2008-09-23 Four stars for the idea, two for the execution

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.