Ten years ago, two INSEAD professors broke ground by introducing 'blue ocean
strategy," a new model for discovering uncontested markets that are
ripe for growth. In this article, they apply their concepts and tools to
what is perhaps the greatest challenge of leadership:
closing the gulf between the potential and the realized talent and
energy of employees. Research indicates that this gulf is vast:
According to Gallup, 70% of workers are disengaged from their jobs. If
companies could find a way to convert them into engaged employees, the
results could be transformative. The trouble is, managers lack a clear
understanding of what changes they could make to bring out the best in
everyone. Here, Kim and Mauborgne offer a solution to that problem: a
systematic approach to uncovering, at each level of the organization,
which leadership acts and activities will inspire
employees to give their all, and a process for getting managers
throughout the company to start doing them. Blue ocean leadership
works because the managers' "customers"-- that is, the people managers
oversee and report to--are involved in identifying what's effective and
what isn't. Moreover, the approach doesn't require leaders to alter who
they are, just to undertake a different set of tasks. And that kind of
change is much easier to implement and track than changes to values and
mind-sets.