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Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
by
The global phenomenon, embraced by business worldwide and now published in more than 40 languages.
This international bestseller challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success.
Since the dawn of the industrial age, companies have engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for compet ...more
This international bestseller challenges everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success.
Since the dawn of the industrial age, companies have engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for compet ...more
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Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
February 1st 2005
by Harvard Business Review Press
(first published January 1st 1994)
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Start your review of Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
The signal-to-noise ratio of business books generally tends towards zero. They fall into one of three categories: baked-over platitudes designed to reinforce the self-esteem of the reader (see First Break all the Rules), laughably faulty reasoning (see Good to Great), and interesting ideas that are overextended and driven into the ground (see The Tipping Point). Fortunately for Blue Ocean Strategy, it tends towards the latter.
There are a few good ideas in the book, but they are shrouded in unnec ...more
There are a few good ideas in the book, but they are shrouded in unnec ...more
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Harvard Business School Press
This is an especially thought-provoking book that, as have so many others, evolved from an article published in the Harvard Business Review. According to Kim and Mauborgne, "Blue Ocean Strategy challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant...T ...more
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Harvard Business School Press
This is an especially thought-provoking book that, as have so many others, evolved from an article published in the Harvard Business Review. According to Kim and Mauborgne, "Blue Ocean Strategy challenges companies to break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant...T ...more
Kind of a stupid book. The overall premise is, don’t compete directly with your competitors, create new markets. Of course, it falls into the classic trap that all business books seem to fall into, which is looking only at cases that support the theory and ignoring all that don’t. The theory itself is pretty obvious when you look at it - basically it argues that making a profit in any commodities market boils down to reducing costs, and that when your competitors cannot directly compete against
...more
The authors provide case studies on how some companies left their "bloody-red" oceans of competition for completely open blue oceans where they were unique.
Some are well-known business stories, such as Southwest Airlines becoming a low-cost provider. However, the book provides details into Southwest's underlying business strategies that may not be well known. Other case studies gave new insight into various companies and their product strategics. One interesting story, for example, was [yellow ...more
Some are well-known business stories, such as Southwest Airlines becoming a low-cost provider. However, the book provides details into Southwest's underlying business strategies that may not be well known. Other case studies gave new insight into various companies and their product strategics. One interesting story, for example, was [yellow ...more
This well-written book seems like common sense however it is an eye-opener for less sophisticated colleagues who doesn't know much about competitive advantage. It arguments how contested markets ("red oceans") should look for uncontested markets ("blue oceans"). Everything in this book is common sense. Nintendo is another high-profile example. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's CEO, has referred to the Blue Ocean Strategy in interviews.
I do think the Blue Ocean Strategy is nothing without execution though ...more
I do think the Blue Ocean Strategy is nothing without execution though ...more
Jan 25, 2008
Ia Tjitrawasita
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
entrepreneur, policy makers
Shelves:
strategic-management
Keywords: blue ocean - red ocean - value innovation
How to win the competition? You can challenge your opponents on a head-to-head competition. Suppose that your target is to book 200 contracts each month. In order to fulfil the target you can compete on pricing. It means that you should give bigger discount than your opponents.
But head-to-head competition has its own limitation. There is another way to compete. A smarter way. Chan Kim and Mauborgne propose another solution: don't compete with ...more
How to win the competition? You can challenge your opponents on a head-to-head competition. Suppose that your target is to book 200 contracts each month. In order to fulfil the target you can compete on pricing. It means that you should give bigger discount than your opponents.
But head-to-head competition has its own limitation. There is another way to compete. A smarter way. Chan Kim and Mauborgne propose another solution: don't compete with ...more
Blue Ocean Strategy is a business book that covers how to beat the competition by not trying to beat the competition. A red ocean symbolizes blood in the water, where companies are competing by traditional means (like price). The book advocates creating a category and explores a variety of topics to aid in creating a "blue ocean" such as value innovation, emphasis on the big picture, diminishing risk, and evaluating alternatives to your industry (and much more). The first half of the book seemed
...more
This is a business school sort of trade book that has been getting a lots of hype. I had to read it for some other purposes so I worked through the book rather than through the numerous HBR articles. The premise of this book is that firms should not bother with messy competition, which will limit their profits and keep them warring with other competitors. Instead, firms should redefine their businesses into new offerings that are appealing to customers but are in such conditions or situations th
...more
I had to read this book for a strategy class. Business strategy is all about how you intend to differentiate yourself from the competition and how you plan to get there. The premise of Blue Ocean Strategy is, as stated on page 4, "Red oceans represent all the industries in existence today. This is the known market space. Blue oceans denote all the industries not in existence today. This is the unknown market space." So the point of this strategy is to remove your business from the bloody sea of
...more
A boring book with several great insights.
The take-aways:
- Competition can be tough. Well-defined business spaces (a.k.a. red ocean, filled with blood) are vicious.
- Instead of competing in red oceans, consider creating a new space (a.k.a. blue oceans, no blood)
- There are several ways to create a blue ocean. The main idea is to re-evaluate core assumptions about (1) who your customers are/could be, and (2) what your customers value.
