Audience and Objectives:
The leaders were global and cross-functional and the division president was looking to foster innovative thinking in managers’ minds, while making sure that the process could be applicable to external customer-facing functions as well as for internal-customer-facing functions (IT, HR, Legal, R&D).
Solution:
StratX developed a customized 2-day session, with 2 phases.
In the first phase, teams competed in a computer-based simulation in order to learn about the 4 steps of Blue Ocean Strategy and how to move away from the bloody waters of competition towards the uncontested market space of blue oceans. Using the simulation case, teams debated how they could drive customer value up while at the same time decreasing the cost to the company and unlocking new demand. Specifically, they had a chance to first build their ''As Is'' strategy canvas, then deconstruct the market boundaries by applying the 6 Paths, then use the ERRC grid in order to eliminate, raise, reduce and create competing factors, and then finally create the new ''To Be'' strategy canvas, which describes the new blue ocean offering.
The second phase focused on applying the 4-step process to the real world and looking at creating blue ocean offerings for the client company. Intact teams looked at the current competing factors and how they could use the ERRC grid to develop a new offering in order to unlock new demand. Teams were able to pitch their big ideas in a “start-up competition” like forum called the Value Fair. After each team has pitched, participants shopped for the best ideas and voted for the best offer.
Results:
Participants surfaced exciting growth-generating and cost-reducing ideas that will be implemented in real life. In addition, several participants decided to replicate the process with their local teams in key geographies in order to generate innovative ideas for the business at the local level and to drive local ownership of these ideas.
Other divisions are now considering the possibility of adopting a similar approach to drive innovation and growth.
