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Align the whole system of a firms Align the whole system of a firms
activities with its strategic choice of activities in pursuit of differentiation and
differentiation or low cost. low cost.
Value Curve
(Strategic Profile)
Low
Reduce
technique that breaks the trade-off Which factors should
be reduced well below
between differentiation and low the industrys
standard?
cost and to create a new value
curve.
It answers the four key questions
Eliminate Create
What industry takes for granted and Which of the factors A New Which factors should
needs to be eliminated? that the industry takes Value be created that the
for granted should be Curve industry has never
What factors need to be reduced below eliminated? offered?
industry standards?
What factors need to be raised above
industry standards?
Raise
What should be created that the Which factors should
industry has never offered? be raised well above
the industrys
standard?
Divergence
Reactive strategies tend to share the same strategic profile
Divergence is result of not just benchmarking competitors but instead looking across alternatives.
Description Characteristics
Blue Ocean Strategy Lacks Focus:
Cost structure will tend to be high
Complex business model in implementation and execution.
Lacks divergence
Me-too strategy with no reason to stand apart in the marketplace.
Lacks a compelling tagline
internally driven
innovation for innovations sake no commercial potential and no natural take-off capability
Red Ocean Strategy Converges with competition - outdo its competition on the basis of cost or quality
Over Delivery Without Payback High levels across all factors (no divergence)
Oversupplying its customers, offering too much that add incremental value to buyers
An Incoherent Strategy Strategy based on independent sub strategies. (Divisional or Functional focus)
Does not distinguish the company from the best competitor
Provide a clear strategic vision.
Strategic Contradictions High level in one competing factor, while ignoring supporting factors
An Internally Driven Company Competing factors stated in operational jargon not in terms buyers can understand and value
Built using onside-out perspective (operational) not outside-in (demand driven)
Look at their industries through the lens of generally accepted strategic groups and strive to
stand out in the strategic group they play in
Focus on the same buyer group, be it the purchaser, the user or the influencer
Define the scope of the products and services offered by their industry similarly
Functional-emotional Orientation Focuses on improving price performance within Rethinks the functional-emotional
the functional-emotional orientation of its orientation of its industry
industry
Time Focuses on adapting to external trends as they Participates in shaping external trends over
occur time
Compare your business with Go into the field to explore Draw your to be strategy Distribute your before-and-
your competitors by the six paths to creating canvas based on insights after strategic profiles on
drawing your as is blue oceans. from field observations. one page for easy
strategy canvas. Observe the distinctive Get feedback on alternative comparison.
See where your strategy advantages of alternative strategy canvases from Support only those projects
needs to change. products and services. customers, competitors and operational moves that
See which factors you customers, and allow your company to close
should eliminate, create, or noncustomers. the gaps to actualize the
change. Use feedback to build the new strategy.
best to be future strategy.
Today Tomorrow
This sequence fleshes out and validates blue ocean ideas to Yes
Price
ensure their commercial viability. Is your price easily accessible
to the mass of buyers?
Yes
In this model, potential blue ocean ideas must pass through a Cost
Can you attain your cost target
sequence of buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption. to profit at your strategic
price?
No-Rethink
At each step there are only two options: a yes answer, in Yes
which case the idea may pass to the next step, or no. Adoptions
What are the adoption hurdles in
actualizing your business idea? Are
If an idea receives a no at any point, the company can either you addressing them up front?
No-Rethink
park the idea or rethink it until you get a yes. Yes
A Commercially
Viable
Blue Ocean Idea
Customer
The Six Utility Levers
Productivity
Simplicity
Convenience
Risk
Environmental
Friendliness
The buyer utility map helps managers look at this issue from the right perspective (outside-in).
It outlines all the levers companies can pull to deliver exceptional utility to buyers as well as the various experiences
buyers can have with a product or service.
If your offering falls on the same space or spaces as those of other players, chances are it is not a blue ocean
offering.
How long does it take How long does it take Does the product Do you need other Does the product Does use of the
to find the product you to get the product require training or products and services require external product create waste
need? delivered? expert assistance? to make this product maintenance? items?
work?
Is the place of purchase How difficult is it to Is the product easy to How easy is it to How easy is it to
attractive and unpack and install the store when not in use? If so, how costly are maintain and upgrade dispose of the product?
accessible? new product? they? the product?
How effective are the Are there legal
How secure is the Do buyers have to products features and How much time do How costly is environmental issues in
transaction arrange delivery functions? they take? maintenance? disposing of the
environment? themselves? If yes, how product safely?
costly and difficult is Does the product or How much pain do they
How rapidly can you this? service deliver far more cause? How costly is disposal?
make a purchase? power or options than
required by the average How easy are they to
use? Is it overcharged obtain?
with bells and whistles?
