Some of you have appreciated my first article on the “blue and red oceans” topic.

I want to share with you some thoughts and comments regarding the last theories on this strategy subject.

That is always true that education and Management practices inherited from the last 50 years have a huge impact on the difficulty for companies to conquer new Markets and territories. This is especially true when you consider the huge importance of growing customer centric approaches.

It is also true that our customers are our most precious assets. But at the same time, it carries some collateral damages; I mean the impossibility to look beyond our beloved customer base.

The creators of this “blue and red oceans” theory are now also mentioning the excessive segmentation as a factor explaining the difficulty to execute a new frontier strategy. With all the respect to the INSEAD, I must disagree I believe that no conquer in unknown territory is safe without mastering the boundaries of your own strategic segments. And to do so, I do not know a better tool than a properly executed segmentation exercise.

In my opinion, another important mistake to be highlighted is the wrong opposition in many minds between differentiation and cost optimization. Because I believe that it is really feasible to differentiate without breaking the Bank.. I consider also that a premium positioning is absolutely compatible with cost optimization. These are two different topics.

If I could add another brick to this brilliant edifice, I am myself always shocked by the obsession of the bipolarization of the Market. Listening to some experts, there are only two segments: the premium/luxury and the low cost. Even if this statement is based on true facts, this is dangerous to recommend all companies to position themselves on these two segments only. Because doing so, you are driving all companies into the red, which means in many cases into the wall.

As a conclusion I may say that there is always a majority for promoting a “red ocean” positioning. This is what I call the mainstream…

In order to escape this Dead End, develop with confidence your freedom of thinking and you will surely find for your business a good Market place where the grass is green and the water is…blue.