blue-ocean-strategy
The blue-ocean-strategy skill applies the Blue Ocean Strategy framework to help businesses create uncontested market space through value innovation rather than competing directly with rivals. Activate this skill when users discuss blue ocean concepts, the ERRC framework, value-cost trade-offs, new market categories, underserved segments, or strategies to escape price-based competition. It evaluates business strategies against blue ocean principles and provides specific moves to shift from red ocean competition to creating new demand.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/wondelai/skills /tmp/blue-ocean-strategy && cp -r /tmp/blue-ocean-strategy/blue-ocean-strategy ~/.claude/skills/blue-ocean-strategySKILL.md
# Blue Ocean Strategy Framework Strategic framework for creating uncontested market space that makes the competition irrelevant, based on the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost. ## Core Principle **Don't compete in bloody red oceans. Create blue oceans of uncontested market space.** Most companies fight for share in existing industries; winners create new market space where competition is irrelevant by delivering a leap in value for both buyers and themselves. Competition-based strategy is zero-sum — value innovation creates new demand and breaks the value-cost trade-off. ## Scoring **Goal: 10/10.** Score a strategy by how many of the five Quick Diagnostic rows it satisfies, mapped to the bands below: - **9-10** — divergent strategy-canvas curve, eliminates AND creates factors, breaks the value-cost trade-off, converts non-customers, and delivers a 10x utility leap (all 5 rows). - **7-8** — value innovation is real but one gate is weak (e.g. strong divergence and cost cuts, but still chasing existing customers rather than non-customers). - **5-6** — differentiation without cost cuts, or cost cuts without a value leap: better than rivals on the same factors, not yet value innovation (2-3 rows). - **<=3** — competes on the same factors as rivals with a look-alike canvas curve: a red ocean (0-1 rows). Report the current score, which diagnostic rows fail, and the specific ERRC/Six-Paths moves needed to reach 10/10. ## Framework ### 1. Red Ocean vs. Blue Ocean **Core concept:** Red oceans are existing market spaces where rivals fight over shrinking profits; blue oceans are new market spaces where the competition is irrelevant. | Red Ocean Strategy | Blue Ocean Strategy | |-------------------|---------------------| | Compete in existing market space | Create uncontested market space | | Beat the competition | Make competition irrelevant | | Exploit existing demand | Create and capture new demand | | Make the value-cost trade-off | Break the value-cost trade-off | | Align with differentiation OR low cost | Pursue differentiation AND low cost | **Examples:** Airlines competing on routes, amenities, and price are red ocean; Cirque du Soleil inventing a new entertainment form, Netflix replacing rental with streaming, and Nintendo Wii trading graphics power for accessible motion gaming are blue. See [references/blue-ocean-examples.md](references/blue-ocean-examples.md) when you want a full worked case to model a move on — Cirque du Soleil, Netflix, Yellow Tail, and Nintendo Wii broken down factor by factor. ### 2. Value Innovation **Core concept:** The cornerstone of blue ocean strategy — pursue differentiation and low cost simultaneously, creating a leap in value for buyers and the company. Eliminating and reducing over-served factors cuts cost at the same time raising and creating factors lifts buyer value, so value rises faster than cost and the trade-off competitors assume is fixed breaks. | Traditional View | Value Innovation View | |-----------------|---------------------| | High value = high cost | High value CAN = low cost | | Differentiate OR cut costs | Differentiate AND cut costs | | Better performance on established factors | New factors; eliminate old factors | **Example — Cirque du Soleil:** eliminated animal shows, star performers, multiple arenas (cost down); reduced thrill and humor; raised venue quality, artistic music and dance; created theme, refined environment, multiple productions. Outcome: priced above circus, costs below theater, a new market. See [references/value-innovation.md](references/value-innovation.md) when testing whether an idea is genuine value innovation — the Utility x Price x Cost formula with all three terms and the test questions for each. ### 3. Strategy Canvas **Core concept:** The diagnostic tool — plot the factors an industry competes on against the offering level for you and competitors. Red oceans show everyone's curve looking the same; a divergent curve signals a blue ocean. **How to use:** 1. List the industry's competing factors (wine: price, prestige, aging quality, vineyard legacy, complexity, range, marketing) 2. Plot your curve and competitors' — expect near-identical curves in a red ocean 3. Ask: which factors do buyers not actually care about? What could be eliminated, reduced, raised, or created? Where does the buyer experience hurt? **Example — Yellow Tail wine:** | Factor | Industry Average | Yellow Tail | |--------|-----------------|-------------| | Price, prestige, aging quality | Medium-High | LOW | | Vineyard legacy, complexity, range | High | LOW | | Easy drinking | Low | HIGH | | Fun/adventure, accessibility | Low | HIGH | **Result:** A different curve = blue ocean. See [references/strategy-canvas.md](references/strategy-canvas.md) when plotting your own canvas — a blank template and step-by-step build instructions. ### 4. Four Actions Framework (ERRC Grid) **Core concept:** Four questions that reconstruct buyer value — Eliminate and Reduce cut costs; Raise and Create lift value. | Action | Question | Examples | Effect | |--------|----------|----------|--------| | **Eliminate** | Which taken-for-granted factors add no buyer value? | Cirque: animals, stars; Southwest: meals, seat assignments; IKEA: sales staff, assembly | Cost down; friction removed | | **Reduce** | What can go well below industry standard? | Yellow Tail: prestige, complexity; Salesforce v1: customization | Cost down; over-serving stops | | **Raise** | What should go well above industry standard? | Cirque: artistic value; Dyson: suction, design; Apple: UX | Value up; hard to match | | **Create** | What has the industry never offered? | Netflix: unlimited streaming, no late fees; Uber: live tracking, cashless payment | New demand; attracts non-customers | **Ethical boundary:** Don't eliminate factors buyers truly value (especially safety or accessibility) — test assumptions before cutting. See [references/errc-grid.md](r
Build lean, opinionated products using the 37signals philosophy from "Getting Real", "Rework", and "Shape Up". Use when the user mentions "Getting Real", "Rework", "Shape Up", "37signals", "Basecamp method", "six-week cycles", "fixed time variable scope", "appetite vs estimates", "betting table", "breadboarding", "fat marker sketch", "build less", "underdo the competition", "opinionated software", "we have too many meetings", "how do we ship faster", or "stop overbuilding". Also trigger when cutting scope to ship sooner, running a small team, or avoiding long-term roadmaps. Covers shaping, betting, building, and the art of saying no. For MVP validation, see lean-startup. For design sprints, see design-sprint.
