“Blue Ocean Strategy” might be one of the best business books in a decade. In a nutshell the strategy forsakes traditional competition for exploration and market creation.

WikiPedia:

The book uses many examples across industries to demonstrate how to break out of traditional competitive (structuralist) strategic thinking and to grow demand and profits for the company and the industry by using blue ocean (reconstructionist) strategic thinking. The four principles are: how to create uncontested market space by reconstructing market boundaries, focusing on the big picture, reaching beyond existing demand and getting the strategic sequence right.

Using Blue Ocean how would one build a more effective political enterprise?

1) The Uncontested Space

Here is what the actual market of registered voters looks like :

I = 43% D = 30% R = 26%

www.gallup.com/…

That huge slice taking up 43% of the pie is “Independents”. If you examine the trend lines in the article linked above, you’ll see that the bulk of “Independent” growth came at the expense of declining GOP affiliation. It is easy to fall for the belief that the Democratic party is the party of the people. The reality is the biggest chunk of registered voters in this country have disgust for both parties,

This giant sea of disaffected voters is a political Blue Ocean

2) The Big Picture

Why are they disaffected? Because they’ve seen their real incomes shrink as the banks and financial services companies have eaten all the economic growth and funneled it to the top %1 www.salon.com/…

Why don’t they support an existing party? Because both parties have been complicit in the deregulation and bad trade policy that has caused their pain. While Bill Clinton’s “third way” might have professed to “feel their pain”; NAFTA, Glass-Stegal repeal, and rise of the Prison Industrial Complex all happen on his watch. Let’s face it; without the economic boom created by tons of venture capital flooding the market, as investors rushed to get in on the internet boom, the Clinton economy wouldn’t have been so great. I diaried this earlier but if you want some good insight into the real threat to America and our biggest challenge see “The Big Short”

They’re also are smart enough to see that the current system is wholly owned by the corporations and lobbyists. Why give the few bucks you can afford or a hour of phone banking to giant political machine that’s taking donations by the millions to it’s PAC. A political machine whose candidates will make millions in “speaking fees” after they “retire” from the same special interests that fund 80% of their campaign. What is that tiny voice or contribution worth in that environment? Most people have correctly assessed that it is worth nothing.

3) The Reach

Thankfully we are at an inflection point. The old paradigm of political opinion making is breaking down. The advertising driven model no longer works, as none of the top ad spenders has seen their voter share increase since the summer. The biggest spender (Bush) has completely tanked.

The reason for this could be that people no longer trust MSM outlets or advertisments

It’s been a long held business axiom that the best advertising in “Word of Mouth”. From my own experience this holds true. I’m far more likely to take a friends recomendation on where to eat or what to buy than I am to believe an ad. What Obama discovered in 2008 was that social media would allow him to do an end-around the establishment media that has a vested interested in keeping the ad driven model alive. After all, the MSM makes no money when folks are knocking on doors or chatting on FaceBook.

The wet dream of CNN etal is to have a Clinton vs Bush matchup with both negative ad bombing each other into sub-50% voter turnout oblivion. Mixing in a few hundred million in Donald Trump ad spends as a third party candidate would be the cherry on top.

The good news; Bernie sanders has a social media channel almost 20 times as big to work with now as Obama had in 2007.

4) The Strategic Sequence

Step one is always to build the “product” that meets the needs of this new market. Bernie is offering a political movement that actually values the individual working class donor of time or money. (by forsaking PACS & big money donors). He’s a got an economic and social justice platform that resonates with people. The fact is; in states he’s spent significant time in he’s winning or closing the gap. When people hear his message and really start to analyse the candidates they become supporters.

The strategic roll-out sequence bernie is following is largely defined by the primary calendar. There is little room for innovation here as he does not control the scheduling of these events. For this reason winning Iowa and NH will be key to Sanders success. A path that has been shown to work in other upstart victories. While Sanders has a lead in NH based on polling we trails Clinton in Iowa but 5-10%. Significantly, Clinton is not breaking very far over 50%. It’s easy to spend 2 minutes telling a pollster you support a candidate, quite another to show up and debate your support for a candidate (at a caucus) for potentially hours. Sanders support might be a hair narrower but a lot deeper. Sanders supporters will more likely stay until the end. Another factor is that O’Malley supporters will have to go somewhere after the first talley. (cut off is 15%) If you support O’Malley, and your guy is not going to take your precinct, the smart move is to cut into the frontrunner. This could mean another 5% boost for Sanders. Clinton is at about 50% now in polls with 100% name recognition. If she stays under 55% I’d bet the enthusiasm gap and softness of her support will translate to a narrow Bernie victory. With Victories in Iowa and New Hampshire the MSM will be forced to admit Sanders is a viable candidate.

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The Ideal Result :

There is a reason that when pollsters compare Sanders and Clinton in head-to-head match ups vs the GOP Sanders consistently does better. It is that giant ocean of independent voters that simply has had enough with the status quo. They want authenticity and independence. Getting past the partisan gridlock will require a “National Political Realignment” where Sanders pulls a blue ocean of independent voters into the party. We as “progressive democrats” need to see past our own party to very different general election voter pool. A pool largely Independent that simply is not excited to buy what Hillary is selling.