THE NEW YORK TIMES AND BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY

William J. Holstein, the Armchair M.B.A. columnist for the New York Times interviewed the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy. Two comments made by the authors during the interview caught my attention. First:

Q. Why don't you think American companies are doing a good job of strategic planning?

A. Mauborgne: They are always benchmarking the competition, in terms of cost and quality. That means they will tend to compete head-on within existing industry boundaries. That's bloody. Strategic planning is usually focused on numbers rather than getting out of existing boundaries to leave the competition behind.

RESPONSE. The reason why you benchmark competition in terms of cost and quality is not to compete head on. The reason you benchmark competition is to develop strategies that DO NOT require you to compete head. Ironically, if the authors spent time with Sun Tzu's Art of War they would discover some fascinating insights into winning without fighting. Second:

Q. Are you suggesting that breakthrough innovations are not just trial and error?

A. Mauborgne: Absolutely. We should never see innovation as a random process. That's not the way to do it. Silicon Valley has a huge failure ratio. There should be a systematic, repeatable pattern that maximizes opportunities while minimizing the risks.

RESPONSE. Innovation is a predictable process? inspiration is a predictable process? I don't think so. Attempting to corral these spontaneous activities into predictable repeatable processes will kill the creativity and run-off the personalities and archetypes who drive real innovation. Instead embrace uncertainty and exploit the outcomes.

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Comments

[Jurgen Oskamp]

I think innovation can be predictable to a certain hight. You can predict somehow what directions new technologies will go, or predict new products based on the evolution and combination of current technologies. Business would be impossible if innovation was based on shear luck. Products like an mp3 player are predicted 10 years ago.