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Blue Ocean Strategy, How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant (Audio CD)
by W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne
| Category:
Strategy, Competition, Innovation, Value creation |
| Market price: ¥ 328.00
MSL price:
¥ 298.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
MSL Pointer Review:
A useful framework of business strategy and a fine articulation of "Thinking and Doing Something New, Something Different."
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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Tom Duff (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-26 00:00>
It seems like most businesses these days try to compete by "doing more" than the other guy. Either sell for lower cost, or have more features, etc., etc., etc... This leads to the "red ocean", a playing field marked by bloody battles and ever-decreasing returns. But W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne propose that a business should adopt Blue Ocean Strategy, a way to redefine the playing field and stake out an area all to yourself.
Contents:
Part 1 - Blue Ocean Strategy: Creating Blue Oceans; Analytical Tools and Frameworks
Part 2 - Formulating Blue Ocean Strategy: Reconstruct Market Boundaries; Focus on the Big Picture, Not the Numbers; Reach Beyond Existing Demand; Get the Strategic Sequence Right
Part 3 - Executing Blue Ocean Strategy: Overcome Key Organizational Hurdles; Build Execution into Strategy; Conclusion - The Sustainability and Renewal of Blue Ocean Strategy
Appendix A - A Sketch of the Historical Pattern of Blue Ocean Creation, Appendix B - Value Innovation - A Reconstructionist View of Strategy, Appendix C - The Market Dynamics of Value Innovation; Notes; Bibliography; Index; About the Authors
The authors spent time studying companies that redefined markets to figure out what they did to create a "blue ocean" market for themselves. Companies such as Cirque du Soleil, who decided that another "circus" had nothing to offer. But by redefining the term, eliminating high-cost elements like animals, and enhancing the theatrical experience, they were able to pull in a far different audience at a much higher premium. Better yet, there was no other competition in that area. Such is the goal of a blue ocean market. Another example is Southwest Air. Rather than comparing themselves to the cost and value structure of other airlines, they measured themselves against the transportation alternative of driving. In order to compete on that basis, they had to minimize things traditionally valued by the carriers (meals, lounges, large planes) and maximize things sought by drivers (lower cost, frequent flights, direct destinations). By doing so, they were able to separate themselves from the rest of the industry into an area that has delivered profits far in excess of other carriers.
The documentation in the book on the steps and processes involved in systematically designing a blue ocean market is presented well. It's not all luck and chance, and following these processes would greatly enhance the chance of making that next big leap. As in most books of this type, I think there's a tendency to examine things in hindsight, making bad decisions far more obvious now than they were then. You could follow every step put forth here, and there's still no guarantee that it all works out right. I was also surprised at how few companies make more than one blue ocean market in their existence. Once others move into that area, it seems like innovation then becomes very incremental. It's as if they become invested in their new status quo, and are unable to let go to move to a new area. There are exceptions (think Apple's Mac and also their iPod), but it seems pretty rare.
This is one of those books that most company leaders should read in order to figure out if their offerings are only meant to create more blood in the water, or whether they have the skills to swim away from everyone else in order to make their own blue ocean markets. |
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Soda (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-26 00:00>
In this book, the authors give a formal and thorough presentation on creating a new market (a blue ocean), instead of engaging in the fierce competition of an overcrowded one (a red ocean). To me, they present a formal treatment of looking for gaps in an overall market which may be across more than one industry. Such a new product that can open a new blue ocean and make the competition irrelevant usually has the capability of providing consumers a unique combination of values at an affordable price. In addition, the authors also discuss the importance of keeping one's cost down for making a profit.
Besides providing a set of tools for strategic analysis, this book also discusses implementation success. Lastly, the long term sustainability and renewal of a blue ocean are the topics that conclude the book.
The authors also review the history of blue ocean creation in three different industries in time, the different views of strategy, and an analysis of value innovation in the terms of Macroeconomics in the appendix sections of the book.
This book is both academic and practical. It is very enlightening.
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Lin Hung-da (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-26 00:00>
After reading the book, I was thrilled to see the Columbus' egg again. Back to 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus attends a dinner which a Spanish gentleman for the honor of discovering "New Continent". One guy sniffed Columbus's discovery as trivial sailing. Then Columbus asked the gentlemen in attendance to make an egg stand on end. After the gentlemen successively tried to and failed, they stated that it was impossible. Finally, Columbus placed the egg's small end on the table, breaking the shell a bit, so that it could stand upright. Columbus then stated that it was "the simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it, after he has been shown how!"
I guess no one would disagree that the business should go from the lower value position to the higher value post. But how many people know the exact number of rejections which Howard Shultz, Starbucks' founder and CEO, got for the financing of his business plan? Even I know some VCs who used to yell Howard out of their offices since the last thing a big city (like New York City or Seattle) needs is another caf . Why did those VCs not see the blue ocean of Starbucks then?
The authors improvise one method to do "value innovation": In a product/service life cycle, you analyze the value of each function. Then you can make better profit by moving some specific functions to higher value poitions. Is this noval and wonderful design? I recall the Smiling Curve from Acer's founder and former CEO Stan Shih. Back to early 1990s, Stan had found the problems of low value creation of PC manufacturing. After analyzing the major functions, he wanted to create higher values through the two ends of the Smiling Curve, R&D and branding. However, Acer still could not beat all other big PC makers till today (though Acer is in the top 5 group). Yet IBM makes it through the successful migration from hardware manufacturing to IT service leader. (The new product lines of IT/Business should be regarded as strategic moves and new R&D/marketing activities. And I think it's OK for people to think it another successful case from read oceans to blue oceans.)
In my opinions, neither the original novel design (Columbus' egg) or excellent execution (like IBM's turn over) is easy. If we look deeper, we'll find more problems to move to blue oceans by current organization designs and processes. For example, the current department based cost accounting and activities should transform to project/activity accounting and cross-function cooperation. That's why Samsung's VIP (Value Innovation Program) is so hard to imitate for most manufacturers in the world.
Though it's genuinely hard to make blue ocean strategy work, I still have to give credit for the authors' wonderful analogy and great compilation of business innovations. At least you'll know the importance to escape from red oceans if you are right there. Being aware of the coming dangers is key for survival, and the future value creation if you navigate through it. |
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1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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