BLUE OCEAN LEADERSHIP
Kim & Mauborgne, Harvard Business Review
May 2014
Summary: Ten years ago, two INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne broke ground by introducing “blue ocean strategy,” a new model for discovering uncontested markets that are ripe for growth. In this article, Kim and Mauborgne apply their concepts and tools to what is perhaps the greatest challenge of leadership: closing the gulf between the potential and the realized talent and energy of employees.
Research indicates that this gulf is vast: According to Gallup, 70% of workers are disengaged from their jobs. If companies could find a way to convert them into engaged employees, the results could be transformative. The trouble is, managers lack a clear understanding of what changes they could make to bring out the best in everyone. Here, Kim and Mauborgne offer a solution to that problem: a systematic approach to uncovering, at each level of the organization, which leadership acts and activities will inspire employees to give their all, and a process for getting managers throughout the company to start doing them.
Blue ocean leadership works because the managers’ “customers”—that is, the people managers oversee and report to—are involved in identifying what’s effective and what isn’t. Moreover, the approach doesn’t require leaders to alter who they are, just to undertake a different set of tasks. And that kind of change is much easier to implement and track than changes to values and mind-sets.
From Blue Ocean Strategy to Blue Ocean Leadership
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
September 16, 2014
Summary: The same way that blue ocean strategy can create uncontested market space, blue ocean leadership can unleash oceans of untapped talent and employee potential in organizations. The series of blog posts on the INSEAD Knowledge by Kim and Mauborgne will explore how blue ocean leadership differs from conventional leadership approaches and explain each of the four steps to put blue ocean leadership into practice.
The Four Pillars of Blue Ocean Leadership
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
September 23, 2014
Summary: To unleash employees’ untapped talent and energy, leaders need a strong repertoire of actions, not just better awareness and empathy. In this blog post Kim and Mauborgne, the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, explore the four ways in which blue ocean leadership fundamentally departs from conventional leadership development approaches and why these differences make a difference to achieving a step change in leadership strength fast and at low cost.
How to See Your Current Leadership Reality
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
October 1, 2014
Summary: Without a common understanding of where leadership stands today and is falling short, a forceful case for change cannot be made. In this blog post Kim and Mauborgne, the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, explore the first of four steps to putting blue ocean leadership into practice – ‘see your leadership reality.’
How to Develop and Select Your New Leadership Profiles
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
October 7, 2014
Summary: The Blue Ocean Leadership Grid can be used to identify what leadership acts and activities should be eliminated, reduced, raised, and created in pursuit of high impact at low cost.
How to Institutionalise Your New Blue Ocean Leadership Practices
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
October 14, 2014
Summary: After identifying what leadership acts and activities should be eliminated, reduced, raised and created to achieve a step change in leadership strength in your organisation, it’s time to institutionalise your new leadership profiles.
A Conversation On Blue Ocean Leadership
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
October 21, 2014
Summary: A Conversation on Blue Ocean Leadership is now available on INSEAD Knowledge. In this interview, authors Kim and Mauborgne answer key questions on the theory, application, and impact of Blue Ocean Leadership.
The Mind Map of Blue Ocean Leadership
Kim & Mauborgne, INSEAD Knowledge
November 13, 2014
Summary: Releasing the ocean of untapped talent and energy of employees is something few companies can afford not to do. Visualising blue ocean leadership in comparison to conventional leadership practices will help you with implementation.