MN7131 Advances in Strategy

Assessment Two.
Blue wizard Case Study.

Aravinthan Mahendran
Student No.15039504

Executive summary.
This case study of Blue wizard mainly focuses on how an organization will compete
with their competitors by implementing their creative and innovative ideas. The above
report, all the information as the beneficial hints to improve the creative strategy within
this Blue wizard company. The important point of this report is maintaining a profitable
market share by using creative and innovative ideas using the strategic ideas how Blue
wizard adopted to.

1. Creative strategy Introduction

Strategic Innovation is the creation of growth strategies, new product categories,
services or business models that change the game and generate significant new value for
consumers and the organization .This report describes a holistic, multidisciplinary
framework of Blue wizard that enables organizations to take a strategic approach to
innovation
Strategic Innovation calls for a holistic approach that operates on multiple levels. First, it
blends non-traditional and traditional approaches to business strategy, deploying the
practices of "Industry Foresight", "Consumer to Customer Insight" and "Strategic
Alignment" as a foundation, and supplementing them with more conventional
approaches and models. Second, it combines two seemingly paradoxical mindsets:
expansive, visionary thinking that imaginatively explores long-term possibilities; and
pragmatic, down-to-earth implementation activities that lead to short-term, measurable
business impact. This report is all about how Blue wizard succeeded in the past and its
present by implementing the creative and innovative strategy.

2. Implementation of Creative and Innovative strategy within the Blue wizard

company
Many organizations want to "become more innovative" but don't know where to start.
While an obvious first thought is to introduce "creativity training", the effects are
usually short-lived. Return on investment is almost impossible to measure and there is
little impact on the broad corporate consciousness. Frequently, an organization's internal
structures, policies and culture inhibit innovation. Most organizations are already
implementing at least some dimensions of the Strategic Innovation approach, though
often in an ad hoc manner without an overarching framework. So how can an
organization advance its current innovation practices and move farther along the path
toward sustainable, Strategic Innovation?

Strategic Innovation is not an end-state. Rather, it is a journey of open-minded

exploration, experimentation, thinking, decision-making, action, results and learning,
with the cycle then repeating.
While there are numerous ways effectively to measure the business impact resulting
from a Strategic Innovation initiative, an organization's ability to successfully innovate
is less tangible, measured in terms of progress over time rather than in absolutes.
2.1 Balance between logic and creativity

2.1.1. Logical thinking: For creative thinkers.

This means making decisions on what to do, or what to believe by focusing on analytical
and rational thinking. This decision-making approach uses the information gathered,
experience, observation and reasoning (left brain). Gather data systematically and fit it
together. If you are a creative person this approach broadens your horizons and gives
structure to your usually scattered thoughts. To overcome Blue wizards initial situation
the logical thinking part is a must strategic move.

2.1.2. Creative Decision-Making: For logical thinkers.

On the other hand, Blue wizard must analyze things from opposite perspectives. This
broadens and opens companys mind to new possibilities. It helps to look at situations
opposite from what Blue wizard usually do. It's non-logical because Blue wizard uses
our own assumptions, opinion, imagination, creativity and intuition, risk taking, and
experimenting
2.1.3. Mind Mapping: Putting the puzzle together.
Now, its time to put both perspectives together and see the big picture from every angle.
Then see the details, remember? This way you wont miss anything or make the wrong
assumptions. A mind map is similar to a flow chart and it is used to represent ideas from
different angles. Logical ideas (left brain) and creative ideas (right brain) can be linked
to and arranged around a central key point. This mind mapping process will help Blue
wizard to improve its creative and innovative process.

