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Title: Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested
Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
Author: W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Stars: ****
The authors use the ocean metaphor to differentiate between the typical
strategic approach and the one that they advocate. The bloody red ocean is
where the vast majority of companies thrash and battle furiously with their
competition, adding incremental improvements to differentiate their
products/services. The blue ocean, as the subtitle suggests, describes an
uncontested market space that makes competition irrelevant. It is achieved
through value-innovation – creating a leap in buyer value and reducing cost at
the same time.
A variety of ways to create blue oceans are described in the book to include,
reconstructing your market boundaries and reaching beyond existing
demand. The authors provide easy-to-understand concepts and tools for
taking your own organization through a strategic planning exercise.
The authors also acknowledge that even if you develop the most wonderful
strategy, implementing it can be quite difficult, so they provide pointers for
helping bring about organizational change.
It is acknowledged that all blue oceans eventually become red. Tips are
provided to help determine the right time to start value innovating again, vs.
riding out the blue ocean.
This is an important book. It’s a value-innovation in its own right for assisting
with strategic development and execution.
Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant
Author: W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
Stars: ****
The authors use the ocean metaphor to differentiate between the typical
strategic approach and the one that they advocate. The bloody red ocean is
where the vast majority of companies thrash and battle furiously with their
competition, adding incremental improvements to differentiate their
products/services. The blue ocean, as the subtitle suggests, describes an
uncontested market space that makes competition irrelevant. It is achieved
through value-innovation – creating a leap in buyer value and reducing cost at
the same time.
A variety of ways to create blue oceans are described in the book to include,
reconstructing your market boundaries and reaching beyond existing
demand. The authors provide easy-to-understand concepts and tools for
taking your own organization through a strategic planning exercise.
The authors also acknowledge that even if you develop the most wonderful
strategy, implementing it can be quite difficult, so they provide pointers for
helping bring about organizational change.
It is acknowledged that all blue oceans eventually become red. Tips are
provided to help determine the right time to start value innovating again, vs.
riding out the blue ocean.
This is an important book. It’s a value-innovation in its own right for assisting
with strategic development and execution.
V E N T U R E S , L L C