The Idea: Few companies enjoyed the ascension to category defining status and subsequent fall quite like Blackberry Limited. The Canadian company, founded in 1984, captivated the world with their hand held devices, which disrupted the world of communication, and created a twenty billion dollar business. But eventually the hunter became the hunted, and Blackberry fell victim to their own success. Dark horses emerged, disrupted and were eventually overthrown, themselves. What are the lessons of Blackberry and are you next?
The story of Blackberry reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. Theirs is the story of an organization that failed to respect changing cultural forces and emerging competitors. Mike Lazaridis, the designer, and Jim Balsillie, the visionary, underestimated future threats, lost their way and lost their company.
The two leaders of the company failed to respect how the world changed with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. They believed their previous engineering leadership could still create consumer advantage. They were misled and failed to change quick enough. Could this be your story?
According to Losing The Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordiary Rise and Spectacular Fall of Blackberry, the founders became insulated, distracted with personal agendas, chased shiny new innovations. They allowed hubris to set in which created an atmosphere ripe for a free fall.
Just now, as we see a surge in new developments within mobile devices, are we sure that the only constant is chance. CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, recently said, “The journey of personal computing has taught us this simple lesson: no single device will be the hub of activity forever. The hub is you.” He’s right. Even titans like Apple – category-defining brand – could always be ripe for a fall.
Founders are gifted at birthing ideas, and uncovering opportunities others can’t see. They have a special ability to see around the corner, often times better than insiders. They have sense for what is necessary and what’s next . But their genius is often times their undoing. Their instincts that serve them can occasionally be wrong. Most founders trust themselves more then they trust the insight and fresh eyes of others. And the fall of Blackberry is living proof.
Who on your team is strong enough to confront you? And what future shift could subtly disrupt your business?
