14 talks about top performance & business growth

Are you looking for insights on top performance & business growth?

Here are 14 talks featuring the BRAND MINDS 2023 speakers sharing their insights on habits, the new way of working, technology, marketing, sales, creativity and more.

14 talks about top performance & business growth

Building & changing habits with James Clear of “Atomic Habits”

YouTube Ads: Why is it not working and what to do with Neil Patel

New Ways of Working with Lynda Gratton

What’s Your Blue Ocean Strategy? Make Your Competition Irrelevant with Author Renée Mauborgne 

3 reasons why your lookalike audience isn’t converting with Neil Patel

Creating new, empowering habits with James Clear

5 tips to think like a millionaire with Blair Singer

Keeping your PR creative, imaginative, curious and intuitive with Disney’s Duncan Wardle

Nassim Nicholas Taleb on Skin in the Game

Women in Engineering Day with Anne-Marie Imafidon

Move Beyond Competing with Renée Mauborgne

How to build awesome habits with James Clear

How to price correctly with Neil Patel

Why you should redesign your HR strategy with Lynda Gratton

20 great business books to scale your business

Here are the 20 great business books you should read this year to scale your business fast:

1. Blue Ocean Strategy: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
2. Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond Competing – Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Seize New Growth
3. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
4. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
5. Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
6. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
7. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
8. The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
9. Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum
10. She’s in CTRL
11. The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity
12. Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organisation and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone
13. The Shift: The Future of Work is already here
14. The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World
15. Glow: How you can radiate energy, innovation and success
16. The Key: How Corporations Succeed by Solving the World’s Toughest Problems
17. The Exceptional Manager: Making the Difference
18. Hot Spots: Why some companies buzz with energy and innovation – and others don’t
19. Sales Dogs: You Don’t Have to be an Attack Dog to Explode Your Income
20. Little Voice Mastery: How to Win the War Between Your Ears in 30 Seconds or Less and Have an Extraordinary Life

These books are bestsellers written by global business thinkers speaking at BRAND MINDS 2023.

Blue Ocean Strategy: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

Recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written, Blue Ocean Strategy argues that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool.

Based on a study of 150 strategic moves, spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries, the authors, Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne show that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating “blue oceans” — untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

Embraced by organizations and industries worldwide, Blue Ocean Strategy is a global phenomenon that has sold over 4 million copies, is published in a record-breaking 47 languages and is a bestseller across five continents. First published in 2005, it was updated and expanded with fresh content in 2015.

Blue Ocean Strategy will teach you:

1. What is distinctive about Blue Ocean Strategy as a theory;
2. How is Blue Ocean Strategy different from a classic differentiation strategy or a low-cost strategy;
3. How to reconstruct market boundaries;
4. Why you need to focus on the big picture;
5. How to reach beyond existing demand;
6. How to overcome organizational hurdles;
7. How to build execution into strategy.

Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond Competing – Proven Steps to Inspire Confidence and Seize New Growth by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

‘Blue Ocean Shift’ is the indispensable and much-anticipated follow-up to ’Blue Ocean Strategy’. It is the New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. The definitive guide to shift you, your team, and your organization to new heights of confidence, market creation, and growth.

‘Blue Ocean Shift’ will teach you: 

1. Why  focusing on competing misses huge growth opportunities;
2. How  to expand your thinking on strategy beyond competing;
3. Why thinking creative destruction and disruption as sources of innovation is limiting;
4. How  you can grow through nondisruptive creation;
5. How  anyone in any organization can move from red to blue oceans with BLUE OCEAN SHIFT’s systematic five-step process—not just entrepreneurs;
6. Why people’s confidence is essential to create and execute your growth strategy and how to build it;
7. Why you should not build your growth strategy based on existing environmental and industry conditions and how you can shape them in your favour for growth.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

“Atomic Habits is a powerful book that has changed the way I think about how I live and lead.” 

