14/10/2020
IS GROWING YOUR BUSINESS YOUR PRIORITY?
If you’re like most executives or entrepreneurs in the world, then growing your business is at the top of your agenda. Sure, you may be profitable today, successfully battling it out with your competitors in a red ocean. But what about tomorrow?
Is staying in your comfort zone harming your business’s future prospects? Is the fear of changing your strategy getting in the way of long-term profitable growth? What if the competition edges you out?
DON'T PANIC. You're not alone.
Here are the four common excuses we hear that might keep you from growing your business and some of the reasons why you shouldn’t let them get in the way of your company’s future growth.
1. “We’re not a start-up!”
Do you think start-ups have a natural advantage in creating new market space? Think again. Whether you’re a startup or an established player, Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne’s research shows that blue ocean opportunities are everywhere and that both established industries and new players can create new market space.
It’s true that startups aren’t hindered by a rigid organizational structure or pre-existing investments. But they also don’t have the market reach, rich pool of talent, and resources that most incumbents have, which are equally critical to creating blue oceans.
The bottom line: creating blue oceans is less a matter of whether you are a startup or an established player. It has more to do with your strategic perspective.
2. “We have a business to run. We can’t just change everything.”
You’re bound to feel some anxiety at the thought of making changes to your organization. But chances are the competition and new market entrants are already threatening your future growth and profitability. If you don’t take a good look at your business now, you may end up worse off.
A blue ocean mindset encourages you to take a closer look at your entire portfolio of businesses and see where the opportunities for growth lie.
It’s about striking a balance between the businesses or products that contribute to your revenue today, and those that are setting you up for success in the future.
The good news is that when you take a blue ocean approach, you can achieve this in a way that minimizes risk and maximizes opportunity.
3. “We don’t have the time or creativity to come up with such a strategy.”
This is perhaps the most commonly heard excuse – that defining a strategy will cost you too much time and that you’re not up to the task.
Blue ocean offers a step-by-step methodology that brings structure to the creative process of building a strategy. It achieves that in a way that opens up your creative lens in an efficient way.
By helping you ask yourself the right questions about your business, a blue ocean process makes sure that you stay focused and effective on your path towards creating new market space while building alignment in your organization.
4. “This might look good on paper, but it’s not practically feasible.”
It’s true that a strategy is not much use if it can’t be executed. But there are countless examples where companies big and small took the blue ocean approach and stood apart from the competition.
Why not be one of them?
If you caught yourself making any of these excuses, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Check out the Blue Ocean Practical Introduction™ Online Course – to help you get started on your blue ocean.
The course will introduce you to blue ocean frameworks for structured, creative thinking, along with a set of tools and guidelines. It will help you minimize the risk of venturing into new waters and set you on the right path towards future growth.
It’s interactive, fun, with multiple examples to help you look at the market from a different perspective
Check it out and start creating your blue ocean strategy today.
