Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister to Entrepreneurs: Adopt Blue Ocean Strategy

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister to Entrepreneurs: Adopt Blue Ocean Strategy

“Companies need to go beyond competing. To seize new profit and growth opportunities, they also need to create blue oceans.” (Blue Ocean Strategy, p. 5)

Recently, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, issued a call to entrepreneurs to make the shift from a culture of know-who to know-how in creating wealth and finding a niche for their businesses. The approach he recommends: Blue Ocean Strategy:

“Entrepreneurs should adopt the 'blue ocean' strategy by creating a new market space for themselves, making themselves different from everyone else and producing something that others did not have in order to stay put in the fast changing world,” he added.

Demonstrating the need for Blue Ocean Strategy adoption, the Deputy Prime Minister cited the Malaysian National Service as an example. The National Service was created in 2003 to bring together Malaysia’s youth as a way to overcome nationwide ethnic division by instilling a sense of national pride and unity among youngsters.

When the National Service started, several entrepreneurs applied to set up MNS camps. But injecting traditional entrepreneurship into this initiative has not been enough, and the camps remain less profitable than expected.

Kudos to the Deputy Prime Minister for encouraging entrepreneurs to embrace Blue Ocean Strategy as a way of energizing the country’s business environment.