Is Your BHAG Drowning In A Red Ocean?

When working on your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), understanding your market space is key.  Are you drowning in a Red Ocean or setting sail in a Blue Ocean?

Red Oceans are markets where everyone is fighting over the same piece of meat.  Is your industry becoming commoditized and it’s all about beating your competitor?  Are prospects decreasing and profit margins stalled?  If so, you’re in the shark-infested, bloody waters of a Red Ocean - in desperate need of a lifeboat.

Blue Oceans are a wide-open, new market where there is no competition.  Companies basking in a Blue Ocean created demand in a new market and have a huge opportunity for rapid growth.  Blue Ocean strategies create a unique value proposition for customers and aren’t always based on a new technology.

Havard Business Review did an article about how Cirque de Soleil created a blue ocean.  They avoided the confines of the traditional, profit-losing circus industry and created a completely new market.  They offer a unique blend of circus and theater that targets adults as well as children.  They created a new industry – one in which they have virtually no competition.

So what’s your Blue Ocean BHAG?  It's closer than you think.  What strategic move will create a new market and render your competition irrelevant?  

Here's a tip:  Don’t worry about how you’re going to achieve your BHAG yet.  Remember -  Your BHAG SHOULD make you gulp!