Not a panacea for implementing a “Blue Ocean Strategy”
Posted on December 31st, 2006 by Paul McArdle – 3 Comments.
We need to be innovative (but who doesn’t?). We’ve had some successes in growing our company since 2000 in doing just that – though we’re just starting on the journey.
Given that this book has been feted in various circles as “the best thing since sliced cheese mousetraps”, we were keen to have a look
1) Binary Review
… however I was underwhelmed!
|
The Book |
What we thought |
 “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne |
 I don’t recommend it |
| Full Disclosure – yes, that’s a tracked link to Amazon shown above. We buy quite a large number of books on a wide range of topics, all relevant to our business in some way. If you did happen to purchase the book from Amazon, they’d throw a few shekels our way, which would help us to buy (and hence publish reviews of) even more books. Hence, Karma would return the benefits to you… |
I read this book back around 2006-2007 (so have back-dated this post to then) and recall thinking that the examples provided of businesses were certainly interesting (e.g. Yellow Tail wine and Cirque de Soleil) and qualify as innovative.
However, the book professed to provide a framework through which to assist people to become innovative. This is where my main disappointment lay.
Hence, in summary:
1) The book is OK at explaining why we need to be innovative (though this should be a no-brainer for everyone by now?)
2) The book provides some good examples of innovation (and not the “usual suspects”). The stories are quite interesting
3) The framework presented does not (in my view) get to the core of how people can be innovative. In other words, it can help, but it is not what’s most important.
.
2) What is “Innovation”
It’s a loaded term – it means different things to different people. Hence, I have put this post together to explain some of my thoughts about what innovation means for me …
With these descriptions in mind, I note that the innovation talked about in the book is all about disruptive innovation.
Hence, my disappointment above is perhaps rooted in the debate about whether it is possible (or even desirable) to make non-creative people creative!
.
3) More about the book
When (if) I find the time, I would like to return to this post and add in more details about the framework described in the book.
[...] has been the subject of many books (such as the vaunted “Blue Ocean Strategy”, which covered both positioning a product, but also actually developing & delivering [...]
[...] more recent times, I have found several well-read books (such as “Blue Ocean Strategy”) also follow the same [...]
Paul,
As Managing Director of Blue Ocean Strategy Australia I clearly have a self interest in promoting Blue Ocean Strategy.
That said, I would encourage you to have another look at the book and rethink your comment “The framework presented does not (in my view) get to the core of how people can be innovative. In other words, it can help, but it is not what’s most important.”
What I find again and again, is that the Blue Ocean Strategy tools and framework and very valuable in helping organisations and individuals learn how to innovate in ways that are attractive to buyers and commercially viable.
Instead of innovation by “whiteboard” or “blank sheet of paper”, using the tools in the correct way and sequence is systematic, reproducible, thought-provoking and inspiring.
Using the six paths, the buyer experience cycle and the buyer utility map together and in the right way leads to valuable insights and alignment.
Many people also miss in the book the need to conduct field research to discover insights, and test and validate your ideas - ie. “don’t outsource your eyes”.
I look forward to discussing this more with you and I hope I can demonstrate to you the value that is achievable through application of the tools - beyond the simple explanations and case studies in the book.