Brené Brown, author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers

This breakthrough book from James Clear is the most comprehensive guide on how to change your habits and get 1% better every day. 

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits—whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, and achieve success that lasts.

‘Atomic Habits’ will teach you how to:

1. Build a system for getting 1% better every day;
2. Break your bad habits and stick to good ones;
3. Avoid the common mistakes most people make when changing habits;
4. Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
5. Develop a stronger identity and believe in yourself;
6. Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
7. Design your environment to make success easier;
8. Make tiny, easy changes that deliver big results;
9. Get back on track when you get off course;
10. And most importantly, how to put these ideas into practice in real life.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“The Black Swan changed my view of how the world works.”

Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate

‘The Black Swan’ is a New York Times bestseller and one of the twelve most influential books since World War II as per Sunday Times. 

Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, The Black Swan will change the way you look at the world. Taleb is a vastly entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence, and unusual stories to tell. He has a polymathic command of subjects ranging from cognitive science to business to probability theory. The Black Swan is a landmark book—itself a black swan.

‘The Black Swan’ will teach you:

1. What is a Black Swan event;
2. How to recognize Black Swan events;
3. How to adapt your business to the changes Black Swan events bring;
4. How to approach opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand.

Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A New York Times bestseller, ‘Skin in the Game’ is Taleb’s most provocative and practical book yet. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one’s own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.

In his book, Taleb challenges long-held beliefs about the values of those who spearhead military interventions, make financial investments, and propagate religious faiths.

‘Skin in the Game’ will teach you how to:

1. Understand the world from a new vantage point;
2. Succeed in your business, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense;
3. Influence others.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

‘Fooled by Randomness’ is a Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year and was named by Fortune One of the Smartest Books of All Time.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader and renowned risk expert – has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill–the world of trading–and written in an entertaining narrative style, ’Fooled by Randomness’ provides captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives. 

‘Fooled by Randomness’ will teach you how to:

1. Deal with luck in life and business;
2. Approach luck and skill the right way;
3. Leverage the power of luck;
4. Understand the major intellectual issues related to the underestimation of the influence of happenstance on our lives.

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

‘Antifragile’ is the #1 Bestseller in Phenomenological Philosophy on Amazon.

Just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension, and rumours or riots intensify when someone tries to repress them, many things in life benefit from stress, disorder, volatility, and turmoil. 

‘Antifragile’ will teach you how to:

1. Thrive in an uncertain world, in business and life;
2. Identify the category of things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish.

The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

‘The Bed of Procrustes’ is a collection of aphorisms and meditations where Nassim Taleb expresses his major ideas in ways you least expect.

The Bed of Procrustes takes its title from Greek mythology: the story of a man who made his visitors fit his bed to perfection by either stretching them or cutting their limbs. It represents Taleb’s view of modern civilization’s hubristic side effects—modifying humans to satisfy technology, blaming reality for not fitting economic models, inventing diseases to sell drugs, defining intelligence as what can be tested in a classroom, and convincing people that employment is not slavery.

‘The Bed of Procrustes’ will teach you:

1. Surprising truths by exposing self-delusions you have been living with but never recognized;
2. How to test your business decisions by looking at them through a fresh new lens and see if they still stand.

Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, and Jonas Koffler

‘Hustle’ is a New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and IndieBound bestseller that Fortune says is a must-read for any entrepreneur.

The book is a dynamic, game-changing guide to finding success and fearlessly outsmarting the system.

The authors reveal their groundbreaking three-part framework of Heart, Head, and Habits. 

‘Hustle’ will teach you:

1. Why you must own your dreams, not rent dreams from others;
2. Ways to create your own luck and “POP”;
3. How to betray yourself to stay true to yourself—and develop your potential;
4. The four major career hustles and the path that’s best for you.

She’s in CTRL by Anne-Marie Imafidon

Recently our eyes have been opened to the dangerous fact that our technology is built by a series of big decisions made by a small number of people, mainly men. It means our technology is derived from the gender, nationality and beliefs of a section of society whose lived experience may not chime with our own. The tech world might feel beyond reach, particularly if you’re a woman.

