
You can perform a VRIO analysis to determine the significance of a given ability. This allows you to find out four relevant properties. These properties are:
Valuable
Able to exploit opportunities and defend against threats (yes/no).
Rare
Scarce and difficult to acquire in the market (yes/no).
Inimitable
Hard to copy or substitute (yes/no).
Organized
Set up to capitalize on resources (yes/no).
Direction
Determine a course of action for developing a given ability as follows:
Phase out
If it is not valuable (anymore).
Specialize
If it is valuable, but not rare.
Integrate
If it is valuable and rare, but not inimitable.
Exploit
If it is valuable, rare, and inimitable, but not organized.
Maintain
If it is valuable, rare, inimitable, and organized.
Priority
Determine a priority for developing a given ability as follows:
Do
If its development is urgent and requires your personal attention.
Plan
If its development is less urgent but requires your personal attention.
Delegate
If its development is urgent but does not require your personal attention.
Eliminate
If its development is less urgent and does not require your personal attention.