Hey Lykkers! Ever feel like every market is already crowded? Whether you're starting a business, investing, or building a career, it often seems like you're swimming in a 'red ocean'—churned up by fierce competition, with everyone fighting over the same customers and opportunities.

But what if I told you there's a way to sail into clear, blue waters where competition is irrelevant? Welcome to the Blue Ocean Strategy - a powerful approach that has helped companies like Cirque du Soleil, Netflix, and the breakout brand Yellow Tail create massive success not by fighting competitors, but by making them irrelevant.

What Exactly Are Red Oceans vs. Blue Oceans?

Let's make this simple:

Red Oceans represent all the industries that exist today. Here, companies try to outperform rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. The waters are fiercely competitive, and it's getting harder to stand out.

Blue Oceans comprise all the industries not in existence today—the untapped market space where competition is irrelevant. Here, you create new demand and have the ocean all to yourself.

As Professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne explain in their groundbreaking book: "Blue Ocean Strategy is about creating and capturing new market space by reconstructing market boundaries. It's not about beating competition, but making competition irrelevant." (Source: "Blue Ocean Strategy," Harvard Business School Press)

How to Create Your Blue Ocean: The Four Actions Framework

The magic happens when you use this simple but powerful framework. Ask yourself these four questions about your industry:

1. ELIMINATE: What factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated?

2. REDUCE: What factors should be reduced well below the industry's standard?

3. RAISE: What factors should be raised well above the industry's standard?

4. CREATE: What factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

Let's see how this works in real life...

Case Study: How Cirque du Soleil Reinvented the Circus

Before Cirque du Soleil came along, the circus industry was a dying red ocean. It competed on having more exotic animals, bigger clowns, and riskier star performers—all of which led to high costs and declining public interest.

Cirque du Soleil used the Four Actions Framework to change the game entirely:

ELIMINATED: Costly star performers, animal shows (lowering cost and sidestepping ethical concerns)

REDUCED: The emphasis on comedy and thrills; the "three-ring" spectacle that could be overwhelming

RAISED: Artistic value, sophisticated themes, original music, and intellectual wonder

CREATED: A new, premium form of live entertainment that blended theater, dance, and acrobatics

The result? Cirque du Soleil didn't compete with traditional circuses; it made them irrelevant. It created a new market of adults and corporate clients willing to pay theater-level ticket prices for a unique, artistic experience. As Professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne highlight, "Cirque du Soleil succeeded because it realized that to win in the future, companies must stop competing with each other. Instead, they must make competition irrelevant by creating a new market space." (Source: "Blue Ocean Strategy")

Finding Blue Oceans in Your Own Life

This isn't just for big companies, Lykkers! You can apply Blue Ocean thinking to:

- Your career (what unique combination of skills can you offer?)

- Your investments (what emerging markets are others ignoring?)

- Your side business (what customer needs are going unmet?)

Business strategist Julia Steel notes: "The most successful entrepreneurs and professionals I work with don't follow trends - they create new categories. They stop asking 'how can I beat my competitors?' and start asking 'how can I make them irrelevant?'" (Source: "The Category Creator's Playbook")

The Bottom Line: Stop Competing, Start Creating

The beauty of Blue Ocean Strategy is that it shifts your mindset from scarcity to abundance. Instead of fighting over a shrinking pie, you bake a new, bigger pie.

As innovation expert Greg Satell advises: "The companies that will thrive in the coming decades won't be those that optimize existing business models, but those that create new ones. Stop looking for gaps in the market - create gaps that never existed before." (Source: "Mapping Innovation")

So, Lykkers, what red ocean are you swimming in today? And more importantly - what would it take for you to sail toward blue waters instead? The ocean is vast, and the opportunities are limitless when you know where to look.

Share your blue ocean ideas below - let's inspire each other to create rather than compete.