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Average Customer Rating:

Boring Book	Customer Rating:
This book begins with a claim that it will establish yet another framework for setting a winning strategy. The authors then lose themselves in telling several anecdotes most of them where already told, in a better way, in other similar books. The book fails to meet the expectations it raises in the first pages: no framework, just well-known stories written in a tedious style.

Four stars for the idea, two for the execution

Customer Rating:

In "Blue Ocean Strategy", Professors Kim and Mauborgne expound an excellent strategic concept for innovation in the spirit of "Disruption" or "Thinking out of the box". Where "Blue Ocean Strategy" diverges from the idea of rather vague "Blue Skies Thinking" is that the philosophy is firmly rooted in reality with a well thought-through strategic sequence for working with the concept and tips on the nitty-gritty of actually implementing this throughout the organisation. In addition, the authors make the point that innovation must not always depend on a technological breakthrough and the idea of "Value innovation" is central to the concept. The examples used are super - as well as the "usual suspects" such as Starbucks and Co. (yawn!) - there are some terrific case histories from outside the field of consumer goods and services, from the NYPD to Cirque du Soleil to the US Forces' Joint Strike Fighter. Where the book falls down for me is in its structure and style. The writing is not particularly good and often falls into unintentional humour: "The challenge is to successfully identify, out of the haystack of possibilities that exist, commercially compelling blue ocean opportunities." What pictures does this mixed metaphor conjure up? The structure, as other reviewers have pointed out, leads to a lot of dull repetition, which is a shame as the overall concept is a good one.

One of the Most Important Works on Innovation

Customer Rating:

This is a highly influential and important book in the field of innovation and business strategy. Most markets are crowded with me-too companies fighting each other with cut-throat discounts and special offers. Kim and Mauborgne show how you can move out of this bloody 'red ocean' into a different and more profitable 'blue ocean.' I found the most useful part of the book was the description of company 'value curves' which compare the values that you offer in different aspects of your product or service with those of your competitors. It is an invaluable starting point in searching for ways to gain competitive advantage through innovation. There are some good case studies and examples. The later parts of the book on implementing the strategy are a little weaker but overall it is highly recommended.

Eye-opening

Customer Rating:

This is a very well thought through and researched piece of work. It is a must -read for any CEO who wants his company to operate in a space different from the beaten track. The book puts together a pack of simple yet powerful tools to conceptualize the new space, define it in detail, craft a profit strategy, and actualize its implementation. The examples used are penetratively insightful, and liberal in number for the point(s) to be driven home. Although primarily geared more for B2C businesses, the broad principles can be extrapolated for any type of business. I was pleasantly intrigued to find that on the back of this book someone has actually created a service offering and started a boutique consulting firm. That is very impressive indeed.

Read the first half of the book - excellent. 2nd half- dull

Customer Rating:

I have been reading their reviews over the years and its good to see a summary book of their principles of value innovation. Their contextual examples really emphasise their thoughts well and for any practising marketeer, the strategic canvass section is an excellent tool in developing genuine new market space. By identifying key qualities in a market, or consumer need, and then reducing, eliminating, increasing or creating qualities, new market space is found. The end of the book is filler and offers no more insight than many other books on similar subjects - but then at least you only have to read half the book to gets it true value.