لا أعتبر نفسي قرأت الكتاب وإنما قمت بدراسته، وإعادة قراءة بعض الفصول فيه أكثر من مرة. سمعت عنه منذ أكثر من ٥ سنوات وتوقعت أن تكون النظريات فيه قد أصبحت بالية ولكنها مازالت تتوافق مع وضع السوق اليوم. يجعلك ترى من أكثر من زاوية وتتعلم من الأمثلة الحقيقية المذكورة في الكتاب. كتاب جيد للمهتمين في الإدارة.

This book rounds up to a 4 for me. It was very informative and covered a novel topic of which I have not come across in business literature. With that said, the book was 1.25X too long and, towards the end, seemed to be milking the theme of the book for far too long. The stories and examples used from the world of business were not riveting enough to keep the topic of the book afloat for 300 pages.

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 animals. And clowns. And over-priced popcorn. However, Cirque du Soleil re-thought these assumptions. Did "the circus" *need* to be for kids? What about adults? Did it need to have animals? And 3-ring acts? What if it was more performative/thematic instead?
- By changing their value proposition or by targeting a specific customer segment, businesses in competitive spaces can carve out profitable niches.
- That said, be mindful of what prevents competitors from copying your strategy! Ideally, you can do find something valuable and then protect it, otherwise your blue ocean will turn purple... then red.

He put a fancy term "Blue Ocean" to an common-sense principle. If you want to avoid competition you need to invent something new that is not on the market, wow. And you write the whole 200 pages about it. On the pro side, there are some examples from real world businesses of which you can eventualy learn something.

More 1.5 stars than 2. In the vein of Alchemy, it had some general ideas and beat them to death. Worse, it shrouds its ideas in jargon both existing and invented and has multiple numbered systems (i.e. 6 paths, 4 actions framework, etc.) that cause most of the actual meat of the ideas it has to simply melt away.

Only rounded up to 2 because at least it has more than 1 idea and no narrator could ever be as insufferable as Rory Sutherland.

Chan Kim is considered one of top business strategy thinkers of our age. I am ashamed that his famous book “Blue Ocean strategy” has been on my to-read list since 2005 when it was highly recommended by my MBA professor, but I was too busy at that time juggling a full-time job and a full time MBA program. Recently, I felt a need to update my knowledge of business strategy which happens to be my actual job! So, I finally picked it up.

The book starts with overpromised, sustainably growing, profits. Rolling my eyes, I kept reading. It is a short book after all, and I could afford a short timewaster. Soon, my rolled eyes flipped back into an intense gaze as I realized how profound and insightful this book really is. Here are the nuggets:

At a philosophical level, strategy had its origins in the military, a field that is, literally, a red ocean of bloody battle over a limited, specifically defined victory. Kim proposes a different origin story that is based on adventurous exploration of new continents and gold mines where companies do not fight for market share, but, instead, create new industries that never existed before.

The second insight in the book is that most business research focuses on the Company (GE, 3M, Apple, etc.) or the entrepreneur (Welch, Jobs, Elon, etc) as the indivisible unit of analysis. Kim realized that the true units of measure are the strategic decisions those businesses made (the T model, the personal computer, scotch tape). The book is a manual on how to replicate such strategies in any other company or industry.

Reminder of the blue ocean strategy development process (only helpful to those who read the book):

A)tTwo Analytical tools: (1) “The strategy canvass” and (2) the four forces to Re-examine value proposition: Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, and Create, then follow the following six principles for strategy formulation and execution:

B)tFour principles to Formulate strategy:

1.tRedefine market boundaries (six paths): (1) Alternative industries (Net Jets, NTT Docomo’s iMode, Cirque Du Soleil, Home Depot, SouthWest, Intuit), (2) Strategic group e.g., luxury versus value (Curves women fitness, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lexus, Champion group quality pre-fab houses), (3) Buyer group (Novo Nordisk’s NovoPen, Bloomberg terminals, Canon copier versus SAP ERP), (4) Complementary offerings (Nabi bus with low TCO, Dyson bagless cleaners, Philips filter Kettles), (5) Functional-emotional orientation (EtoF: QB House/GreatClips, DirectLine Insurance, FtoE: Cemex, Viagara, Starbucks), and finally (6) External trends over time (iTunes vs Napster, Cisco, CNN, Sex in the City)

2.tFocus on the big picture not the numbers: Visual Awakening-> Exploration -> Strategy Fair -> Communication (e.g., Samsung corporate strategy development process, Value Innovation Program – VIP center in S. Korea)

3.tReach beyond existing demand : “Soon-to-be” (Pret a manager) , “Refusing” (Galloway big Bertha), and “Unexplored” (JCDecaux street furniture, Tooth whiting solution, the Joint Strike Fighter-JSF fighter Jet F35)

4.tGet the strategic sequence right: Buyer utility (technology/luxury does not equal value, Six stages of buyer experience from purchase to disposal, buyer utility map, Ford model T) -> Price (price corridor of the mass including same function different form (auto) and same objective different function (Theater v. Restaurant) more protection = more price -> cost (price minus) streamline operations (Ford), partnership (SAP v. Oracle) and changing the pricing model (Blockbuster) -> adoption hurdles Employees (Merrill Lynch eBrokerage Vs. Morgan Stanley’s), business partners (e.g., A-SAP), and the general public (Monsanto).

Finally use the blue ocean idea index to rank the strategy across all above four principles.

C) Two principles for strategy implementation

5- Overcome four types of organizational hurdles (NYPD): 1- Cognitive: Ride the electric sewer and talk to disgruntled customers, 2- Resources: from cold to hot spots + horse trading, 3- Motivational: Kingpins, fishbowls, atomize scope, and 4- Political: Consigliere, angles, and devils.

6- Build execution into strategy using a fair process. Engagement, explanation, and expectations clarity. (Coolant selection, elevator factory)

Must read for both strategy practitioners and managers.

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.

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!!

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.

In business, we all are challenged with execution. Then, within our industry we each chase the same dollars as our competitors. Blue Ocean Strategy helps define the mindset of observing and defining what, if anything, within strategy can define us differently. What can make us different and more compelling than our competitors? An interesting thought.

Ao ser lido em 2015, este livro soa um tanto datado, seja por tudo o que se escreveu depois sobre negócios e estratégia, seja pelas empresas utilizadas como exemplo. Mesmo assim, fornece uma teoria bem interessante sobre estratégia de negócios que, mesmo em tempos de (já quase pós-) Lean Startup, ainda são relevantes.

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 especially in capitalistic economies. If you are strong you'll win but if you're weak you'll die. For as long as our society measures the success of companies as compared to others performance, competition shall remain relevant. However, sometimes you get tired of the ordinary discourses of competition.

This book offers another way of looking at strategy. For me, blue ocean strategy is another way for companies to outperform (compete with) others in a whole new level. Instead of being reactive to what other companies are doing, a company adopting blue ocean strategy focuses on creating value innovation. The book has multitude of examples and good ideas on how companies can adopt this mindset. In a very simple way this means wowing you existing customers plus others who don't care with your product.

I have read the expanded edition of this book and the edition itself is an example of the renewal idea espoused in the last chapters. This book brings fresh perspectives for those who are engaged in a militaristic view of competition.

Will I recommend this book? Yes because I am tired of the normal Company A vs. Company B type of games within the bloody red pool of competition. I think I am ready to swim to a fresh blue ocean.