Strategies for the Blue Ocean - Chan Kim

It is excellent book written by Chan Kim explaining about the best businesses in the world and how they have been able to create blue oceans in existing red oceans.

The strategy is simple and guidlines are very clear.The blue ocean characteristics includes a focus, divergence and compelling tag line.

Four action frameworks for blue ocean strategy are
eliminate,
reduce,
raise
and create.

His case studies on cement selling mexico (tandas and supertandas) and haircut ( QB house) in japan and ciso network devices for the interent and HBO's Sex and city and NTT DocoMo and Netjets and curves and US municipal bus industry and CNN and apple itunes are all very exciting.
He explains the six paths framework
Look across alternatives industries
Look across strategies groups within industries
Look across the chain of buyers
Look across complementary product and service offerings
Look across functional or emotional appeal to buyers
Look across time

Then the question of competing on functional and emotional grounds is very nice when it comes to innovation.
The explanation and usage of PMS (Poineer- Migrator-Settler) Map for visualising the strategy if eyeopener and its balancing is also very crucial for blue ocean strategy.
He explains about the 3 tiers of non customers one should look for when studying blue ocean opportunities.
Soon-to-be noncustomers - he explains about Pret A manager who does a turnaround stratgey simliar like the dabbawallahs in Europe
Refusing nonCustomers
Unexplored non customers


Fifth Principal of Blue ocean strategy
Overcoming key organisational Hurdles

• Waking employees for the strategic shift-Cognitive
• Limited resources
• Motivation
• Politics

Bratton strategy and NYPD turnaround is good story of showing the practicalities rather driving home the numbers.

The idea to jump the resource hurdle by identifying the cold spots (high resource input and low performance impact), hot spots (low resource input and high performance impact) and horse trading ( trading of resources based on demand and supply)

The 3 focus factors in motivating employees

• kingpins- the key influencers in the organisation
• fishbowl management-placing the kingpins in a fishbowl so that their actions and inaction are made transparent to others
• atomization- framing of the strategic challenge

Chan clearly showcases how Bratton went about using all these factors in bringing down the crime rate in New York.

To knock over the political hurdle he professes to leverages the angels ( thsoe who gain the most from stategic shift) and silence the devils ( those who los the most from this shift and securing the consigliere (who is politically adept and highly respected insider who knows who fight for you and who will support you and also knows all the landmines)

Tipping point leadership explains that for changing the mass it must focus on transforming the extremes:people, acts, activities that excercise a disproportionate influence on peformance. This a major shift from conventional wisdom which believes in organisational change in trasnforming the mass.