Think About It… the e-book version

by Todd Youngblood

Now and then a great idea re-emerges in new context and gets us thinking again. Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim & Mauborgne has one of those notions.

When I was eight, my little league baseball coach gave me a bit of advice. As a batter, I was making contact with the ball, but was still having trouble getting on base. Coach noticed my frustration, reminded me to keep my swing level and made what struck me at the time as a profound statement… “Hit it where they ain’t.”

Not that it’s easy, but it is possible to hit a baseball to a particular spot where nobody in the field can easily catch it. It is possible to learn techniques for doing so. It is possible to practice that skill. It is possible to get better at it and to become successful using it. Even with running speed more like molasses than greased lightning, I started getting on base more often, scoring more often and having more fun.

Interestingly though, very, very few of the other kids bothered with the “hit it where they ain’t” strategy. They had lots of reasons; too different, too hard, too boring, not the way baseball was supposed to be played, nobody around to teach them how to do it, etc.

Now a few years (…OK, a few decades) later, I came across the same advice in a totally different context and realize that old coach Siwak was really onto something. The fundamental premise of Blue Ocean Strategy is to get really good at something your competitors don’t even think about, and then use it to radically set yourself apart from them.

For example, in the wholesale distribution industry, price, delivery, features, service, product/application knowledge and reputation are the traditional, most often cited sources of differentiation. Sales reps in the industry focus on articulating how they are better providers of these types of value.

The graph shows the amount of value delivered for each of the key competitive factors. Note that the white “Industry” line as well as the blue line for the “ABC Company” track closely at the 80% level. In other words, ABC is swimming in a “red ocean” where all competitors are focused on delivering the same types of value. The bad news is that the quality & value of ABC is virtually indistinguishable from anybody else.

What if ABC took a “hit it where they ain’t” approach? What if they dramatically de-emphasized competition on price and delivery and re-invested the effort saved in improving customer business processes and financial performance? Now ABC can get away from the blood in the water and distinguish itself in a unique way. They could be all alone in talking about and delivering value on whole new dimensions. Like the other little leaguers, ABC’s competitors are likely to ignore the strategy for all the same reasons.

Not that getting good at finding new ways of delivering value is any easier than getting good at hitting a baseball where they ain’t… Implementing Blue Ocean Strategy will take work – real work and lots of it. Doesn’t it make sense though, to read and learn some more about this approach? It might be the difference maker between an industry average year and a break-out, banner year. Get a copy. Then…