But in ‘She’s In CTRL’, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, a dynamic advocate for women in STEM, insists that technology is not the preserve of the elite. It is in our homes and in our hands. Rather than feeling powerless to make changes to the way tech works and fails, she argues that it’s time to get into the room where the decisions are made. Or, better still, create their own tech rooms.

This powerful book about women, tech and daring to dream takes inspiration from Dr Imafidon’s own experience and from the stories of other pioneers and innovators who have, against the odds, transformed technology. 

‘She’s in CTRL’ will teach you:

1. That technology is not an unchangeable and unquestionable force;
2. How to use technology to future-proof your business;
3. How to play a part in ensuring a future that is evenly distributed.

Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organisation and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone by Lynda Gratton

Whether you’re working in a small team or running a multinational, this is the time to make lasting changes and equip your business for the future.

‘Redesigning Work’ is the definitive book on how to transform your organisation and make hybrid working work for you.

Based on thirty years of research into the technological, demographic, cultural and societal trends that are shaping work, and building on what we learned through our experiences of the global pandemic,

‘Redesigning Work’ will teach you:

1. Lynda Gratton’s innovative four-step framework for redesigning work;
2. How to understand the challenges your business is facing;
3. To reimagine creative, new approaches and processes;
4. How to model and test these within your organisation;
5. How to act and create based on contemporary, data-led feedback;
6. How to help your team embrace change, increase productivity and thrive in our new, more flexible working world.

The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity by Lynda Gratton

‘What happens when many people live to 100’? Although technology has been much studied, the impact of demography on working lives is little understood.

Whilst life expectancy has increased for decades, society continues to structure lives in the same way as in the past; we learn, we work, we retire. It is clear that many current practices are ill-equipped to cope with a 100-year life and that individuals, companies and governments all have a role to play in ensuring we structure our lives differently so we can make the most of a longer life.

‘The 100-Year Life’ has created a global conversation about longevity. It has been translated into many languages, won prizes, became one of the best-selling books in Japan and has even been made into a manga.

‘The 100-Year Life’ will teach you:

1. The challenges and the intelligent choices you must make to turn greater life expectancy into a gift and not a curse;
2. How to adapt by focusing on intangible as well as tangible assets (includes a diagnostic profile).

The Shift: The Future of Work is already here by Lynda Gratton

By 2010 it was clear to Lynda Gratton that the world was facing a revolution in work. She could see a substantial schism between the past and the present in the way we work.

Much of the insights in this book came from the Future of Work Research Consortium, which brings companies from around the world together to imagine the future.

The book has been translated into multiple languages, won prizes and became a bestseller in Japan. Lynda Gratton uses it as a set text for her elective at London Business School, ‘The Future of Work’.

‘The Shift’ will teach you:

1. What is the impact of a low-carbon economy on the way we work;
2. How technology and globalisation work together with demographic and societal changes to transform work.

The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World by Lynda Gratton

Human progress has risen to great heights, but at the same time it has prompted anxiety about where we’re heading. Are our jobs under threat? If people live to 100, will they ever really stop working? And how will this change the way we love, manage and learn from others?

‘The New Long Life’ will teach you:

1. How longevity impacts your business;
2. How to make the most of smart new technologies;
3. What is Lynda Gratton’s ‘human ingenuity’ concept and what it means for the business environment;
4. How to navigate a new life by learning, transitioning, and making deep connections.

Glow: How you can radiate energy, innovation and success by Lynda Gratton

You know them at first sight: teammates or colleagues, direct reports or bosses who radiate enthusiasm, positive energy, and inspiration. Even in difficult circumstances they glow with an attitude that inspires others, fosters a great working experience for everyone, and creates empowering relationships.

‘Glow’ will teach you:

1. Three principles that people who glow live by;
2. Three actions for putting each principle into practice based on years of original research.

