Creating Blue Oceans

Contributed Article: Leadership and Innovation Lessons

Inspired by the recent TED Talks, this week we feature the article “Leadership and Innovation Lessons” contributed by Cheenu Srinivasan.  In the article, Mr. Srinivasan presents the story of “El Sistema” and its Blue Ocean Strategy-like approach which has positively affected the lives of over 350,000 children around the world by making “music by the masses for the masses.” 

From “Leadership and Innovation Lessons” by Cheenu Srinivasan:

Challenging the entrenched supply-side thinking of those days in the mid 1970s, economist and amateur musician Jose Antonio Abreu struck upon the idea of combining social work with classical music orchestras as a way of offering an alternatively lifestlye to that of a life of crime on the streets for the poor. 

Rather than cramped class rooms for vocational training, he assembled children in open spaces to learn and practice classical music as a group. While classical music was hitherto the exclusive reserve of the wealthy and connected, that which he called classical music by the few for the few, he opened up entire new vistas of opportunity with his vision of music by the masses for the masses.

Continue reading “From Leadership and Innovation Lessons” by Cheenu Srinivasan in PDF here.   Read previous contributions by Mr. Srinivasan here and here.

Watch the TED talk which inspired the article by clicking on the video image above.

Will the waves of praise ever subside for Nintendo?

Here at CreatingBlueOceans.com we have monitored closely the success of Nintendo and the Blue Ocean marketspace it has created with its mold-breaking Wii console.   With all the accolades it has received, writing about the Wii is almost getting, dare we say, monotonous? But we are compelled to tell the whole story, and just last week, the Nintendo Wii again scored big with yet another distinctive title: “fastest selling” game console in North American history.  As competitors continue to duke it out in bloody red oceans, Nintendo’s position is an enviable one, and serves a keen reminder of the heightened relevance Blue Ocean Strategy especially during difficult economic times. 

From Gaming Industry online:

The US video games market may well be starting to struggle in the face of the global recession, but Nintendo is undoubtedly fairing best in the face of economic instability as Wii sails past yet another significant sales milestone.

Since its release a mere 31 months ago the Wii has now sold over 20m units in North America, making it the fastest selling console in the territory’s history.

Let’s not forget either the extent to which the DS outstripped its console opposition in May, with the DSi shifting 390,000 machines and the DS Lite 244,000 units. The combined sales of 633,000 placed it far ahead of any other platform.

“The continued enthusiastic consumer response to our products shows that Nintendo has something for everyone,” Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway stated.

[Image via xispo.]

Wii don’t focus on the competition

Last week we brought you the story of Nintendo’s continuing blue ocean with the recent launch of Wii MotionPlus — a new, gyroscopic sensor which precisely mimics hand movements for better on-screen accuracy.  As a follow-up, this week we bring you an interview with Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo.  The interview is especially timely, given the announcements by Sony and Microsoft of new motion-control devices meant to infringe upon the Wii’s blue ocean.  In the interview, Iwata discusses Nintendo’s Blue Ocean Strategy, the iPhone, the recession, and free games.

From Venture Beat:

When we talked about it two years ago, a lot of people thought the Wii Balance Board was crazy. They thought Nintendo would start selling a bathroom scale. But Wii Fit became a success because we saw a “blue ocean strategy.” But now a lot of companies are fighting in the red ocean of follow-up exercise games. [Note: As discussed in the Blue Ocean Strategy book, too many sharks in one area make a red ocean; but innovators who swim in the blue ocean have no rivals]. When we introduced the Wii controller, we were in the blue ocean and this year is still the blue ocean. But the year 2010 may become the red ocean for motion-sensing controls, based on what Microsoft and Sony say. The advantage for Nintendo is that we always try to do things that other companies don’t try to do. That is something that the general public appreciates. That’s why we have to introduce this Wii Vitality Sensor. A lot of people must be wondering what the hell this is about. But that’s exactly the way people felt two years ago with the Wii Balance Board. Looking at the history of video games, and game controllers in particular, you have always controlled it consciously. That’s what the name implies. Starting from the movements of your fingers to the shifting of the body mass, you always control it consciously.

[Image via Venture Beat.]

Defying Conventional Wisdom: Not Enough Memory

Blue Ocean Strategy is all about challenging conventional wisdom – questioning taken-for-granted assumptions, and overstepping industry boundaries. It’s a frame of mind of continuously questioning and searching for a different angle and fresh perspective. You can draw inspiration from everyday life, and train your mind to have a discerning view of the world around you. Consider the following bit of comic insight as examples of challenging conventional wisdom.

Defying Conventional Wisdom: Not Enough Memory

Not long ago personal computers used to simply tell you when they were incapable of executing some task. You saw on the screen “Not enough memory to perform this calculation or operation.” At that point the user had the choice of abandoning the task, saving further futile attempts, or to expand the system’s memory in order to proceed.  In today’s age of information overload, wouldn’t it be nice if people could do the same?  If we could know in advance if some complex thought or reasoning we are attempting to complete is simply beyond our capacity? That way we could choose not to waste further energy, or opt to continue by installing sufficient supplementary brainpower to tackle the issue.

[Image via Max_au.]

Defying Conventional Wisdom: Six-week sneeze

Blue Ocean Strategy is all about challenging conventional wisdom – questioning taken-for-granted assumptions, and overstepping industry boundaries. It’s a frame of mind of continuously questioning and searching for a different angle and fresh perspective. You can draw inspiration from everyday life, and train your mind to have a discerning view of the world around you. Consider the following bit of comic insight as examples of challenging conventional wisdom.

Six-week sneeze

There are some fascinating statistics out there that reveal the total time we spend on various repetitive activities in our lifetime. For example, researchers may show that during our life we will spend on average six weeks sneezing, or ten years just watching TV.  Even if we could not alter the total time we spend on each activity, just being able to set our own scheduling for them would open up some very exciting possibilities.  For example, what if one could opt to shave non-stop for the next two months but then never have to bother with it ever again? Or if you could choose to take an eight-year nap and then stay awake for the next two decades straight?  

Nintendo goes gyroscopic, enhances Blue Ocean marketspace

One of the most well-known examples of successful Blue Ocean Strategy application is gaming industry leader Nintendo.  And over the past years as we’ve been monitoring their triumph, we’ve brought our readers several updates — from its gaming Revolution to the introduction of Wii and WiiFit.

Now, with the introduction of the Wii MotionPlus, a new sensor which is able to precisely mimic hand movements for better on-screen accuracy with activities such as golfing and sword fighting, Nintendo appears poised to enlarge its blue ocean marketspace.  All of this in spite of the fact that the gadget itself isn’t all that “charming.”

From Yahoo! News:

"The great thing about this particular new technology -- which isn't always true for other new technologies -- is that we immediately saw the benefits of it," said Jason Shenkman, senior producer of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

....If the blockbuster sales of the Wii Balance Board with Wii Fit are any indication, gamers want the new device even if it isn't compatible with old titles.

Michael Pachter, a game analyst for Wedbush Morgan, thinks the price of the Wii MotionPlus ($19.99 for one, $49.99 if bundled with Wii Sports Resort) is right for cash-strapped consumers. He foresees sales exceeding 30 million in the first year.

"Some people will find Wii MotionPlus really appealing," he said, "and some people won't understand it and will wait until they're told by their friends they need it."

[Image via Nintendo.]