Max S. Dunn

Book: Blue Ocean Strategy

Posted by: Max Dunn on August 4, 2010 08:34:51

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim, et al. (Hardcover - Feb. 3, 2005)

This book reminded me of surfing. When surfing at a point break, like most of Santa Cruz, there is one takeoff spot where it is best to catch the wave. Lots of people jockey to catch waves at this location and when you do get a wave there, you get a really great ride. But because of the competition, you usually end up sitting a lot and not catching many waves.

However, surfers tend to cluster together and sometimes the pack will drift away from the right takeoff spot. In addition, when the tide comes up or goes down, the takeoff location can change. Keeping an eye out for this can land you some great rides.

Another strategy is is to look around to see if there are other spots to catch waves. Maybe they won't be as big or perfect shaped, but there won't be many (or any) other surfers there so you can catch a ton of fun, smaller waves. 

In a nutshell, this is what the book is about - only instead of surfing, it is about finding uncontested market space so that the competition becomes irrelevant.