The Key: How Corporations Succeed by Solving the World’s Toughest Problems by Lynda Gratton

What would happen if corporations actively anchored themselves in their communities and supply chains? What if they leverage their unique capabilities to address complex global challenges such as climate change and youth unemployment?

When intelligence and wisdom are amplified, emotional vitality is enhanced and social connections are harnessed.

‘The Key’ will teach you how to:

1. Scale and mobilise your business with unique innovative strategies;
2. Grow your business by committing to solving global problems;
3. Create alliance-building capabilities for your business;
4. Bring resilience to a fragile world starting with what happens inside a corporation.

The Exceptional Manager: Making the Difference by Lynda Gratton

Many businesses face the choice of either competing on the ‘low road’ of cost or the ‘high road’ of innovation and value. 

This ground-breaking book is essential reading for policymakers, analysts, academics, and managers to be who want to make a different future.

‘The Exceptional Manager’ will teach you:

1. How to grow your business by applying the combined insight of some of the best minds in management;
2. The right way to assess the challenges your business faces with the help of a clear and crisp analysis;
3. A range of ideas on how to develop the competencies, practices and values that can make a difference in your business.

Hot Spots: Why some companies buzz with energy and innovation – and others don’t by Lynda Gratton

‘Hot Spots’ is one of Lynda Gratton’s most influential books developing one of her research findings which highlights the importance of cooperation to innovation. This topic, particularly boundary-spanning networks, is central to her views about creativity in corporations and she has used them right up to her present thoughts about hybrid work.

This book was the result of a research programme about cooperation, leveraging the companies in Lynda Gratton’s research consortium ‘The Leading Edge’ and with support from the Singapore government.

‘Hot Spots’ will teach you how to:

1. Encourage your own organisational Hot Spots by focusing on cooperation, networks and the role of purpose;
2. Build creativity in your organisation.

SalesDogs: You Don’t Have to be an Attack Dog to Explode Your Income by Blair Singer

The number one skill for any entrepreneur or business owner is the ability to sell. Why? Because sales = income. Yet, many fail financially not because they do not have great ideas or even good work ethic, but typically because they don’t know how to, refuse to, are afraid to, or don’t think it is important to know how to sell. 

‘SalesDogs’ will teach you:

1. How to overcome the fears, the myths and the obstacles to selling your products, services or yourself;
2. A simple, time-proven process of selling that will generate great income for your business;
3. The five most important selling skills to master;
4. How to overcome any objection;
5. How to manage a territory.

Little Voice Mastery: How to Win the War Between Your Ears in 30 Seconds or Less and Have an Extraordinary Life by Blair Singer

“Little Voice” is the chatter in the six inches between your ears that turns you into a hero one minute and a dunce the next. The 21 proven techniques presented here will reprogram the “Little Voice” in your brain in 30 seconds. 

‘Little Voice Mastery’ will teach you how to:

1. Build strategies and techniques to maintain power in any pressure situation;
2. Stop debilitating chatter in your brain so you can attract what you want;
3. Uncover and realize lifelong dreams;
4. Break through self-sabotaging habits;
5. Build powerful, lasting confidence;
6. Resurrect the hero inside of you.

26 key video lessons on business and personal growth you should see today

Take the reins of your personal and professional growth with 26 video lessons from global business thinkers speaking at BRAND MINDS 2023.

Grab your tickets today!