2.2 Hansen and Birkinshaw model inside Blue wizard.

The challenges of coming up with fresh ideas and realizing profits from them are
different for every company. One firm may excel at finding good ideas but may have
weak systems for bringing them to market. Another organization may have a terrific
process for funding and rolling out new products and services but a shortage of concepts
to develop. According to, Hansen and Birkinshaw caution executives against using the
latest and greatest innovation approaches and tools without understanding the unique
deficiencies in their companies' innovation systems. They offer a framework for
evaluating innovation performance: the innovation value chain. It comprises the three
main phases of innovation (idea generation, conversion, and diffusion) as well as the
critical activities performed during those phases (looking for ideas inside your unit;
looking for them in other units; looking for them externally; selecting ideas; funding

them; and promoting and spreading ideas companywide). Using this framework, within
the Blue wizard, managers get an end-to-end view of their innovation efforts. They can
pinpoint their weakest links and tailor innovation best practices appropriately to
strengthen those links. Companies typically succumb to one of three broad "weakestlink" scenarios. They are idea poor, conversion poor, or diffusion poor. The Decision
makers of Blue wizard have to find the ways how its competitors - including Microsoft,
Apple, Google and Facebook- modify the best innovation practices and apply them to
address those organizations' individual needs and flaws. The above case of Blue wizard
adopting the chain-based view of innovation requires new measures of what can be
delivered by each link in the chain. The approach also entails new roles for employees
"external scouts" and "internal evangelists," for example. Indeed, in their search for new
hires, companies should seek out those candidates who can help address particular
weaknesses in the innovation value chain.

2.3 Creative Leadership-Amabile s Six factors fostering Creativity inside Blue

wizard.
Leadership style the literature as reviewed by others (Mumford et al. 2002) has clearly
documented the importance of perceived leader support for team member creativity.
Studies have also demonstrated that team members collective view of support from
their leader is directly linked to the teams success in creative endeavours (Amabile et
al., 1996). Leadership, though, can be more or less creative in different ways (Sternberg
et al, 2003). According to Sternberg and his colleagues what type of creativity will
emerge in an organisation depends in part on the leaders but also in part on the
organisational environment. They have proposed eight different ways in which to exert
creative leadership suggesting that if one looks at leaders who are creative, they lead
creatively in one of eight different ways. It is not the purpose of this report to detail
those ways but what follows is a brief summary of the eight differing ways under three
broad categories. Firstly, there are the types of creative leaders who accept current

paradigms. Under this category are the replicators who do what others have done in the
past; the redefiners who do what others have done but find a new rationale for doing it;
and the forward incrementers who move on one or more steps beyond where others have
gone. The second category are those who reject current paradigms. The redirectors steer
an organisation in a new direction; the reconstructive redirectors who move in a new
direction but use the past rather than the present as a starting point; and the reinitiators
who virtually start from scratch. The third category suggested by Sternberg and
colleagues are those who synthesise various current paradigms. Synthesisers take what
they believe are the best ideas from different paradigms and put them together. Some
organisations are more susceptible and favourable to change than others and may require
leaders to be creative in different ways. According to Sternberg an organisation that
resists change is more likely to have kinds of creative leadership that accept existing
paradigms (replication, redefinition and forward incrementation). Other kinds of leaders
are likely to be fired or resign. An organisation that welcomes change, however, is more
likely to welcome creative leadership that rejects existing paradigms (redirection,
reconstruction, and reinitiation) or synthesises them (synthesis). Organisations that are
failing may have little choice but to choose the paradigm-rejecting kinds of creative
leadership given their existing structures have failed. Organisations that are successful
may choose less radical types of creative leadership, but if the environment changes,
they may have to change as well, regardless of past successes.So we have a version of
the situational leadership model with creativity as its foundation. Schein (1992) also
goes some way in supporting the notion that leadership can be more or less creative in
different ways. He highlights six primary mechanisms that leaders use to embed a
culture within Blue wizard .Amabile (1998) wrote about six managerial practices that
enhance creativity. Her practices include: 1. Challenge. Matching the right person with
the right job to play into their expertise and creative thinking skills. 2. Freedom. Intrinsic
motivation and ownership is enhanced when people are free to approach their work in a
way they choose. 3. Resources. 4. Work group features. Managers must create teams
with a diversity of perspectives and backgrounds. 5. Supervisory encouragement. To

sustain passion, people need to feel their work matters and is important. 6.
Organisational support. Creativity is truly enhanced when the entire organisation
supports it.

