Once a company has developed a blue ocean strategy with a profitable business model, it must execute it. The challenge of execution exists, of course, for any strategy. Companies, like individuals, often have a tough time translating thought into action whether in red or blue oceans.
Knowing how to triumph over challenges is key to attenuating organizational risk. To varying degrees, companies may face all or a subset of the following four hurdles:
- The Cognitive Hurdle: Red oceans may not be the paths to future profitable growth, but they may have served the organization historically and employees have grown comfortable with them, so why rock the boat? People must be woken up to the imperative for strategic shift.
- The Resource Hurdle: It is assumed that the greater the shift in strategy, the greater the resources it requires for execution. But many companies find resources in notoriously short supply.
- The Motivational Hurdle: How do you motivate key players to move fast and tenaciously to carry out a break from the status quo?
- The Political Hurdle: As one manager put it, “In our organization you get shot down before you stand up.”
To overcome these hurdles, companies must abandon perceived wisdom on effecting change. Conventional wisdom asserts that the greater the change, the greater the resources and time you will need to bring about results. Instead, you need to flip conventional wisdom on its head using tipping point leadership.