Video lessons on PERSONAL GROWTH with JAMES CLEAR, Bestselling Author of ‘Atomic Habits’

1. How to trigger good habits automatically

2. How long does it take to form a new habit

3. How to get 40 times better at anything 

4. Building and changing habits

Video lessons on DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY with NEIL PATEL, Digital Marketing Expert

5. How to build a marketing strategy in 10 minutes

6. Seven underrated marketing tips 

7. Key lessons learned from hiring a CEO 

8. Unique marketing lessons from billion-dollar companies you’ve never heard of

9. Four digital marketing strategies that just work

Video lessons on HOW IS FUTURE OF WORK IMPACTING YOUR COMPANY with LYNDA GRATTON, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

10. The 2 key factors redesigning today’s workplace

11. Redesigning work

Video lessons on the GLOBAL ECONOMY with NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB, Author & Risk Analyst

12. What are the greatest risks facing the global economy

13. Why ‘Skin in the Game’ is necessary to make sense of the world at large

Video lessons on BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGY with Renée Mauborgne, Bestselling Author of Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift

14. How to find new business growth opportunities in 3 essential steps 

15. How to create exceptional business growth through the Blue Ocean Strategy 

Video lessons on INNOVATION & CREATIVITY with DUNCAN WARDLE, Innovation Expert & Creative Director Disney

16. What is a simple way to get new ideas

17. How to challenge people to develop remarkable ideas 

18. What is the Moon Shot Thinking and what rules you should be challenging to get to it

19. How to get into the right state of mind to innovate at work

20. How to solve your business challenge by looking around the world of innovation

Video lessons on SALES STRATEGY SECRETS with Blair Singer, World Famous Sales Expert

21. Three secrets to winning every sales pitch

22. Six things that will give you an instant advantage in front of everyone 

23. How to start your journey to a scalable business

24. How to build the dream team in the business

Video lessons on ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF WORK with ANNE-MARIE IMAFIDON, Tech Leadership Expert

25. Why leaders should adopt A.I. to future-proof their businesses 

26. The definitive guide to changing your company from the inside out

27 growth insights from James Clear, Nassim Taleb, Renee Mauborgne, Blair Singer, Lynda Gratton and Anne-Marie Imafidon

Are you looking for growth insights with remarkable results in your life and career?

Here are 27 growth insights from global business thinkers and BRAND MINDS 2023 speakers James Clear, Nassim Taleb, Renée Mauborgne, Blair Singer, Lynda Gratton, Anne-Marie Imafidon and Neil Patel.

Grab your tickets today!

Growth Insight Quote #1:

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” (Atomic Habits)

James Clear, Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

Growth Insight Quote #2:

“The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking.”(Atomic Habits)

James Clear, Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

Growth Insight Quote #1:

“When you can’t win by being better, you can win by being different.” (Atomic Habits) 

James Clear, Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

Growth Insight Quote #4: 

“Professionals stick to the schedule, amateurs let life get in the way” (Atomic Habits)

James Clear,  Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

Growth Insight Quote #5:

“You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it.” (Atomic Habits)

James Clear, Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits

Growth Insight Quote #6:

“Face-to-face interactions between workers fell by 70% after they shifted to open-plan offices, according to one study.” (Redesigning Work)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #7:

“Flexibility became a reality, and leaders realized employees could still get their jobs done.” (Redesigning Work)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #8:

“Bureaucracy declined because of the ruthless prioritization required in the shift to remote work.” (Redesigning Work)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #9:

“A complex job involves around 30 separate tasks, or different things one does in the course of it.” (Redesigning Work)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #10:

“Don’t tell me what you ‘think’ – just tell me what’s in your portfolio.” (Skin in the Game)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #11:

“Those who don’t take risks should never be involved in making decisions.” (Skin in the Game)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #12:

“Think in terms of expected value. Individual probabilities are meaningless without knowing the magnitude of their outcomes.” (Fooled by Randomness)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #13:

“Life is nonlinear. Small acts can have disproportionate consequences.” (Fooled by Randomness)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #14:

“We are blind to probabilities. We do not make rational choices, but emotional ones.” (Fooled by Randomness)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #15:

“Redraw industry boundaries and operate within that new space, making the competition irrelevant.” (Blue Ocean Strategy)

Renée Mauborgne, Bestselling Author of Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift

Growth Insight Quote #16:

“Align the whole system of a firm’s activities in pursuit of differentiation and low cost.” (Blue Ocean Strategy)

Renée Mauborgne, Bestselling Author of Blue Ocean Strategy & Blue Ocean Shift

Growth Insight Quote #17:

