Comments on: Review: Being first beats being best

By: Peter Korchnak

Peter Korchnak — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:33:59 +0000

@Eric: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The book not only successfully overcomes the objections to being first, it shows why being first remains the best strategy around. Yes, the blue ocean strategy requires a lot more of everything up front. If done right, the potential payoff is huge.

By: Eric Novinson

Eric Novinson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:32:47 +0000

There are a few reasons why I think many businesses won’t follow the blue ocean strategy. Moving second or third can have its own advantages, as the first company in a category may make mistakes and a later competitor will know what not to do. There’s also the “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM” where you need some external approval or funding to move, and a move into an unknown market is considered a risky bet. The business that attempts this strategy also requires a lot more effort in planning, as there won’t be a benchmark to compare results with initially. Overall I think the benefit of moving first outweighs the disadvantages, as it’s one of the only ways to outmaneuver competitors with much greater resources.

By: trafford

trafford — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:57:33 +0000

I agree that it is better to create new market space or a blue ocean rather than competing in the existing market. Blue ocean strategy consultant can be very helpful in this regard.