Opponents – a new Tribal group

Another great article in the February 2008 edition of the Harvard Business Review (p21) is Understanding Opposition.

One of our Planning Expeditions was based on Blue Ocean Strategy (W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Harvard Business School Press, 2005) and we discussed its relevance for us. We identified that we are a Blue Ocean in Market and Social research, like Cirque du Soleil is a Blue Ocean in relation to circuses, because we are focused on raising awareness of our purpose too – understanding your tribe as a key business strategy for small business.

Why don’t SMEs value doing quantitative research to know their tribe? I think one reason is a perceived price barrier. I think another is a lack of resources (time and money). I think it may also involve a lack of understanding of the benefits of research for small business growth and improving this understanding is our focus.

Our competition largely isn’t Market and Social research companies, but coaches, workshops and consultants in other sectors who SMEs already know to be involved in small business growth. What about Market Research though? SMEs are notorious for not doing Market Research once they have done the initial research to get their business going. They are opponents because they don’t understand its ongoing value for growing businesses.

The HBR article uses the example of two soft drink companies competing to put a vending machine into a school. The opponent to installing the vending machine isn’t the decision on what is a better soft drink, but the opposition from parents who don’t want soft drink in their school. It is this opponent group that the soft drink company should be addressing.

Once you’ve recognised your opponent, the next step is deciding the best way to approach opponents. The HBR article goes on to say that observing political behaviour is a better way to adopt skills for approaching opponents:

1. Who is on the other side of the table, and why?

2. What is that side’s ultimate goal?

3. How can it be met with your help?

These are interesting insights for dealing with oppositions, but also for developing a business in a Blue Ocean.

I’ve thought about coaches, workshops and consultants as competitors but I haven’t defined SMEs as opponents until now. It is a great way to define a new Tribal Group and focus attention on real opponents to growth in our industry – the way people think about research – and an interesting perspective on interacting with opponents to a Blue Ocean business’ core philosophy.