Blue Ocean Strategy - Platform for Changing the World

Blue Ocean Strategy - Platform for Changing the World

We’ve been keeping track of the thought-provoking content at the WorldChanging website, and for those members of our Blue Ocean Strategy Community who are not already familiar, we thought to provide a quick intro.

The World Changing credo is “that plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.” The site’s curator, Alex Steffen and his environmentally-friendly colleagues routinely showcase new possibilities, ideas and innovations which have the potential to change the world. Here’s just one such example (via FastCompany).

The brainchild of Danish, Dutch, and Israeli designers, Lifestraw is a fat, blue 12-inch drinking straw lined with a system of four separate filters to zap particulates, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. At a cost of about $3.50, it purifies enough drinking water for one person for six months to a year, without electricity, moving parts, or the material waste or transport costs of plastic bottles. Since premiering last year, the Lifestraw has won design awards around the globe and now awaits its full-blown debut in developing countries, where one in six people lack access to clean drinking water.

We see several commonalities between WorldChanging’s mission and Blue Ocean Strategy thinking. They both question taken-for-granted assumptions and overstep accepted boundaries. They both defy conventional wisdom and advocate a frame of mind which continuously questions and searches for a different angle and fresh perspective. And, WorldChanging as well as Blue Ocean Strategy point to considerable opportunities in the budding space of social entrepreneurism.