Get Yoda's Wisdom

Phenomenal growth and market leadership always attracts a lot of attention and provides some great lessons for entrepreneurs.  More so, when that growth turns south and leadership turns into "also-ran."

I, recently, read "Losing the Signal," the story behind the tumultuous rise and fall of BlackBerry, written by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.  As much as anything, it's about the two distinctly different founders whose diversity was the reason for the company's rapid growth...and its nearly catastrophic decline. It reads like a good novel, with the initial astounding pace of innovation and the challenges and intrigue of managing and sustaining growth of a major technology breakthrough. As you all know, the company, originally known as Research in Motion (RIM), brought smartphones to business that forever changed the way we communicated. And, it was some ride, with some great lessons for entrepreneurs!  

RIM went from less than $5 million in revenue in FY1995 (February 1995) to  $20 billion in FY2011, then back down to $3.3 billion in FY2015, while losing money in each of the last three years.  From that roller coaster ride, there are a myriad of lessons that can be learned by entrepreneurs.  Five in particular stand out as glaring sign posts to be heeded, if you want to increase the odds of your success, especially if you are in the technology arena:

• Technology can be a winner...but never by itself!

This one is first because, it, ultimately, drove both the steep ascent and the rapid decline of BlackBerry.   Mike Lazardis, the co-founder responsible for the technology side of the business, believed that their technology was the absolute reason they were successful and rode that belief until it was too late.  The real reason was that their devices, while built on that technology, filled an unmet need - quicker, easier communication - the widespread use of texting/email. Once that need was matched by others it neutralized their technology play.

• What got you there yesterday, won't get you there tomorrow.

The co-founders continued to believe that they could return to their former glory if they just did the same things that made them successful the first time, a little better.  They didn't upgrade the basic software that drove their devices until 2011, even with the dramatic changes that had taken place with consumer use of smartphones from their heyday in the early 2000s until then.

• Get knowledgeable advisors who can and will take you to task.

This ended up being the linchpin in BlackBerry's ultimate fall.  They had a board of "yes men (and women)" who had very little technology background and essentially brought nothing to the party when it came to providing a sounding board and good counsel.  They simply were friends of the co-founders and weren't equipped to be on the board of a high tech company, let alone a multi-billion dollar one.


These five lessons are critical ones that can help entrepreneurs succeed. Hopefully, in the context of a company we all watched rise and fall, the lessons are emphasized. In closing, I'd like to quote the final two sentences of the book, because in them, the authors provide some key final lessons:

"In the technology sector failure is often a precondition to future successes, while prosperity can be the beginning of the end. If the rise and fall of BlackBerry teaches us anything, it is that the race for innovation has no finish line and that winners and losers can change places in an instant."

"The Entrepreneur's Yoda" knows these things.  He's been there.  May success be with you!

Have any of the lessons delivered here been relevant to your business?  Please share your thoughts in your comments.  It can help another entrepreneur.

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