Guided journey from a working codebase grown slow and tangled to one measurably fast, cleanly bounded, and readable. Orchestrates eight skills phase by phase - working-with-legacy-code, clean-architecture, software-design-philosophy, refactoring-patterns, system-design, ddia-systems, release-it, pragmatic-programmer - every phase carries its method inline so it runs standalone, asking the user questions at every decision point and recording results in the project docs/ folder (PERFORMANCE.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, ARCHITECTURE-OPTIMIZATION-PLAN.md) so the journey resumes across sessions. Use when the user wants to make an app faster, untangle drifted boundaries, fix slow endpoints and queries, or says ''it works but it is slow and getting worse''. For an untested prototype, improve-code-quality; for an aged codebase you fear to touch, remove-technical-debt; for greenfield structure, design-code-architecture; for marketing-site page speed, improve-website. For one framework in isolation, invoke that skill directly.
Structure software around the Dependency Rule: source code dependencies point inward from frameworks to use cases to entities. Use when the user mentions "architecture layers", "dependency rule", "ports and adapters (hexagonal)", "onion architecture", "screaming architecture", "where should business logic go", "decouple from the database", "swap the framework without a rewrite", or "keep business rules independent". Also trigger when deciding which layer code belongs in, isolating core logic from infrastructure, defining module boundaries, or debating whether the framework should call your code or the reverse. Covers component principles, boundaries, and SOLID. For code-level quality, see clean-code. For domain modeling, see domain-driven-design.
Write readable, maintainable code through disciplined naming, small functions, and clean error handling. Use when the user mentions "clean up this code", "this function is too long", "code smells", "naming conventions", "boy scout rule", "single responsibility", or "unit test quality". Also trigger when reviewing a pull request for readability, untangling a messy function, debating comment styles, or improving error-handling patterns. Covers SRP, comment discipline, formatting, and unit testing. For refactoring techniques, see refactoring-patterns. For architecture and dependency rules, see clean-architecture.
Start and scale networked products using Andrew Chen''s "The Cold Start Problem" framework for network effects. Use when the user mentions "network effects", "chicken and egg", "cold start", "two-sided marketplace", "atomic network", "hard side", "liquidity", "critical mass", "invite-only launch", "how do I get my first users", or "the marketplace has no buyers or sellers". Also trigger when launching a marketplace, social, or collaboration product that is worthless without other users, deciding launch sequencing and seeding tactics, or diagnosing stalled network growth at scale. Covers the five stages: cold start, tipping point, escape velocity, hitting the ceiling, and the moat. For word-of-mouth virality, see contagious. For habit-driven retention, see hooked-ux.
Engineer word-of-mouth and virality using the STEPPS framework (Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories). Use when the user mentions "go viral", "word of mouth", "shareable content", "social currency", "why people share", "referral program", "nobody is sharing it", or "make this spread". Also trigger when designing shareable features, crafting social campaigns, or building products that spread through peer recommendation. Covers environmental triggers and high-arousal emotional content. For sticky messaging, see made-to-stick. For persuasion tactics, see influence-psychology.
Build a weekly cadence of customer touchpoints using Opportunity Solution Trees, assumption mapping, and interview snapshots. Use when the user mentions "continuous discovery", "opportunity solution tree", "weekly interviews", "assumption testing", "discovery habits", "product trio", "outcome-based roadmap", "how do I talk to customers regularly", "we keep building things nobody uses", or "connect research to the roadmap". Also trigger when setting up regular customer feedback loops, prioritizing which experiments to run, or tying discovery insights to delivery work. Covers experience mapping, co-creation, and prioritizing opportunities. For interview technique, see mom-test. For team structure, see inspired-product.
Guided journey from a leaking conversion flow - landing page, signup, checkout, or in-app onboarding - to a measured, tested funnel. Orchestrates six skills phase by phase - lean-analytics, cro-methodology, storybrand-messaging, hundred-million-offers, influence-psychology, design-everyday-things - each phase carries its full method inline so it runs standalone, asking the user questions at every decision point and recording results in the project docs/ folder (FUNNEL.md, METRICS.md, EXPERIMENTS.md, CONVERSION-OPTIMIZATION-PLAN.md) so the journey resumes across sessions. Use when the user wants to raise conversion on a specific flow, fix checkout or signup abandonment, diagnose onboarding drop-off, or says ''people start but never finish''. With no site yet, use create-website; for a whole-site look, message, and speed audit, improve-website; if the flow converts but needs traffic, grow-website; for in-product engagement and retention, improve-app. For one framework in isolation, invoke that skill directly.