Of red and blue oceans - Strategy for non believers like me
I pick up strategy books with a lot of trepidation. All the strategy books that i have read ( i should confess that i havent read toooooo many of them ) tend to be descriptive and try to look at business history and look at patterns that have occured and then try to force fit a framework that explains these patterns.
As a result, you have fancy frameworks like BCG Matrix, GE-McKinsey ( Gem of an example of how highly paid consultants can monetize common sense ) and five forces. A big problem with all these strategy tools/frameworks has been that its difficult to take these top level frameworks and translate them into concrete ground level actions .. it is a bit like a meteor shower entering the earth’s atmosphere, looks beautiful .. but you see lesser and lesser of it as it near’s you (thankfully, no pun intended ).
In this light, had picked up Blue ocean strategy with some sarcasm. Had been telling myself that it probably wasnt worth buying .. but should say that it is by far the best strategy book that i have read ( its very lucid and short - only 240 pages .. gosh .. and its a strategy book … ). If your employer has stocked up on this book or you are in a good mood and want to splurge about a 1000 + bucks, pick it up. Strategy might actually make sense. Net net , you might actually enjoy the writing style of the authors ( even if you are not a great strategy fan like me ).
When ever i need to buy these books .. i start missing ISB big time. Those were the days when i could dig out any esoteric book ( Courtesy Google and Y! search ) and in almost all the cases .. this book would be there in the LRC. Damn .. why dosent Y! have an office in Hyderabad.
BTW, Y! has access to online editions of most books that i would need .. but then reading online isn’t as much fun as having a few papers within your hands
