Purpose
Score each of a company's claimed competitive advantages against the VRIN framework to separate durable moats from temporary or eroding ones — producing a ranked view of what actually sustains market position and where the advantage is at risk of being copied, substituted, or neutralized.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Assess whether a company's competitive advantage is durable or temporary
- Evaluate the strength of a moat before an investment, acquisition, or strategy pivot
- Diagnose why a competitor is closing the gap on a previously defensible position
- Prepare a competitive strategy review or board strategy deck
- Decide where to invest capital to reinforce or build a lasting advantage
- Stress-test a differentiation claim against imitation and substitution risk
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Company/business unit: The entity whose advantages are being assessed
- Advantages to evaluate: The list of claimed competitive advantages (3–8 works best; e.g., proprietary technology, brand, network effects, cost structure, distribution, data assets)
- Industry and competitive set: The market and the primary competitors
- Evidence per advantage: Any proof points — market share, margins, switching costs, patents, customer retention, cost per unit
- Time horizon: How far out durability should be assessed (e.g., 3 years, 5 years)
- Known threats: New entrants, technology shifts, substitutes, or regulatory changes on the horizon
- Strategic goal: What decision this analysis informs (defend, invest, divest, reposition)
If evidence per advantage is thin, assess against the framework using stated reasoning and flag each score as low-confidence.
Instructions
Step 1: Frame Each Advantage as a Resource or Capability
For every advantage on the list, restate it precisely as a resource (something the company owns) or a capability (something the company does). Vague claims like "great brand" become testable statements like "brand commands a 15% price premium in premium segment." An advantage that can't be stated concretely cannot be scored — flag it for clarification.
Step 2: Score Each Advantage Against the Four VRIN Dimensions
Rate each advantage 0–3 on all four dimensions. Show the reasoning for every score, not just the number.
V — Valuable (0–3): Does it exploit an opportunity or neutralize a threat, and does it show up in customer willingness to pay or cost position?
- 3 = directly drives revenue, margin, or share; 0 = no measurable market impact
R — Rare (0–3): Do few or no competitors possess it?
- 3 = unique or held by ≤1 rival; 0 = table stakes every competitor has
I — Inimitable (0–3): How hard is it to copy? Assess the imitation barriers:
- Causal ambiguity (competitors can't tell why it works)
- Path dependence (built over time, can't be bought)
- Social complexity (culture, relationships, reputation)
- Legal/structural protection (patents, contracts, exclusivity)
- 3 = multiple durable barriers; 0 = copyable within one product cycle
N — Non-substitutable (0–3): Can a competitor achieve the same customer outcome by different means?
- 3 = no viable strategic substitute; 0 = readily substituted by an alternative approach or technology
Step 3: Classify Each Advantage
Sum the four scores (0–12) and assign a durability class:
- Sustainable moat (10–12): Strong on all four dimensions — protect and leverage
- Durable but exposed (7–9): Strong overall with one weak dimension — the weak dimension is the vulnerability to address
- Temporary advantage (4–6): Real today but eroding — expect competitors to close the gap
- At risk / parity (0–3): Not a genuine advantage — stop treating it as one
Name the single lowest-scoring dimension for each advantage as its "primary erosion risk."
Step 4: Identify the Weakest Link and Threat Timeline
For advantages scoring below 10, specify what would have to happen for the advantage to erode, and estimate a timeline against the given horizon (e.g., "Inimitability collapses within 18 months once the core patent expires"). Tie each to the known threats provided.
Step 5: Prioritized Reinforcement Plan
Produce ranked recommendations ordered by strategic leverage — which action most increases total durability across the portfolio:
- For each sustainable moat: how to extend or compound it
- For each durable-but-exposed advantage: the specific move to shore up its weak dimension
- For each temporary advantage: whether to invest to convert it into a moat, harvest it, or exit
- Flag any single point of failure where multiple advantages depend on the same underlying resource
Step 6: Portfolio Verdict
State an overall assessment: is the company's competitive position anchored in genuine sustainable advantages, or dependent on temporary ones? Be direct.
Output Format
- Structure: VRIN scoring table for all advantages, followed by per-advantage narrative and a ranked reinforcement plan
- Length: 900–1,300 words
- Format: Scoring table (advantage × V/R/I/N × total × class) plus structured narrative sections
- Sections: Advantage framing → VRIN scoring table → per-advantage analysis with erosion risk → weakest-link threat timeline → prioritized reinforcement plan → portfolio verdict
- Tone: Chief Strategy Officer — analytical, evidence-driven, willing to call a claimed advantage what it actually is
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Every advantage is scored 0–3 on all four VRIN dimensions with stated reasoning — no unexplained scores
- [ ] Each advantage has a total score, a durability class, and a named primary erosion risk
- [ ] Advantages scoring below 10 include a specific erosion scenario tied to a timeline
- [ ] Reinforcement recommendations are ranked by strategic leverage — not listed arbitrarily
- [ ] Any single point of failure shared across advantages is flagged
- [ ] The portfolio verdict takes a clear position — no hedging
Notes
- The most common error is inflating the Inimitable score — most advantages that "feel" unique are copyable within one product cycle; require concrete imitation barriers before scoring above 1
- A high V + R with low I is the classic trap: valuable and rare today, but a fast-follower target — these are temporary advantages dressed as moats
- Where inputs conflict with the claimed advantage (e.g., flat margins alongside a "premium brand" claim), trust the evidence over the claim and score accordingly
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills