Value Innovation is the cornerstone of a Blue Ocean Strategy, but how do you create that cornerstone? What if a Curiosity-Based Thinking approach to strategy is your first step?
In Blue Ocean Strategy, authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne argue in order to successfully strategize toward blue oceans, there most first be a focus on value innovation in order to make “… the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for your buyers and company.”
Boiled down: create something that costs your company less to produce that your customers value more. It’s a bit like giving “buy low, sell high” stock advice. Thanks.
But what if, a little raw curiosity combined with Curiosity-Based Thinking processes can provide you with a steady stream of strategies to sail where your competitors are irrelevant?
What if the truth is, we’re surrounded by blue oceans? How do you find them?
Step 1: What if you start looking where — and how — your competition isn’t?
What if 1+1=3?
What if Apple and Samsung collaborated to create a new phone? What are its features and design?
What if the Post Office also ran a hamburger stand? Describe its operations.
What if Fender guitars merged with Ford Motors? What would their product be?
Another where and way to look: What if curiosity is simile?
What if IKEA is a leopard? Describe its business model.
What if your new product or service is a color? How do your customers connect with that color?
What if you can also change the “when” of where you find your blue oceans:
What if your business were in business 378 years ago? What is your value proposition for your customers?
What if you could ask your customers a question three months in the future and get their response today? What would you ask them?
If this Curiosity-Based Thinking activity has your curiosity craving more, check out What if You Innovate Like an Octopus? for more all natural Blue Ocean strategy exercises!
Keep your curiosity going with more What? to Wow! and Curiosity-Based Thinking content and activities from What If Curiosity and The Book of What If…?!
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