The Blue Ocean Strategy is not just about numbers or processes. It's also about people. If they are not at least half as passionate about change as you are, you will not succeed. No matter how well you've planned your transition to a blue ocean strategy. If your people don't trust you, you won't get far. What do you need to do? How do you engage them and show them that they really matter?
How to get started in your company?
Blue Ocean strategy is built on one basic thing - empathy. And it's pretty fundamental. You have to
understand your employees. Understand what they're afraid of, what they don't believe in, and when they can be creative.
It's not just about making employees and your colleagues in the boardroom or management feel good. You should better understand their emotional needs. The whole journey to the blue ocean can be very stressful for them. It can be an insurmountable challenge for them. Uncertainty.
And what do you need to do as a CEO or business owner? Figure out where and what their concerns are. Get to know, explain and involve everyone in the process so that every single person gradually understands the change, experiences it for themselves and is then willing to support and manage it.
Let's take a look at the steps you can take in your company on the road to the blue ocean.
1. Break the big change into small steps
The first step is actually a kind of decomposition. Crash. We break the puzzle down into its individual pieces. You also assemble a complex building block one block at a time.
It works the same way in companies. Instead of throwing yourself into a massive and often incomprehensible transformation, start with small, achievable tasks. People will be helped, not overwhelmed, by the scale of change. Each small step will boost their confidence and make them feel like they can handle the change. This kind of unbundling also triggers new thinking and pushes the boundaries of what is possible without making people feel overwhelmed.
2. Let them figure it out for themselves
From passive I don't know to active and confident I know, I'll get on it. People have more confidence in change when they "discover" it for themselves than when you just keep telling them over and over that the change is simply necessary.
The process of personal discovery allows them to become aware of the need for change through a concrete experience, for example, interaction with the market or customers. It's not about the information that someone gives them, but the experience they create that leads them to it. When people themselves discover that things can be done differently (and better) in the company, they will be much more willing to get involved and actively participate in the search for the blue ocean.t.
3. Recognize their value and necessity
When people know that their opinions and contributions are valued and that they are part of the decision-making process, they will be much more motivated to take action. A transparent and fair process means that people feel part of something bigger and know that their input is being taken into account. In this way, you increase the willingness to collaborate and participate in change. And that's exactly what you need.
Change - whether it's entering a new market or launching a new product - never happens without the people who actually make it happen. When you empower your people and make it clear that their role is critical, you transform them from passive recipients to drivers of change.
And the pullers? They're already able to get things done.