- For example, "the circus" was traditionally for kids. It had ...more
The take-aways:
- Competition can be tough. Well-defined business spaces (a.k.a. red ocean, filled with blood) are vicious.
- Instead of competing in red oceans, consider creating a new space (a.k.a. blue oceans, no blood)
- There are several ways to create a blue ocean. The main idea is to re-evaluate core assumptions about (1) who your customers are/could be, and (2) what your customers value.
- For example, "the circus" was traditionally for kids. It had ...more
all my previous comments/critique was encapsulated on 2 appendixes at the end of the book so it confirmed my assumptions rather nicely. I believe he made for him self a blue ocean consultancy business and this book was the start of it? Beyond the Machiaveli political tips , everything else was around a catchy phrase and that what his main message seems to be. Rest are old theories in new color.
This book is an essential read for any entrepreneur looking to compete in a saturated marketplace and build a successful business. Too many startups fail because founders try to compete directly with well-established companies that dominate the market. The Blue Ocean Strategy is a book about finding your niche within a niche so you can stay competitive and grow.
I read the book after reading the article published in HBR, the book is really valuable and will enrich the reader will a lot of perspectives, tools and frameworks ... i liked mainly the "Strategy canvas" form first sight .. what a great and powerful tool
This is clearly a must read book for every one interested in the filed of management or strategy, But i will emphasis and insist on these points:
- Before reading this book, Please, read other book related to strategy (I will advice: Michael E. ...more
This is clearly a must read book for every one interested in the filed of management or strategy, But i will emphasis and insist on these points:
- Before reading this book, Please, read other book related to strategy (I will advice: Michael E. ...more
Full review at Solomon Says:
Let's go through the pros and cons of this book. The idea that there are no eternally excellent companies, and that the strategic move, instead of the company should be the unit of analysis is compelling. The authors argue that all companies make mistakes, so we should look to their strategic moves for excellence or the lack thereof instead of the companies themselves.
Now for the con, which is pretty much the existence of this book. Anybody even remotely familiar with ...more
Let's go through the pros and cons of this book. The idea that there are no eternally excellent companies, and that the strategic move, instead of the company should be the unit of analysis is compelling. The authors argue that all companies make mistakes, so we should look to their strategic moves for excellence or the lack thereof instead of the companies themselves.
Now for the con, which is pretty much the existence of this book. Anybody even remotely familiar with ...more
I remember as a child asking my dad why I should pick up skiing over snowboarding. He responded that while snowboarding was certainly fun, because of its popularity it was also commonplace. Reasonably talented teenage snowboarders were a dime a dozen on any ski hill. Good young skiers, however, were few and far between. Reflecting on the choice between becoming one of the unwashed masses of snowboarders or one of the few, the happy few skiers, I chose the latter. Over the years being a reasonabl
...more
This book is meant to describe a new approach/strategy to marketing.
The "blue ocean" strategy means that you find some aspect of your market that no one is doing, and try to dominate that, rather than fighting it out with other vendors in your space -- which is a "red ocean" strategy.
It's a good book that's just long enough. Long enough to describe the strategy and explain the pitfalls, but not padded too far.
The problem is that acting on the strategy in this book will be a very long play. This ...more
The "blue ocean" strategy means that you find some aspect of your market that no one is doing, and try to dominate that, rather than fighting it out with other vendors in your space -- which is a "red ocean" strategy.
It's a good book that's just long enough. Long enough to describe the strategy and explain the pitfalls, but not padded too far.
The problem is that acting on the strategy in this book will be a very long play. This ...more
I only skimmed this book. Thought the charts were stupid. Reasonably interesting premise that would have been the right length for 100 pages or less, not a full book. The thesis is that in selecting your product-market fit, you can try to compete with everyone else (the crowded "red ocean") or you can try to be the only one in your market (the "blue ocean").
For example, if you're running a circus, you could try to compete with Ringling Bros. and plenty of lesser-known competitors, who were in a ...more
For example, if you're running a circus, you could try to compete with Ringling Bros. and plenty of lesser-known competitors, who were in a ...more
This is a very good book. I am reading it for the first time because the new one has come out and I wanted a baseline. The premise is simple most competitors compete in price, variety, quality etc but the profits are slim and market is stagnant. This is called the red (bloody) ocean. To win big, you need to develop the Blue Ocean Strategy, bu looking into unexplored market. For example, Cirque du Soleil had transformed circus performance into sort of a theatre thing, attracting audience who woul
...more
It was a booming marketing strategy that suddenly every body talked about. Even my 'ex' boss!
With curiousity I bought this book to find out what is this so famous new marketing strategy?!?!? when I finally read the book, actually there is nothing new in it. It is actually the same strategy that I've learned in university. Mainly it talks about DIFFERENTIATION AND BEING DIFFERENT, that's it.
Thanks God I didn't buy the original english version that cost a fortune!! ...more
With curiousity I bought this book to find out what is this so famous new marketing strategy?!?!? when I finally read the book, actually there is nothing new in it. It is actually the same strategy that I've learned in university. Mainly it talks about DIFFERENTIATION AND BEING DIFFERENT, that's it.
