Multi-Ocean Strategy Framework

Introduction

Multi-Ocean Strategy Framework is a strategic design tool to map impact and value in complex ecosystems.

This project is a collaboration led by Kevin Richard, a strategic designer and the founder of the Design & Critical Thinking Community, Daiana Zavate and Krasi Bozhinkova, strategic designers at Owtcome.

Our goals is to enable organizations to find direction, develop a portfolio of strategies, or simply make better decisions in a playful way.

Overview

Mapping value and impact can be challenging, overwhelming, and not inclusive because of the complexity and the required technical language and knowledge. The typical response is to oversimplify, making the process more simple, fast, and effective. It can also give the impression the system is fixated once defined and does not always provide affordances for strategic thinking beyond obvious interventions.

The multi-ocean strategy framework challenges this with a gamified approach. It uses abstraction through metaphors to make sense of and navigate a complex ecosystem of opportunities and challenges in constant evolution. It helps you think, in a playful way, about unexpected relationships, adjacent possibilities, and constraints. You identify new value spaces through different lenses in a more engaging way.

Components

The tool has 4 components:

Oceans

Oceans as value spaces and market conditions

Players - Behaviours

Players as companies with a set of capabilities

Monsters

Monsters as risks and threats to success

Landscapes

Landscapes as contextual structures (customer segments and go-to-market approaches)

Coming soon

Multi-Oceans strategy

In their classic book from 2004, Blue Ocean Strategy, Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne coined the terms “red ocean” and “blue ocean” to describe the market universe.

A “red” ocean represents a highly competitive environment where all companies exist today. A “blue” ocean is a metaphor for the unknown market space, untainted by competition, where demand is created rather than fought over.

The current volatile environment requires a different approach to explore a wider range of opportunities and prepare with a matching set of capabilities to play in the ecosystem economy.

Our multi-ocean strategy approach uses 5 different oceans which we see as value spaces with unique dynamics for success:

Further readings

Read our RSD paper “Multi-Ocean Strategy Framework: Designing Impactful Strategies for Multi-Actor Engagement in The Ecosystem Economy” in D&CT library:

MOSF: Designing Impactful Strategies for Multi-Actor Engagement in The Ecosystem EconomyDesign & Critical Thinking Library