“Achieving your dreams requires letting go of conventional paths.” (Hustle)

Neil Patel, Digital Marketing Expert

Growth Insight Quote #18:

“Taking risks to own your dreams is part of hustle.”(Hustle)

Neil Patel, Digital Marketing Expert

Growth Insight Quote #19:

“Take small steps toward your dreams to persevere through tough times.” (Hustle)

Neil Patel, Digital Marketing Expert

Growth Insight Quote #20:

“Develop a portfolio that showcases your strengths and highlights your dreams.” (Hustle)

Neil Patel, Digital Marketing Expert

Growth Insight Quote #21:

“Digital literacy is a great way to step up your career.” (She’s in CTRL)

Anne-Marie Imafidon, Tech Leadership Expert

Growth Insight Quote #22:

“Learn how to deliver a great “elevator pitch.” Learn how to make a presentation that lasts from two minutes to 20 minutes that compels others to take immediate action of some sort. Practice it again and again until it rolls off your tongue.” (SalesDogs)

Blair Singer, World Famous Sales Expert

Growth Insight Quote #23:

“More and more, we live in Extremistan, an unequal world with unpredictable extreme outliers.” (Black Swan)

Nassim Taleb, Author & Risk Analyst

Growth Insight Quote #24:

“Fragmentation – a world where a multitude of things constantly demand our attention.” (The Shift)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #25:

“Isolation – a world where the reliance on virtual technology and working from home has led to a dramatic decrease of face-to-face meetings.” (The Shift)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Growth Insight Quote #26:

“Never underestimate who may know the person who knows the person you want to meet. If you suspect even the most remote possibility that someone might be able to lead you to a decision-maker… Follow it!” (SalesDogs)

Blair Singer, World Famous Sales Expert

Growth Insight Quote #27:

“There are 5 forces that shape the world now and in the future: technology, globalisation, demography & longevity, society and energy resources.” (The Shift)

Lynda Gratton, Future of Work Strategy Expert @London Business School

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to differentiate from the competition

On this page:

• Definition of Blue Ocean Strategy – What is Blue Ocean Strategy? Who created Blue Ocean Strategy?
• Differences between Red Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean Strategy in business and leadership
• 3 brands that have differentiated from the competition, generated new demand and found a new market
• How to create a blue ocean for your company through value innovation

What is Blue Ocean Strategy?

Every entrepreneur wishes their company was the only one in the market. No competitors, having all the customers to themselves. King of the castle ruling unchallenged over the country.

While for most entrepreneurs this dream is only wishful thinking, for some it’s reality.

These entrepreneurs (and we will talk about three of them later) have led their companies to great success by applying Blue Ocean Strategy.

Blue ocean strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand. It is about creating and capturing uncontested market space, thereby making the competition irrelevant. It is based on the view that market boundaries and industry structure are not a given and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of industry players.

Blueoceanstrategy.com

Who created the Blue Ocean Strategy?

Blue Ocean Strategy was created by management thinkers Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne.

Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (image source: blueoceanstrategy.com)

Both Chan and Renée are Professors of Strategy at INSEAD, one of the world’s top business schools, and co-directors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute in France.

In 2005, Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne co-authored Blue Ocean Strategy. The book shows the results of a study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries. The authors’ conclusion is that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating blue oceans – untapped new market spaces ripe for growth.

Since its first edition, Blue Ocean Strategy has been revised and expanded in 2015 and has become a bestseller with over 4 million copies sold in 46 languages.

The book is recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written and is the recipient of numerous distinguished awards. Both authors received widespread recognition for their work in the form of various awards and distinctions.

Apart from their careers in academia, Chan and Renée have been employed in an advisory capacity by prestigious organizations. Kim is an advisory member for the European Union and serves as an advisor to several countries and Renée served on President Barack Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for the president’s two terms.

In 2019, Thinkers50 named Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne the #1 Business Thinkers in the World.