Thanks God I didn't buy the original english version that cost a fortune!! ...more
A decent but not groundbreaking explanation of how to beat your competition through value innovation: creating a leap of value for buyers while driving costs down. The book explains the theory and gives examples. There are many questions for you to ask yourself about your business. There are some helpful tables and graphs. The book is fairly dry, and not especially engaging. It's written for larger companies with mass-market products, so small businesses that provide services (like mine) need to
...more
A few too many examples in my opinion - it became repetitive.
assess trends across time: "decisive to your business...irreversible...have clear trajectory"
1) focus
2) divergence
3) Compelling tag line
Without buyer utility there's no blue ocean. Compelling reason for a mass of people to buy.
Setting strategic price - compelling ability to pay for offering
Product at cost. Cost don't drive price.
Address adoption hurdles.
volume intensive - more costs in knowledge marketplace on r&d not on production.
The ...more
assess trends across time: "decisive to your business...irreversible...have clear trajectory"
1) focus
2) divergence
3) Compelling tag line
Without buyer utility there's no blue ocean. Compelling reason for a mass of people to buy.
Setting strategic price - compelling ability to pay for offering
Product at cost. Cost don't drive price.
Address adoption hurdles.
volume intensive - more costs in knowledge marketplace on r&d not on production.
The ...more
Insightful observations on how to create market differentiation without feature comparisons against competitors. Since this was written 15 years ago, several of the case studies were rather dated (Borders, Barnes & Noble, iTunes), yet I was also fascinated to observe the businesses that have continued to succeed in their blue oceans (Cirque du Soleil, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks).
Another great model. That doesn't take into account halo effect and bias in the data. Great for having a tool and framework for business model, but not an generalised model. Read Phil Rosenzweig book to get perspectives on the common mistakes from its data
...more
This book captured my attention from the very first chapter. I had already heard a lot about this book and the book did not disappoint. You’ll find a lot of small case studies and examples to understand the concepts and frameworks explained in the book. Real life cases elevates the trust factor & makes it an interesting read.
This book change my perspective on How to build lasting and competitive businesses
It was super interesting!
Modeling disruptive innovation is easier read than done.
Blue Ocean Strategy comes with the promise of an absolute shift in how you will think about business and just delivers some new interesting frameworks to add to your toolkit.
The idea that competitors are fighting in a red sea of blood while there is always a blue ocean of opportunity is very a powerful visual idea that most readers could feel as absolutely disruptive and inspiring. However is nothing new, it all comes back to the idea of th ...more
Blue Ocean Strategy comes with the promise of an absolute shift in how you will think about business and just delivers some new interesting frameworks to add to your toolkit.
The idea that competitors are fighting in a red sea of blood while there is always a blue ocean of opportunity is very a powerful visual idea that most readers could feel as absolutely disruptive and inspiring. However is nothing new, it all comes back to the idea of th ...more
3.5 rounded down. Recommended to me a while back and finally read. I appreciate the approach on how to look at companies. At the same time, the age of this book make you reflect on the examples used. Once a blue ocean…not always a blue ocean. So many things can change that -leadership changes, the economy, a pandemic….
For as long as I can remember, my environment has been teaching me that if I want to stand out and be recognized as an individual I have to set myself apart and be different in a positive way. Along my journey, I picked up the idea that I need to be competitive or else I will succumb forever into a state of oblivion or worse into a debilitating state not worthy of anyone's attention.
Of course, most if not all businesses have the same orientation. Many organizations are driven to be competitive e ...more
Of course, most if not all businesses have the same orientation. Many organizations are driven to be competitive e ...more
Practical advice from one of the bosses at the INSEAD Strategy Institute. Sometimes it gets a little self-helpy in the sense that creates its own vocabulary and repeats them ad nauseaum until we can't take it anymore. The references, of course, are dated. But I like its insights.
Some reviewers accuse it of nitpicking evidences, but business is already a tricky area for scientific exactness: there is just too many variables, and this book doesn't (nor tries to) cover all of them. This is a book a ...more
Some reviewers accuse it of nitpicking evidences, but business is already a tricky area for scientific exactness: there is just too many variables, and this book doesn't (nor tries to) cover all of them. This is a book a ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse’s factory salad | 2 | 22 | Oct 01, 2021 09:45AM | |
| Entrepreneur Book...: June 2018 Additional Discussion: Blue Ocean Strategy | 4 | 24 | Jul 02, 2018 07:54PM | |
| Clase 583: Oceano azul | 1 | 3 | Mar 20, 2017 11:04AM |
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W. Chan Kim is the Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and a Chair Professor of Strategy and International Management at INSEAD. His book Blue Ocean Strategy, co-authored with Renée Mauborgne, has sold 3.6 million copies and is recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written. It is being published in a record-breaking 44 languages and is a bestsel
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“While good strategy content is based on a compelling value proposition for buyers with a robust profit proposition for the organization, sustainable strategy execution is based largely on a motivating-people proposition.”
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“Value innovation requires companies to orient the whole system toward achieving a leap in value for both buyers and themselves.”
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