INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy is an intensive three-day programme featuring a mix of lectures, discussions, case analysis and workshops where participants analyse their own businesses. Hence participants are encouraged to come with a specific opportunity that they would like to work on during the programme. An important part of the programme is the opportunity to immediately start applying blue ocean tools and frameworks to analyse and visually explore your own organisation’s strategic challenge. In addition, participants will gain valuable experience providing feedback and ideas to the others as they search for their blue ocean.

Review and critique of traditional strategy

The programme will begin with a review of the tools and concepts of traditional competitive strategy, which includes Five Forces, industry value chain, positioning analysis and generic strategies of cost leadership or differentiation.

Foundations of Blue Ocean Strategy

Participants will be introduced to the core ideas and frameworks that are at the heart of Blue Ocean Strategy.

• Key defining features that separate red ocean and blue ocean strategy
• How to achieve “Value Innovation”, the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost
• Paths by which you can reconstruct market boundaries to break away from the competition and unlock tiers of new demand

Analytic tools such as the Strategy Canvas, The Eliminate-

Reduce-Raise-Create Framework and Six Paths Framework will be explained.

An assessment: How blue is your strategy?

Here you will work individually and with other participants to apply the Blue Ocean Strategy concept and tools to an analysis of the current “As-Is” situation facing your business. This will include:

• Drawing the As-Is Strategy Canvas of your business
• Identifying and understanding the range of industry assumptions and the cost implications of these
• Contrasting the outcome of blue ocean analysis with the outcome of a red ocean perspective 

Creating new market space

Explore how to systematically pursue value innovation to unlock fundamentally new demand in a market. An in-depth look into:

• Three Tiers of Non-Customers: to think beyond existing customers and explore new customers
• Buyer Utility Map:  to explore the levers you can pull to create a compelling leap in value for the market that unlocks once non-customers
• Six Paths Framework: to understand the paths to reconstruct market boundaries and unlock commercially compelling new business ideas

Looking for your own blue ocean

Start the process of searching for a blue ocean of new market space for your own organisation. The aim is to practice using the various tools and frameworks for creating new market space and to take advantage of the opportunity to benefit from the diverse experiences and perspectives of other participants to challenge the conventional wisdom in your own industry.

Implementing Blue Ocean Strategy

The program will conclude by delving into the two key approaches central to implementing Blue Ocean Strategy fast and at low cost while winning the support of employees. These are:

• Tipping Point Leadership: learn how to overcome the cognitive, resource, motivation and political hurdles that prevent even the best strategies from being executed
• Fair Process: learn how to communicate and interact with your staff to help build trust and commitment deep into your organisation to facilitate the execution of a blue ocean strategy