Business · Book club
Blue Ocean Strategy book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Blue Ocean Strategy is Kim and Mauborgne's case that the most successful companies don't compete in existing markets by beating rivals at their own game — they create new market spaces where competition is irrelevant.
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne · 2005 · 5h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Kim and Mauborgne argue you should pursue differentiation and low cost simultaneously, not trade one off against the other. When have you seen a company successfully do this?
- 2.
Draw a rough strategy canvas for an industry you know well. Where is every competitor offering the same thing? That's where the blue ocean opportunity may be.
- 3.
The Cirque du Soleil example works because they rejected the industry's assumptions. What assumptions does your field take for granted that a new entrant could profitably challenge?
- 4.
Blue oceans are much easier to identify in hindsight than in foresight. What makes it difficult to see them prospectively, and what tools might help?
- 5.
The four-actions framework asks you to eliminate things the industry takes for granted. What would you eliminate from your own product or service if you started from scratch?
- 6.
When is competing in a red ocean the right strategy? Not every market can or should be redefined — when is winning within the existing competitive structure the smarter choice?
- 7.
The book draws examples from industries as varied as wine, automobiles, and circus entertainment. Does the blue ocean framework apply equally well to B2B and B2C, or does it fit one better?
- 8.
Kim and Mauborgne say blue ocean strategy should create new demand, not steal it from competitors. How do you tell whether a new product is truly creating new demand or just displacing existing purchases?
- 9.
The strategy canvas requires choosing which value dimensions to map. How do you decide which dimensions matter, and who gets to decide?
- 10.
What are the organizational barriers to pursuing a blue ocean strategy inside a large company, and how would you address them?
- 11.
How has the rise of digital platforms and network effects changed the dynamics of blue ocean strategy since the first edition in 2005?
- 12.
What's a blue ocean that has since become a red ocean as competitors entered? What does that trajectory tell you about the durability of market-creation strategies?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Blue Ocean Strategy?
Here are 12 book club questions for Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on strategy, innovation, market creation.
How long should a book club discussion of Blue Ocean Strategy last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Blue Ocean Strategy?
Strategy, Innovation, Market creation, Competition, Value creation. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Blue Ocean Strategy or questions for other book club picks.
