Week 3 Response for Ent 601

I have always considered creativity to be an inherent trait.  I never considered myself to be a creative person.  Coming up with plans based on “conventional wisdom” is something that I think I am very good at however. I have the ability to analyze the current events in the market and devise a plan to handle them on a day to day basis.  Anticipating the demands of customers and finding prospects is part weekly planning in any sales territory.  In “Blue Ocean Strategy,” the reader is encourage to think beyond what is in their world at the current moment.

When I reflect on this Weeks’s reading, my opinion on creativity is starting to change.  Perhaps creativity can be learned.  The authors are mapping out steps to take a company from competing in markets that emphasize price and “me too” philosophies to being completely unique.  There seems to be a methodology to creativity and innovation.  Maybe there is a “how to guide” to thinking outside the box.

The authors are encouraging the readers to ponder “across” different fields of thought.  The fields they list are “industries, strategic groups within industries, chain of buyers, complementary product or service offerings, functional or emotional appeal to buyers, and time.”  Each field requires the person to strategically consider how they can create value for the customer.  In my daily life as an outside sales representative, I have called on various levels of decision makers including purchasing agents, owners, and C.E.O.s to include a few. What is important to one is not usually important to the other.  Considering all factors and people requires me to adjust a presentation to my audience.  The authors discussed the methods in which most pharmaceutical companies go to market.  Usually they will target the decision maker which is the health care professional. Novo Nordisk was able to gain tremendous share in the insulin market when they considered the convenience of the patient by developing the insulin pen.

This book and even more so “Entrepreneurial Innovation” is requiring me to think creatively.  I believe getting out of my comfort zone and implementing many of the ideas I am learning will pay dividends in the future.

Innovation Leadership Podcast for Ent 601

Ent 601 Week 2 Response

In today’s economy, most industries face fierce competition.  Technological advances such as smart phones and social media have made the competition within industries even more fierce.  Potential customers can ask for three contractors and have their pricing within minutes with companies like home advisor.  How easy is it to search reviews on Amazon to make sure you are making the best purchase possible compared to the many choices that are available?

In Blue Ocean Strategy – How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant (2015), W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne explain how a company can pull away from the competition by delivering value to the client.  Whether the owners of a company know it or not, they need to working toward operating in a “Blue Ocean.”  The stiff competition experienced in a “Red Ocean” results in companies eroding their profit margins as they are primarily competing on price.   Although it is not stated in the book,  I believe the authors imagined companies competing in the “Red Ocean” are like sharks devouring each other.

The second chapter of the first section describes “analytical tools and frameworks” which are used to move a company from competing in a “Red Ocean” to a “Blue Ocean.”  The idea is to decide what parts of the company’s operation need to be changed.  Just as important is what needs to be eliminated.  It can be easy for some to make additions to their operation without stopping redundant or unnecessary activities.  

Additions are important to differentiate a company from its competitors.  Eliminating unnecessary operations are what helps to control costs.  The author wishes to advise executives how to profitably scale their company as opposed to just growing sales.  

In addition to profitable growth, the strategies that I will read about in the upcoming chapters are designed to protect companies from their competitors.  Many companies will have a “me too” attitude. They might state that they can do what their competitor can do but better and cheaper.  This is how the “red ocean” works.  By transitioning to a “Blue Ocean,”  they can compete on different level.  It allows for a company to command a higher profit margin because they provide value that others in their industry do not.

In the upcoming chapters, the authors will describe the methodologies that are required to take a company to the next level. I am looking forward to finding out more about this topic!

References:

References:

Kim, C. and Mauborgne, R. (2015) Blue Ocean Strategy – How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Harvard Business Review Press, ISBN 978-1-62527-449-6