How to grow your business with 1 strategy framework

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Differences between Red Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean in business and leadership

In Blue Ocean Strategy, red ocean is a metaphor for the known market space encompassing all the industries in existence today. Remember the documentaries that showed the audience what happens when a large number of sharks feed at the same time, in the same place? It’s called a shark feeding frenzy event and it turns the ocean water red with the blood of the fish the sharks are feeding on.

Blue ocean is the metaphor for the unknown market space and all the industries that are not in existence today. It’s the unchartered land that courageous explorers venture in to discover unimaginable riches and opportunities.

• Red ocean strategy is about competition
• Blue ocean strategy is about creating new demand
• Red ocean strategy is a market-competing strategy where profit and growth decline while competition increases
• Blue ocean strategy is taking the opportunity to grow rapidly and profitably
• Red ocean strategy competes over customers
• Blue ocean strategy turn non-customers into customers
• Conventional leadership focuses on the cognitive and behavioural skills of leaders
• Blue ocean leadership focuses on actions and activities tied to market realities
• Conventional leadership has resulted in 87% global average in employee disengagement
• Blue ocean leadership’s goal is to unlock unrealized talent and energy in the organization fast and at low cost

3 Brands that have differentiated from the competition, generated new demand and found a new market

Cirque du Soleil

image source: Cirque du Soleil@Facebook

Founded in 1984 in Canada, Cirque du Soleil is an entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world.

There’s circus in the company name but the performances are not your usual live animal children focused shows.

By taking out live animal acts from their performances and focusing on creating storyline-based shows with live music and amazing acrobats, Cirque du Soleil has created a new market space and new demand: circus entertainment for adults.

More than 180 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil production since 1984 worldwide. The company generates annual revenue of approximately $1 billion and its creations have received numerous prizes and distinctions, including seven Primetime Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Uber & Airbnb

Both Uber and Airbnb are great examples of the blue ocean strategy.

Airbnb launched in 2008, Uber – one year later.

Although operating in the hospitality industry, Airbnb doesn’t own any property, it manages an online travel platform. By allowing homeowners to monetize their spaces and travellers to book them instead of hotels, Airbnb has found a new market, a big one.

The numbers speak for themselves: 7+ million listings worldwide, 2+ million people staying on Airbnb per night on average, 750+ million all-time Airbnb guest arrivals. In Q1 of 2019, Airbnb registered $9.4 billion in the total booking value.

Although Uber is operating in the people moving industry, it is not a taxi company, but a ridesharing service.

The latest stats say there are 21 million trips a day taken by 111 million monthly active platform consumers located in over 900 cities across 69 countries. In 2019, the company registered $65 billion in gross bookings across all platforms.

How to create a blue ocean for your company through value innovation

Value innovation is one of Blue Ocean Strategy’s tools and is defined as the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost, creating a leap in value for both buyers and the company.

10 questions to increase employee retention

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The concept of Value Innovation is the cornerstone of the market-creating strategy.

Because value to buyers comes from the offering’s utility minus its price, and because value to the company is generated from the offering’s price minus its cost, value innovation is achieved only when the whole system of utility, price, and cost is aligned.

Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

But how does one achieve value innovation?

To achieve value innovation, the company looks at two factors: cost savings and buyer value.

The company makes cost savings by eliminating and reducing the factors an industry competes on and lifts buyer value by raising and creating elements the industry has never offered.

Many businesspeople believe that lowering costs and increasing value is a trade-off. It’s either creating greater value for customers at a higher cost or creating reasonable value at a lower cost. Blue Ocean Strategy allows companies to pursue differentiation and low cost simultaneously.

A great starting point for achieving value innovation is to answer the following questions devised by Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in the Four Actions Framework:

• Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated?
• Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard?
• What factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard?
• What factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

In conclusion, to find your blue ocean, namely to tap into a new market, you need to perform an innovative leap in customer value at lower costs thus making the competition irrelevant.

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