In World War II the allies learned early on that it was better to sail merchant ships in protected convoys across the Atlantic Ocean as opposed to letting each ship chart its own course at its own rate. The escorted convoy offered more protection from deadly submarines, mines and air attack. Sometimes the protection was ineffective, even illusory, but the method did save ships and deliver essential food, goods and war material. Yet going it alone sometimes seems better. That's the theory of Blue Ocean, described by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their book, Blue Ocean Strategy. Blue Ocean encourages not doing the same thing as market leaders and competition and instead finding an open market space or niche that is uncontested. The iPad, Salesforce.com, Southwest Airlines, the Tata Nano, Netflicks - these are all examples of products and services that are more or less "Blue Ocean." Bue Ocean certainly seems compelling - clear water, no competitors attacking, growth and great destinations ahead!   Yet, Blue Ocean is easier envisioned than achieved.

What's the latest episode of your business? You know, what drama or problem or issue or sudden event are you wrestling with? Between news media encapsulation of whatever is happening at the moment as "the big thing to pay attention to" (something I somewhat regrettably helped promote as a former reporter and editor), television sit-com enactment of life as a series of short vignettes and Wall Street analyst intense scrutiny of every company move and short-term performance, we are taught to look at life as what's happening NOW in front of our noses. From a strategy perspective, this myopia is a very bad thing.