Product Story: How the Four Actions Framework can help you as a Product Manager

The Four Actions Framework is a strategic management tool developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, introduced in their book “Blue Ocean Strategy.” It’s designed to help businesses break away from competition by reevaluating industry norms and creating uncontested market space, known as a “blue ocean.”

The framework consists of four key questions:

1. Eliminate: What factors that the industry has always competed on should be eliminated?
2. Reduce: Which factors should be reduced well below the industry’s standard?
3. Raise: What factors should be raised well above the industry’s standard?
4. Create: What factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

These questions challenge companies to rethink their strategies by challenging conventional industry boundaries. By identifying and acting upon these four areas, businesses aim to create innovative value propositions, differentiate themselves significantly, and carve out new market space, making competition irrelevant.

The framework encourages a shift from competing in overcrowded and highly contested “red oceans” (where competition is fierce and boundaries are well-defined) to exploring and creating new markets in uncontested “blue oceans” where competition is minimal or nonexistent. It’s a tool for strategic innovation, encouraging companies to think creatively and redefine industry boundaries to achieve sustainable growth and success.

How is the Four Action Framework helpful for the Product Manager?

The Four Actions Framework is a powerful tool for product managers as it prompts a strategic evaluation of their product or service concerning the industry standards. Let’s break down how each question in the framework can benefit a product manager:

1. Eliminate: This question encourages the product manager to identify and eliminate elements or factors commonly accepted or taken for granted in the industry but might not add significant value to the product. It challenges the status quo and helps in reevaluating the necessity of certain features, processes, or practices.
2. Reduce: Here, the focus is on reducing certain aspects of the product or service that are considered industry norms. This could involve minimizing costs, features, or any other aspect that might not be essential for the product but is considered standard. It helps in cost-cutting or streamlining processes.
3. Raise: Identifying factors that should be raised significantly above the industry standard implies finding opportunities to excel or differentiate the product. This could involve enhancing certain features, quality, service levels, or any aspect providing a competitive advantage.
4. Create: This question encourages thinking outside the box. It prompts the product manager to innovate and introduce entirely new factors or elements the industry has never offered. This could lead to the creating of unique value propositions or new market segments.

The Four Actions Framework helps a product manager rethink their product strategy by challenging industry norms and fostering innovation. It guides them to make strategic decisions that can lead to differentiation, cost optimization, and the creation of new market spaces. This framework encourages a holistic view of the product, considering existing standards and potential areas for improvement and innovation.

Conclusion:

The Four Actions Framework, rooted in the “Blue Ocean Strategy,” is a compass for product managers navigating the turbulent seas of industry competition. Its four fundamental queries — Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, and Create — challenge the status quo, compelling product managers to scrutinize norms and forge innovative paths. It empowers them to shed redundant elements, streamline processes, elevate key aspects for differentiation, and, most critically, foster groundbreaking innovation by creating unprecedented value propositions. This framework stands as a guide and a catalyst, propelling product managers to rethink strategies, break free from industry confines, and chart courses toward unexplored, transformative market spaces, ultimately steering products toward sustained growth and unparalleled success.