Blue Ocean Strategy

There are the normal ones that everybody loves. There would be "Rich Dad Poor Dad," "Who Moved My Cheese?;" I love all the Dale Carnegie books; "The One Minute Manager." I love newer ones like "Blue Ocean Strategy" and all the "Freaknomics" books.

I don’t remember who originally told me to read Blue Ocean Strategy but I’m glad they did because this simple recommendation would substantially shape the course of my life and my career.

Businesswise, Blue Ocean Strategy systematized in one place all the concepts I was pondering about. The main lesson: make it count. Create value innovation which will make your competition irrelevant. As simple as that.

When asked what books he'd recommend to young people interested in the same career path, Darren Chua mentioned Blue Ocean Strategy.

"Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim‎ and Renée Mauborgne is another book that helps me understand about creating new market, which is inline with what a startup need (from the traditional fighting for market share, to the Blue Ocean way of creating a new market).

It’s hard to pick a favorite business book, they all have a lot of insight spread among different publications. But if I’d need to choose one, it’d be The Blue Ocean Strategy. It completely changed my way of seeing business when I was just getting started. It’s filled with amazing stories and insights.

One doesn't necessarily need to take from others to fill their glass & you can always build a successful business in any industry.

Blue Ocean Strategy is a fascinating look at how innovative companies create new markets and demand for products that previously did not exist. It's a landmark book with some fascinating case studies (ex. Cirque de Soleil creating a new product - the high-end circus).