BOS

When I first talked to my wife about this sometime last year, she asked me: Apa ini Blue Ocean-Red Ocean?? Want go swimming ar? I did explained to her about how a company can create new markets by avoiding the competitors' markets etc etc, but in a MCC face she asked: How ah? u means we have to swim in the blue ocean a? Adoii! I'm not a good lecturer lar!!.....wait....wait, she got a point! Swiming in the BLUE OCEAN instead of the RED OCEAN!!
Anyway, I will not give up until my student understand. Here you go, my dear.

What is BOS?

BLUE Ocean Strategy (BOS) provides a systematic approach to making the competition in business irrelevant.

The aim of BOS is not to outperform the competition in the existing industry, but to create new market space or a Blue Ocean, thereby reducing competition.

There are several key points of BOS:

BOS is the result of a decade-long study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than 30 industries over 100 years (1880-2000).

It is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost.

The strategy offers a set of methodologies and tools to create new market space.

It also offers a systematic and reproducible methodologies and processes in pursuit of innovation by both new and existing firms.

BOS frameworks and tools include strategy canvas, value curve, four actions framework, six paths, buyer experience cycle, buyer utility map, and blue ocean idea index.

These frameworks and tools are designed to be visual in order to not only effectively build the collective wisdom of the company but also to effectively execute through easy communication.

BOS covers strategy formulation and execution. The three key conceptual building blocks of BOS are value innovation, tipping point leadership and fair process.

How does Blue Ocean strategy fundamentally differ from Red Ocean strategy?

In simple terms, Red Ocean strategy is about how to out-pace rivals in existing market space; it is a market-competing strategy.

In contrast, Blue Ocean strategy is about how to get out of established market boundaries to leave the competition behind; it is a market-creating strategy.

Source: The Star, Extracted from the Internet on BOS

The Star today carried a few articles on BOS here, here and here.