In 1984 a collection of performers got together and formed Cirque du Soleil. One of these performers was Guy Laliberté, he is now the CEO of the group which has become a massive success, a hit cultural phenomenon.

The most successful circus in the world took 100 years to accomplish the income that Cirque du Soleil has achieved in just 20 years. At a time when circus style entertainment is not as popular as it once was, this is a major accomplishment. So how did they do it?

They created an alternative type of entertainment, not trying to persuade traditional circus lovers o attend their shows, but instead, appealing to an entirely different audience. In short, they created something new, attempting to appeal to customers familiar with opera and ballet, who were prepared to pay higher prices than those of an ordinary circus ticket. They created a new audience for their new style of circus entertainment.

This book explains the theory of a business universe, which helps us to understand the success of Cirque du Soleil, which in turn we can apply to our own businesses. The theory splits the business world into two segments, a red ocean and a blue ocean. The red ocean consists of all the businesses currently in operation. This is a world with strict rules, regulations and expectations. It’s a busy, packed world with a lot of competition.

The blue ocean represents all the businesses that have yet to be created, new ideas, with no competition, a calm open space of opportunity. A business can step from the red ocean to the blue ocean by changing tactics. Cirque du Soleil did just this, they created a blue ocean company from within a red ocean industry.

This book focuses on 150 blue ocean companies that the authors have watched and analysed. Historical information reaching back 100 years is also included. You are encouraged to think back in time and consider what an innovation some modern businesses would be, back when they were first created as blue ocean businesses. It is these blue ocean concepts that push companies out of the red ocean zone and into high profit and rapid growth.

If you’re a business owner, or a budding entrepreneur, this book will teach you some useful strategies for stepping outside of the red ocean, and enable you to grab blue ocean opportunities, making you and your business ventures more successful.

Lincoln Martin is a clear example of a blue ocean strategy. To learn more about our blue strategy consulting, email ­­­­ems@lincolnmartin.com.