3-part series on mission/vision statements

byDrTerry

63 followers

2 years ago

3-PART SERIES ON MISSION/VISION STATEMENTS

This blog is the first in a 3-part series on creating compelling mission/vision statements for your business.

PART 1 - Red Ocean/Blue Ocean Theory, where you create a business environment for your customers without unwanted competition.

PART 2 - Create your Mission Statement for the present.

PART 3 - Create your Vision Statement for the future.

THE MARKET UNIVERSE

The market universe we compete in is full of apex predators, the largest of which are like sharks! To be competitive, we must out-think and spend more than our competition to get our little sliver. Competition is fierce, and overhead is cut to a minimum to guarantee any slim profit. This market universe is dog-eat-dog for every penny we fight for.

RED OCEAN/BLUE OCEAN THEORY

First defined by professors Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their best-selling book "Blue Ocean Strategy," this theory has become a highly successful model for today's businesses.

RED OCEAN

The Red Ocean defines today's market universe with the strategy of dog-eat-dog. To succeed, you must compete head-to-head with other companies within your industry, with the oldest companies receiving the majority of profits. Essentially, every company not in the top tier competes for scraps not worth the time for larger and older businesses. Welcome to the Red Ocean!

BLUE OCEAN

What if you could create your ocean? An ocean with no Apex predators other than your business? What if only one or two other companies existed in this big Blue Ocean, with a market that used a different set of rules that encouraged friendly competition?

WHICH OCEAN WILL YOU DO BUSINESS IN?

Would you rather compete in the Blue Ocean with little competition or the dog-eat-dog Red Ocean? Do you want to set the rules, and your clients come to you because they resonate well with your mission, purpose, values, and superior product/service?

CREATING YOUR BLUE OCEAN

ANALYZE

Analyze your industry. Research your competition and see what their customers are saying. What are they offering, and what are they not offering? Keep well-organized notes to refer back to later. Analyze your industry till you begin to see trends and gaps. What can you change for the better? What new niche can you fill or create? What are customers satisfied with, and what are they dissatisfied with? Look carefully at their mission and vision statements. What are they missing, and where are the gaps?

DEFINE A PROBLEM, ANGLE, OR PRODUCT

What new trends, demands, problems, or services can you solve, modify, or add? What will make clients happier with your offering than with the status quo? How can you make your client's lives better/easier through your services/products?

FOUR BLUE OCEAN STRATEGIES/ACTIONS TO FOLLOW

1. Eliminate - Every company in a Red Ocean has actions they have long competed with other companies on. Which actions can be eliminated/changed to serve your client's needs better?
2. Raise - Which actions can or should be elevated above existing industry standards?
3. Reduce - Which actions can or should be lowered below existing industry standards?
4. Create - What new actions can be created that have never been offered by the industry before?

You'll see trends you can exploit when you have answered the above questions. You can offer your clients new products/services that no company before you have submitted, placing you in a unique position as an industry leader!

References

Kim, C., & Mauborgne, R. (n.d.). What Are Red and Blue Oceanbs? Blue Ocean - Shift, Strategy, Leadership. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/what-are-red-blue-oceans/#:~:text=Professors%20Chan%20Kim%20and%20....

Mind Tools (2023, January 1). Mission Statements and Vision Statements. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.mindtools.com/aqzfi79/mission-statements-and-vision-statements