The Salmon Saga: Viking Hacks 3

The third shot of productivity tricks, aimed at people who aspire effective tools. Time to explore The Blue Ocean Strategy.

Time to Read: 5 min

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Hello, friend!

New week with new gains and time to let our efforts do the talking. We have seven days of productive work ahead of us. If you missed the previous Viking Hacks, you can read through it here. I hope you are able to make use of these tools and actually put them into practice.

In the meantime, let’s move straight into the next hack.

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Viking Hack III

I will share a tool that is usually applied in business when organisations look for new business models. A systematic approach to removing competition, outlining principles and tools any organisation can use to create and capture new types of value.

However, I tested, and I know that it can be applied for personal productivity.

The tool is called The Blue Ocean Strategy. The framework was presented first by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne from INSEAD, a French business-university. The model looks like this:

Let me explain the main idea behind the model:

As a business you want unexplored market space and not bloody competition with other companies. To find free market space, a company needs to explore ways of cutting costs, or adding value. If you are able to find the sweet-spot and differentiate yourself from other companies, you have found “a blue ocean”. If a company remains in the same market position, it will struggle for survival in a bloody “red ocean”, surrounded by competition. 

Now, pay attention to the four sections on the right above and the questions they present (eliminate, raise, reduce and create). We will work with the same four sections, but apply them to our lives. My version of the model looks like this:  

While I show you how to make use of it, keep in mind the focus on improved productivity. I personally use this model because I find it useful to understand where I stand in life and what questions I need to ask myself to find balance.

I usually have an idea of what I need to do in order to change my life in a certain direction, whether that is becoming more creative, sportive, healthy, brave or mindful. However, the problem usually arises when I have to establish a more holistic overview. That’s when the Blue Ocean Strategy comes in handy.

So, what does each section represent and what are you supposed to do?  


Reduce-section:

In this square I ask myself: what parts of my life should be reduced well below average, in order to find a better balance? What in my life is not necessary right now?  

Example: reducing the amount of time that I spend inside my apartment. Isolating myself can be dangerous in the long term and my body needs movement. I write: “reduce time spent inside”.


Raise-section:

In this square I ask myself: what elements should be raised well above average? What is it that I am already doing that I need to do more of? Can I increase something?

Example: speaking more with my friends in Norway. We talk occasionally, but more contact with them would benefit both parties as we could make up a bigger part of each other’s lives and assist one another.


Eliminate-section:

In this square I ask myself: what elements of my life should be eliminated completely? What is it that I not only need to reduce, but also remove?

Example: have you ever been in a toxic relationship, be it friend or partner? Maybe there is a person who is stealing your energy and never giving anything in return. This is the type of thing you want to get rid of because nobody wins.


Creation-section:

In this square I ask myself: what are the things I never really offered myself? What completely new elements can I add to my life to generate some new momentum?

Example: playing chess. It helped me concentrate a while back. I never played chess regularly. It could also be learning a new instrument, starting a book club or learning how to shoot with bow & arrow.

In the end you are left with minimum four elements that you want to change, one in each section. There might be multiple changes in one square. The changes you make can be both professional and personal.  

This model helps me prioritise the right things at the right time to find balance. It taught me that timing is everything in life. As Leo Tolstoy wrote in his book War & Peace: “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time”. 

Remember, productivity is about getting stuff done with the resources we have. However, it is also about understanding how to prioritise relevant elements and how much weight we need on the gas. This model allows you to be smart about it, by giving you overview.

Now it’s your time to fill out the model.

If the business-version of the Blue Ocean Strategy interest you, check out this sea of resources that can help you.

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That’s the hack of this week. In addition to the hack, this week’s book recommendation on productivity is:

If you don’t feel like reading, then you can also look at this TED Talk from the author of the book. It summarises her main message.

Please take the time to test the tool I gave you today. It is simple to get started and all you need is a piece of paper and 15 minutes.

The next round of Viking Hacks will come out Monday 1st of June.

If you have tips or feedback, send an email to marco.ab.hjorth@gmail.com or comment in the section below. I would love to hear more from all of you, as my goal is to create a community where we share experiences with one another and learn to live better life.

I wish you a productive week.

Good salmon is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.

Yours,



Marco h.