Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy

Adopting a systematic approach to innovation and sustained profitable growth . . . An alternative to relying on “random geniuses”

By TAN Kee Hian, Senior Global Expert, Blue Ocean Strategy Network
Date: 07 June 2007 (Thursday)
Time: 1900 hours
Location: The Pod, Level 16, NLB Building, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore
Admission is FREE but registration is required. Please register before 12 noon 6 June 2007, by emailing nlprogrammes@nlb.gov.sg and to include "ICAAS Talk on Blue Ocean Strategy" in the subject field. Places are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first serve basis.

Abstract

The purpose of the talk is to challenge the audience to think differently about strategy and innovation, and provide a brief overview of a new and action-orientated approach that organisations can adopt to innovate and achieve sustained performance growth.

The traditional approach to strategy and innovation focus on generating ideas within defined, existing boundaries pertaining to the activity being addressed. Innovation is perceived as a “random” phenomenon pursued by a limited group of people within the organisation, generally in association with the periodic corporate planning cycle, and the scope of the innovation tending to be limited to narrowly-defined supply-side functions or sub-functions. To the extent there are attempts at “thinking-out-of-the-box”, these typically amount to little more than exhortations and fairly unstructured “brainstorming” exercises.

Blue Ocean Strategy is a new approach to strategy and innovation designed to deliver on the “holy grail” of sustained, performance growth, with a correspondingly higher probability of success and greater impact. The strategy approach is based on certain strategic logic and key principles to generate innovation ideas that truly deliver value to the buyers and users. In addition to the key principles, Blue Ocean Strategy also includes a comprehensive set of tools and frameworks underlying the key principles, and a process methodology.

By introducing and embedding the key principles, tools and process methodology of Blue Ocean Strategy, organisations can turn innovation into a reproducible, systematic, continuous process, and develop a culture and passion for value innovation across the entire organisation. Innovation becomes a “way of life”, a core capability and the responsibility of everyone in the organisation, similar to the position that quality has attained in high-performance organisations today.

Biodata
Kee-Hian TAN is a Senior Global Expert in the Blue Ocean Strategy Network co-founded by the creators of Blue Ocean Strategy, Professors Kim and Mauborgne. He works with private and public organizations globally, and across a wide range of sectors on Blue Ocean Strategy. He is a keynote speaker on Blue Ocean Strategy at public and in-house conferences and management retreats, conducts awareness seminars and training workshops, and leads major initiatives to formulate and execute Blue Ocean Strategy.
Kee-Hian has thirty years of international business experience in global management consultancies and MNCs. He was a Senior Vice President and Member of the Global Executive Committee of Gemini Consulting (The MAC Group). Based in Boston and London, he created and led several business units and centre of excellence for Gemini Consulting. He was also a Vice President at A.T. Kearney in Europe.

His consulting experience includes strategy, operations and large-scale transformation engagements in US, Europe, and Asia, across industries, such as communications, technology, media, industrial products, consumer products, financial services, private equity, life sciences, healthcare, medical equipment, automotive, forest products, oil & gas, and public sector.

A selection of his clients include LG Electronics, IBM, Hoffman la Roche, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, BUPA, Kings’ College Hospital, PwC, General Motors, Carlyle Group, Candover Capital, Chase Manhattan, Nationwide Building Society, Kodak, Boots, South African Breweries, Appleton Papers, Metsa Serla, Du Pont, Monsanto, Ashland Oil and Chemicals, S.C. Johnson Wax, Whirlpool, Paramount Corporation, Maxis, Orange, Telenor, AT&T, Sabanci Holdings, Sanjiu Pharmaceutical (China), Government of Malaysia, Government of Singapore, Danish Marketing Forum, Confederation of Danish Industries, Finnish National Fund for Research & Development, and Confederation of Indian Industries.

Kee-Hian’s corporate experience in MNCs includes being a Vice President and Member of International Leadership Team of MCI International, in charge of Strategy, M&A and Strategic Initiatives for Europe, Asia & Africa; and Project Manager, Offshore Engineer, and Underwater R&D with the Royal Dutch Shell Group in London & The Hague.

Kee-Hian holds an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he is a George F. Baker Scholar, and was a Shell Scholar and graduated with First Class Honours in Engineering from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.

He works with the Professors Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne on client initiatives, and contributed the research for the QB House case described in their Book.

Based in London, Kee Hian is married with 2 children. He grew up in Malaysia and Singapore. He held a patent for an underwater oil and gas invention.