A buyers experience can usually be broken into a cycle of six stages, running more or less sequentially from
purchase to disposal.
Each stage encompasses a wide variety of specific experiences.
At each stage, managers can ask a set of questions to gauge the quality of buyers experience.
Fun and Image In which stage are the biggest blocks to fun and image?
Step 1 : Identify the price corridor of the mass. Step 2: Specify a price level within the price corridor.
Three alternative product/service types
Different form
Same Different form, and function,
form Same function same objective
Price Corridor
Of the Mass Mid-level pricing Some degree of legal and
resource protection
Streamlining and
Second lever is partnering Cost Innovations
Partnering
Business Partners
Address resistance of partners who fear that their revenue streams or market positions are threatened
by a new business idea.
General Public
Opposition to a new business idea can also spread to the general public, especially if the idea is very
new and innovative, threatening established social or political norms.
The company should take charge and educate public and address their concerns.
The blue ocean idea index is a simple but robust test demonstrating how the sequence of utility, price, cost, and
adoption form an integral whole to ensure commercial success through blue ocean strategy.
quickly when the beliefs and energies of a critical mass of Conventional Wisdom
people create an epidemic movement toward an idea.
In every organization, there are people, acts, and activities
that exercise a disproportionate influence on performance. Mass of Employees
Company
Tipping Point Leadership is about conserving resources and Theory of organization change rests on transforming the mass. So change
efforts are focused on moving the mass, requiring steep resources and long
cutting time by focusing on identifying and then leveraging time frames.
the factors of disproportionate influence in an organization.
What factors or acts exercise a disproportionately positive
influence on breaking the status quo?
On getting the maximum bang out of each buck of resources? Tipping Point Leadership
On motivating key players to aggressively move forward with
change? Extremes Extremes
And on knocking down political roadblocks that often trip up even
the best strategies? Company
To change the mass, focus on the extremespeople, acts, and activities that
exercise a disproportionate influence on performance to achieve a strategic
shift fast at low cost.
Seeing is believing - inspire a fast change in mindset that is internally driven of peoples own accord.
Experiences that dont involve touching, seeing, or feeling actual results, such as being presented with
an abstract sheet of numbers, are shown to be non-impactful and easily forgotten.
Numbers are disputable and uninspiring, but coming face-to-face with poor performance is shocking
and inescapable, but actionable.
Hot spots are activities that have low resource input but high potential performance gains.
Cold spots are activities that have high resource input but low performance impact
Horse trading involves trading your units excess resources in one area for another units excess
resources to fill remaining resource gaps.
Kingpins Execution
Kingpins are key influencers in the organization, who are natural leaders, who are well respected and
persuasive, or who have an ability to unlock or block access to key resources.
Concentrate your efforts on Kingpins
Fishbowl Management
Shine a spotlight on Kingpins actions in a repeated and highly visible way through transparency,
inclusion, and fair process.
Atomization
Framing of the strategic challenge - breaking the challenge into bite-size atoms that employees at
different levels could relate to.
Unless people believe that the strategic challenge is attainable, the change is not likely to succeed.
Angels are those who have the most to gain from the strategic shift.
Silencing Devils
Devils are those who have the most to lose from it.
Secure a Consigliere on Your Top Management Team
A consigliere is a politically adept but highly respected insider who knows in advance all the land mines,
including who will fight you (Devils) and who will support you (Angels).
E E
Fair Process: Aligning peoples minds and hearts Strategy Fair Process
Fair Process
with the new strategy by building a culture of Formulation Process Engagement, Explanation
Expectation clarity
trust, commitment, and voluntary cooperation in
its execution, as well as support for the leader
Trust and Commitment
Attitudes I feel my opinion counts.
Three E Principles of Fair Process
Engagement
Involving individuals in the strategic decisions Voluntary Cooperation
that affect them. Behavior Ill go beyond the call of
duty.
Explanation
Everyone involved and affected should
understand why final strategic decisions are
Strategy Execution Exceeds Expectations
made as they are. Self-initiated
Expectation Clarity
After a strategy is set, managers state clearly the How Fair Process Affects Peoples Attitudes and Behavior
new rules of the game.
Blue Ocean Strategy 40
The Execution Consequences of the E
Intellectually, individuals seek recognition that their ideas Trust and Distrust and
Commitment Resentment
are sought after and given thoughtful reflection, and that
others think enough of their intelligence to explain their
thinking to them.
When individuals feel recognized for their intellectual Voluntary Cooperation Refusal to Execute
in Strategy Execution Strategy
worth, they are willing to share their knowledge;
Reconstruct Market 4
Boundaries
6 Path Framework 4 5 6
5
Focus on the Big Picture,
Not the Numbers 8
Blue Ocean Strategy
11 12
Cognitive Hurdle