20Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr

The most common mistake when ending a Blue Ocean Strategy Project

Blue Ocean Articles
This article is the last in a series of 6 common pitfalls to implementing a Blue Ocean Strategy— and how to avoid them. If you missed the first five, go back and read them here, here, here, here and here. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss any of them. If you’ve been following along this series, you now know the key pitfalls to avoid at every stage of a Blue Ocean Strategy implementation project. From getting initial buy-in from leadership, to setting up the project team, to getting outside feedback on the strategy ideas, implementing a Blue Ocean Strategy requires doing things differently throughout the project. And that’s true even after the strategy project ends. In this article, you’ll learn the key pitfall…
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20Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr

Why you should share your Blue Ocean strategy project externally, before implementing it

Blue Ocean Articles
This article is the 5th in a series of 6 common pitfalls to implementing a Blue Ocean Strategy— and how to avoid them. If you missed the first four, go back and read them here, here, here and here. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss any of them. Blue Ocean Strategy is known for its counter-intuitive approach– to get results, you have to do things you may have never done before. Organizations that decide to start a Blue Ocean Strategy project know this in theory, but often struggle to implement it once it starts to push them out of their comfort zone. One of the most difficult thresholds for companies to cross is also one of the most important parts of a successful…
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20Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr

How building a business case too early can ruin your Blue Ocean Strategy project

Blue Ocean Articles
This article is the 4th in a series of 6 common pitfalls to implementing a Blue Ocean Strategy— and how to avoid them. If you missed the first three, go back and read them here, here and here. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss any of them. One of the key steps of Blue Ocean Strategy is generating fresh ideas which create new value in new market spaces. But if you think “brainstorming” is part of your Blue Ocean process, think again. Many strategic planning sessions start with generating as many new ideas as possible. But what sets Blue Ocean Strategy apart from other strategic approaches is how much time is given to the ideation process in order to maximize value creation for…
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20Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr

The most common pitfall to conducting market research when implementing your Blue Ocean Strategy project

Blue Ocean Articles
This article is the 3rd in a series of 6 common pitfalls to implementing a Blue Ocean Strategy— and how to avoid them. If you missed the first two, go back and read them here and here. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss any of them. If you’re familiar with Blue Ocean strategy, you know how important market research is to the value innovation process. The “fieldwork” of getting out and talking to your potential market is key to successfully identifying growth opportunities. And while many companies do indeed perform market research, it is not the study of customer behavior, message recall or unmet customer needs that will help us find a Blue Ocean Strategy.    Why? They focus on existing customers, rather…
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09Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr
Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne named “the world’s most influential management thinkers”: Thinkers50

Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne named “the world’s most influential management thinkers”: Thinkers50

Blue Ocean Articles
Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne named “the World’s Most Influential Management Thinkers”: Thinkers50 Posted by the Blue Ocean Team   Thinkers50, the premier ranking of global business thinkers, just announced its 2019 ranking of the World’s Most Influential Management Thinkers.Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne topped the list and secured the #1 spot as the World’s Most Influential Business Thought Leaders for the far-ranging global impact of their blue ocean theory and practice. A position previously held by the likes of Peter Drucker, Michael Porter, CK Prahalad, and Clayton Christensen. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne’s theory of blue ocean is recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful theories of strategy ever created.  It is taught in over 2500 universities and in almost every country in the world with their…
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09Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr
Blue Ocean Awards 2019: Creating the Blue Ocean Cities of Tomorrow

Blue Ocean Awards 2019: Creating the Blue Ocean Cities of Tomorrow

Blue Ocean Articles
  Over 600 executives came together for the 6th edition of the Blue Ocean Awards, held on 7 November 2019 at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Paris, France. The competition, inspired by Blue Ocean Strategy, recognizes the most innovative, ambitious French entrepreneurs striving to create their own blue oceans.   BLUE OCEAN CITIES OF TOMORROW The theme of this year’s event was, How can cities shift out of red ocean competition to create blue ocean cities of tomorrow. Blue ocean cities are where growth is strong, companies thrive, jobs are created and our communities are safe, happy, and flourishing. In the drive to foster a vibrant future economy, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance supports and hosts the ever-growing Blue Ocean Awards. The event is organized by Alban…
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09Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr
High School Students – Pitch Your Entrepreneurial Ideas

High School Students – Pitch Your Entrepreneurial Ideas

Blue Ocean Articles
Are you a parent, uncle or aunt of a high school student? Do you have friends who have teenagers? Or are you a high school student yourself?  If yes, here’s an opportunity you’ll want to partake in or share.  It’s called the Blue Ocean High School Entrepreneurship Competition – now the largest virtual high school entrepreneurship competition in the world. Here high school students get a chance to polish their pitching skills, earn cash prizes, and build their resumes all for free.   Did you know?   Did you know that 66% of young people want to start their own business? But only 45% of new businesses survive after 5 years, and only 16 % survive after 10 years. At the same time, while small and medium businesses represent 98%…
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09Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr
Humanness – Inspiring Confidence to Execute Transformational Change

Humanness – Inspiring Confidence to Execute Transformational Change

Blue Ocean Articles
How Asia’s largest opium-producing area was transformed into one of the world’s best examples of sustainable development By J. Rae Cho & Gowrishankar Sundararajan, Value Innovation Group ‘The DTDP is one of the world’s best examples of sustainable development’. The best-laid plans of an organization come to nothing if employees are not behind them. This is because most organizations face internal hurdles to change – from cognitive hurdles of people wedded to the status quo to political hurdles created by deep divisions and silos that breed infighting. If you do not address these hurdles to execution upfront, your efforts at change are likely to fail. Building people’s trust and aligning them with a new strategy is critical. This is especially true in the innovation-driven economy where organizations depend on employees’…
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09Jan 2020 by Sherman Mohr
Empowering High School Entrepreneurs

Empowering High School Entrepreneurs

Blue Ocean Articles
Nicholas Benavides, The Founder | Ted Dacko, The Executive Director of the Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition In June 2018, Ted Dacko was appointed Executive Director of the Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition for high school students. Dacko is perfectly suited to this role. In his former role as CEO of HealthMedia, Dacko applied the blue ocean approach and tools to shift the company from a once-struggling $6-million-dollar company to one worth $185 million in just two years. And all that during the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. Ted Dacko’s commitment to blue ocean principles and his vast entrepreneurial experience have been hugely beneficial in taking the competition to a new level in the 2018-19 year, which just concluded. As Executive Director, Ted has successfully transitioned the Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition from a high-school…
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