Blue Ocean Strategy | The Probabilist . com

Blue Ocean Strategy December 8, 2006

Posted by The Probabilist in : [Books], Business, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Goals, Innovation, Productivity, Vision, Leadership , trackback

W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne’s book Blue Ocean Strategy is today’s top bestseller in the area of business strategy. In its first year since the date of publishing it has reached over a million copies sold in 34 languages. This book is the result of a decade-long study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than 30 industries over 100 years. Its tagline can be described as follows. Why compete in the bloody red waters of existing shark-infested oceans when you can create blue oceans of uncontested market space where competition is irrelevant?

Blue Ocean Strategy covers both the formulation as well as execution of its strategy and does it with numerous frameworks that illustrate a company’s strategic ventures in easy to grasp terms that make sense both in detail and in a big picture perspective. These models include the four actions framework, strategy canvas/value curve, six paths, buyer experience cycle & utility map and blue ocean idea index. In general terms the three key conceptual building blocks of the BOS are value innovation, tipping point leadership and fair process.

Like many other successful books, this too uses the advantage of showing multiple real life examples of businesses that have and are using principles that are part of the overall Blue Ocean Strategy - the ingredient that catches any reader’s attention and interest. Success stories always hit home, but are nevertheless a result of conscious and demanding planning and action. However, in many cases the pivotal point leading to success was excellence in merely one aspect of the BOS, while no particular example addressed all aspects as a whole.

My point is not to shun the importance of focusing on all the outstanding insights this book offers, but to acknowledge that even some of these strategic changes may have significant positive results in business results. Really excellent companies reach the spotlight of unprecedented growth by leveraging most if not all of the steps a fully integrated Blue Ocean Strategy suggests.

Writing down a summary of the chapters of this book serves no better purpose to grasping how great of a book BOS is or what it encompasses. But for those of you even remotely involved in the corporate world are strongly advised to read this book to discover today’s most cutting edge business strategy. Even if it’s just for the sake of preparing yourself for it once the company you work for starts to seek and swim in its own blue ocean.