Blue Ocean Strategy — W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

Summary in 15 minutes. A bloody fight for the same customers, or new and uncontested space? The canvas, the four actions and the six paths: tools for finding a blue ocean. People who don’t buy yet, and turning an idea into a business. Blue oceans for small businesses, and the limits of the theory. You’ve finished reading. Now sketch your own blue ocean.

Key ideas of "Blue Ocean Strategy"

Two Oceans

A bloody fight for the same customers, or new and uncontested space?

1. Red Ocean, Blue Ocean: Two kinds of market
2. Value Innovation: Differentiation and low cost, together

Drawing a New Market

The canvas, the four actions and the six paths: tools for finding a blue ocean.

1. The Strategy Canvas: The market on a single page
2. The Four Actions Framework: Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create
3. The Six Paths: Where to look for blue oceans

Noncustomers and the Right Sequence

People who don’t buy yet, and turning an idea into a business.

1. Look to Noncustomers: The huge market beyond the market
2. The Right Strategic Sequence: Utility → price → cost → adoption
3. Execution and Fair Process: Bringing people with you

Application and Balance

Blue oceans for small businesses, and the limits of the theory.

1. Blue Oceans for Small Businesses: Even if you’re not a big company
2. Sustaining a Blue Ocean: Imitators will come
3. Limits and Criticisms: How to read this book

Put It to Work

You’ve finished reading. Now sketch your own blue ocean.

1. The 7-Day Plan: One tool a day. Tick it off when done.
2. One-Page Cheat Sheet: The whole book at a glance — save it
3. Final Word — Your Own Ocean: Creation, not combat

From the free first chapter

INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne studied about 150 strategic moves in 30-plus industries over a century. Their conclusion: markets come in two kinds, red oceans and blue oceans.

Read the first chapter free · Price: ৳250 · or every book with a membership