Blue Ocean Strategy Has a Flaw Nobody Talks About

About this episode

This episode critiques the Blue Ocean Strategy, highlighting its shortcomings in providing actionable guidance for executives.

There is a book on the shelf of almost every serious executive in the world. It has sold over four million copies, been translated into 46 languages, and spawned an entire consulting industry. Its central idea is so compelling that once you hear it, you cannot unhear it. The book is Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS), published in 2004 by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. The central idea: stop fighting competitors for the same shrinking pool of customers. Create new market space where competition is irrelevant. Stop swimming in a Red Ocean of blood and churn. Find your Blue Ocean. Every executive who has heard this wants it. The aspiration is sound. The problem is that the book quietly fails to deliver what its title promises - and that failure has cost organizations time in over two decades of strategy retreats. The Word That Did the Damage The most consequential editorial decision in modern management publishing happened when the authors agreed to put the word “Strategy” in the title. That single word changed how executives read the book. Strategy implies a plan. A method. A set of steps you can follow to get from where you are to where you want to be. Executives arrived at the book…

People in this episode

Host: Francis Wade

Topics covered

• Blue Ocean Strategy
• business strategy
• market competition
• executive decision-making
• business case studies

Keywords

• Blue Ocean Strategy
• business strategy
• W. Chan Kim
• Renée Mauborgne
• Cirque du Soleil
• market space
• competition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cirque du Soleil

Books & works: Blue Ocean Strategy

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