In this chapter, Professor W. Chan Kim sums up the hurdles for the company from red oceans to blue oceans. He develops the Tipping Point Leadership to overcome those hurdles. Usually, the 4 organizational hurdles to strategy execution are:
1) Cognitive: waking employees up to the need for a strategic shift.
2) Limited resources
3) Motivation: How to lead the employees to move fast and tenaciously to carry out a break from the status quo?
4) Politics: Opposition from powerful vested interests
Professor W. Chan Kim introduces Tipping Point Leadership which allows you how to triumph over those hurdles. This leadership skill can attenuate the organizational risk, moving fast at low cost, providing a break for the winning employees from the status quo.
The first iPhone was unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on 9th Jan 2007. The iPhone can function as video camera, camera phone, can send texts and receive visual voicemail, a portable media player, an internet device and games player etc. The MacBook Air is a portable Macintosh notebook computer. The first MacBook Air was a 13.3’ model. It is promoted as the World’s thinnest Notebook. The first introduction of MacBook Air was on 15th Jan 2008.
These 2 electronic devices are selling successfully in the world. However, Steve Jobs finds out quite a lot of people would like to read eBook in subway. There is a tremendously need of eBook reader which can allow people to read eBook with large screen, ease to carry and energy saver. Amazon released the Kindel First Generation on 19th Nov 2007. The selling price was US$399 and was sold out in five and a half hours. The device remained out of stock for five months until late April 2008. This news bring the CEO in Apple to invent a device which can be functioned more powerful than iPhone, MacBook Air and Amazon Kindle.
Quite a lot of managers would like to introduce a new idea to change the existing selling method, product or service in the organization. However, the top level of managers won’t have enough knowledge and experience to accept those ideas. Meanwhile, the managers should implement the tipping point leadership to overcome those hurdles. First of all, they should research the data from the disgruntled customers. Sum up all the complaints from them and study the existing problems.
Then write up a report to the organization and bring out a need for a strategic shift and a break from the status quo. The report should include the strategy canvas of transit. This strategy canvas graph can indicate the disproportionate influence with the new strategic plan.
Lacking in resources can be a very big hurdle in the new idea. The resource can be manpower, capital and facilities. Professor W. Chan Kim suggests the managers should find out the hot spots and cold spots in the organization. Hot spots are activities that have low resource input but high potential performance gains. Cold spots are the activities that have high resource input but low potential performance. The management level should relocate the resource and focus on hot spots rather and eliminate the cold spots. For instance, iPod is the device which is cold spot in developing this product. Therefore, Steve Jobs relocates the resources in developing the iPad and iPhone. Another way to cut the cost in executing the new idea, horse trading is very common in use within the Tipping Point Leadership. For example, free store warehouse in an organization can be traded with other vendors for electronic components.
Several ways to motivate the employees in the organization. Professor W Chan Kim introduces the Kingpins and fishbowl management in human resources. Kingpins are the people inside the organization who are natural leaders, who are well respected and persuasive, or who have an ability to unlock or block access to key resources. In Apple, Steve Jobs is the Kingpin who deliver speech to the audience and employees. He influences the smart phone users in the world. Once he is back to his management position from hospital, he leads his creative team, product design team and product development team in Apple in effective way. Successful leaders should carry out transparency, inclusion and fair process in production. They can set clear expectation in performance from everyone. In Apple company, all the employees are placed in particular department. Each department should respond in particular production. Even in Apple store, all the members are having their clear duty role. Atomization is used to make sure everyone in the company are working under the specific department to deliver their capabilities in each section respectively.
Execute the blue oceans strategy is challenging conventional wisdom. Tipping Point Leadership brings out the disproportionate influence on performance to achieve a strategic shift fast at low cost. It can brings out the political hurdle. The managers should find out the angels, devils and consigliere. Once the managers find out the consigliere who can spot all the landmines in the office. Then cooperate with the one who align to your idea and fight against the detractors with irrefutable facts and reason.
Very cool~ Loved this book. I'll admit I only read it because Nintendo's Reggie Fils Aime talked about it. Alot of cool ideas in here, I will be using in my own business. It's very very smart.
ReplyDeleteBtw, cool blog.