Blue Ocean Strategy
30th June 2017
Cheery Friday Greetings to our Learning How to Learners!
Book of the Week
This week’s intriguing read is Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. Although a little repetitive in places, we agree with the general assessment that this is a global phenomenon (the book has sold 3.6 million copies worldwide, in a record-breaking 44 languages). The basic premise of the book is simple—work to move your business from the “red ocean” of bloody competition to the “blue ocean” of low competition. What are especially useful are the practical frameworks the book provides, which serve as virtual templates for thinking creatively in many different fields. This book has long been referred to as a classic, and we can see why.
How to Appear Both Dazzling and Creative Even If You’re Not
Here’s an article in Training Industry by Barb on precisely that topic. (Psst—next best thing to reading? MOOC-taking!)
Note-taking—Should You Type or Write by Hand?
William Voss shares his thoughts on the effectiveness of handwritten note-taking in this post. He’s almost tempted us to take try taking notes in Morse code! [Hat tip Lead Mentor Linda Walker.] Research supports the idea that taking notes by hand is more effective than typing, as noted in this excellent NPR article by James Doubek.
Productivity—Seeing Both the Trees AND the Forest
Looking for a (new) way to help manage your productivity? Check out Forest: Stay focused, be present, available as a Chrome extension as well as on iOS and Android, Forest lets you grow a virtual forest as a reward for being productive, and it’s easy. Just plant your seed, stay on track – by not visiting your blacklisted sites or visiting other apps—and watch your forest grow! (Hat tip to Becca Judd, for telling us about it). Forest sponsors Trees for the Future, an organisation that plants real trees in forest garden programs in Sub Saharan Africa! [Hat tip, the indefatigable Linda Walker.]
That’s all for this week. Have a happy week in Learning How to Learn!
Barb, Terry, and the entire Learning How to Learn team
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See all book recommendations at cheeryfriday.com