2.4 Buenos six hats theory inside Blue wizard (Group Thinking).

The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts." That is
data gathering according to Blue Wizard Company an employee survey conducted in
every six months to collect their feedbacks on how they feel about this company.
The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the
positives and probe for value and benefit. According to Blue wizard case study this is all
about money saving.
The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work
(negative approach). Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong.

Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if over used. In this
Blue wizard case the management skills neither needed for its progression.
The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can
express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates. Simply it
represents
The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an
opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions. This concept directly
involves with creativity within the Blue wizard company, an e book reader was
manufactured.
The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that
ensures the Six Thinking Hats guidelines are observed. According to blue wizard the
performance ranking was done.
3. Conclusion
To survive immense competition Blue wizard has not adapted policy of creativity and
innovation as a management process. The results are evident from the unsuccessfulness
among their competitors, search engine popularity, mobile applications, etc. These was
only possible through the innovative team of Blue wizard. Blue wizard should develop
leadership and management have integrated innovation as its integral part in all the
functions.
According to Pierre Loewe and Jennifer Dominiquini, 2006, Organisation can make sure
about its success if they give focus on below mentioned four key areas. Blue wizard is a
very well established company have so many employees so it is very obvious to know
the strategies are also different according to their different operational sections. Below
are four common keys which Blue wizard also make sure while having barrier in to the
innovation.
Management skills and qualities: According to CEO of Blue wizard, they have such
strategies which push people to be innovative and offer employees to be free in the
organisation as Blue wizard knows that employees are there backbones. Also Blue

wizard believes to acquire small group of organisation as small organisation does have
plenty of innovative ideas which could not be worked out by their own individual.
Organisational culture: Rather working under the gun CEO of Blue wizard believes
to set the people in their own ways. However there is a flat structure with no big
divisions in the organisation which can create internal conflicts. The culture is much
open with indeed collaboration with each other which gives employees to be more
creative and brings new ideas to the company.
Organisational Innovation: Blue wizard has achieved enough through its products but
it has been also understood by the company that its not only enough products to be in
market. The great strategy to spend more time after innovation, where the small team of
innovation work under no direction and create more ideas. Blue wizard does not know in
which month the new ideas could be worked out but they have enough bunches of
people who makes creative innovations.
Strategic Leadership: Definitely, Blue wizard is one of the creative organisation which
gives tough competitions to its rivals but this competition being carried out through their
leadership and the way they drives their people. Working in to many sub section of the
organisation like operation, innovation, IT and R&D. Blue wizard use to have different
leadership style according to requirement but with more flexibility and perks to the
employees. It also knows the portfolio theory which helps them to be more innovative
and create something out of the box.
These were the four ways where the Blue wizard can deal with the barriers such as
competition and other competitors innovation ideas.

References
De Bono, E. (1987). Six thinking hats. London: Penguin.
Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for
understanding and engagement (2nd ed.). York,

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Amabile, T. (1998) How to Kill Creativity Harvard Business Review, Sep/Oct, Vol.
76(5) pp76-87
Amabile, T., Fisher, C. M., and Pillemer, J. (2014). "IDEO's Culture of Helping. (cover
story)." Harvard Business Review, 92(1/2), 54-61.
Amabile, T. & Khaire, M. (2008) Creativity and the role of the Leader Harvard
Business Review, Oct2008, Vol. 86 Issue 10, p100-109
Brown, T. (2008) Design Thinking Harvard Business Review, Jun2008, Vol. 86 Issue 6,
p85-92
Dyer, J.H., Gregersen, H.B. and Christensen, C.M. (2009) The Innovators DNA
Harvard Business Review, December, 87(12) pp61-67
Hansen M.T. and Birkinshaw J. (2007) The Innovation Value Chain, Harvard Business
Review, June , pp121-130
Reeves M. and Daimler M. (2011) Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage,
Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp135-141
Rigby, D., Gruver, K., & Allen, J. (2009) Innovation in Turbulent Times Harvard
Business Review, 87(6), pp79-86

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