[Chicago777Guy]

1)He was clarify in favor of building services based organization as he was convinced that Google has made OS commodized by offering it free.

2)Wanted to build SMS2.0 or cross Platform BBM

3) Least interested in Hardware.

4)Clearly has the most business sense of all.


Posted via CB10

[pkcable]

Mike Lazaridis was the problem in my opinion. And guess what folks? He may be coming back!

[Chicago777Guy]

He will be back...i would put his chances at 90%...But in my opinion he was still better than TH who dug a big grave for Blackberry called Z10.

Posted via CB10

[si001]

Lazaridis wanted to stay in the qwerty business and stay away from the full touch, because the market was already saturated with a bunch of models already, looking at the Z10 sales number and where BB is ATM, was he right?

[Chicago777Guy]

I would say he was right...Here's my right chart
1)Jim B- Most Business Savy
2)Mike L
3)Th - Worst

Posted via CB10

[AnimalPak200]

Lazaridis was an engineer... I think I had space for one business course during my bachelor's. The real problem was the structure at the top, which seemed slowed down any major decisions,.. fine for governments but deadly for tech companies.

Posted via CB10

[diapers]

I thought they should have come out with a phone supporting their base too (keyboard based phone first, all touch after). it's the same mistake microsoft made with surface RT. Most people who use windows don't want an arm based computer because it can't run all of their existing programs. It's pretty surprising how there are companies still wanting to make a big splash in mobile this late in the game when there's nothing but slim pickings to choose from. Solidify your base, then expand.

[pkcable]

The Z10 is a fine phone, it's just WAY too late to the market!

[Chicago777Guy]

I agree it's a great phone...but not the right business proposition at current tine.

Posted via CB10

[CHIP72]

Lazaridis wanted to stay in the qwerty business and stay away from the full touch, because the market was already saturated with a bunch of models already, looking at the Z10 sales number and where BB is ATM, was he right?

From reading the Globe and Mail article, that wasn't my interpretation - I think Lazaridis (IMO, correctly) believed Blackberry had a niche with physical keyboards and could still be a player in that niche. That doesn't mean Lazaridis thought the Q10 should have been the lead device. (He may have, but he may not have too.) It is possible, as various people (including myself) have said on crackberry.com, that Blackberry would (should) have led with a portrait and/or landscape slider, providing users with both a keyboard AND a large (or relatively large) screen.

The above doesn't mean a Mike Lazaridis-led Blackberry wouldn't have had all-touchscreen smartphone; they just wouldn't have led with them.

[CHIP72]

1)He was clarify in favor of building services based organization as he was convinced that Google has made OS commodized by offering it free.

2)Wanted to build SMS2.0 or cross Platform BBM

3) Least interested in Hardware.

4)Clearly has the most business sense of all.

Posted via CB10

I think Balsillie had a better sense than either Lazaridis or especially Heins that Blackberry's smartphone segment was in real trouble and that BB10 may have been too late to the game (which I think has been proven correct). Balsillie probably felt that Blackberry needed to build on its other strengths to remain profitable, and build on them before other players in those segments became further entrenched than they were at the time Balsillie was proposing his BBM cross-platform idea.

[BlackBerry Guy]

Jim B had the most radical approach, which may have been just what a company in BlackBerry's position needed.

Mike L seemingly wanted to continue the same course as before, instead with BB10 powered devices. It gives the appearance that he still doesn't quite get it. The hardware keyboard is differentiated, but millions of users have shown that they are willing to trade off the typing prowess of a QWERTY for the real estate of touchscreen. Think of all the hardcore BlackBerry users who once proclaimed they could never type on a touchscreen, who then picked up a Z10, and then realized it wasn't as bad as they thought. It is becoming a niche market.

[R_from_Toronto]

Mike didn't get it then and he doesn't get it now. If he was still in control he would have run the company into the ground with the focus on Qwerty only devices. In this case, market preferences shifted rapidly from battery, security and qwerty to web, apps and touchscreen. Mike was too focused on the technical side and lost sight of the bigger picture. This really doubles as a case study in why engineers should not run companies.

Jim even amid the distraction of chasing an NHL team still had the foresight to see that the Qwerty market was dying and BB needed a radical strategy to stay alive. Hindsight is 20/20 but making the transition to software services was the right choice.

[danprown]

Also in the article is the tidbit that Mike L isolated the QNX team, creating not only discord within the company but a failure to retain the true essence of the BBRY experience...

[BoldPreza]

Lazaridis wanted to stay in the qwerty business and stay away from the full touch, because the market was already saturated with a bunch of models already, looking at the Z10 sales number and where BB is ATM, was he right?

No it was his indifference to the all touch and his strong belief in the qwerty that imo really hampered development of the storm products. They didn't believe in the product so they just threw something together and said iPhone killer.

Balsillie meanwhile knew what Steve Jobs did. You can't run your company with only one revenue source. Services would have been a great business expander for them.

Posted via CB10

[CrackedBarry]

Balsilie definitely had the brains and business sense of those two.

I mean, just imagine if RIM had launched a cross platform BBM with multiple carriers aboard back in 2011 or early 2012! (Which it could... If the company had focused more on it)

They could have been a contender today, replacing Whatsapp, Skype, Dropbox and other companies/services on millions of phones. A licensing fee of just a dollar pr. device pr. Yar could have been a major revenue stream by now. Heck, Blackberry could probably also have gotten Samsung or other manufacturers on board. Indirectly, it would sell devices as well, through a halo effect, just like iPods sold MacBooks a few years ago...

Lazaridis on the other hand? He pretty much threw away every chance at keeping the company successful that he got...
The botched Storm device/launch... Not getting aboard Android right away... Keeping BBOS and not realizing that the company needed a new and modern OS... And of course taking too long to develop a next-gen phone and botching the execution.

Imagine if Blackberry had started developing a modern handset the day that the iPhone was presented... It took THREE years for Android to pick up steam, it wasnt until 2010 did it start to threaten Blackberry. If Blackberry could have either introduced a modern iPhone competitor, or gone aboard Android full steam from the get go, they could have had a position close to Samsung today. It could have been a hundred billion dollar company, with a little luck, and somebody else but Lazaridis behind the wheel.

The most telling place in the article, was the description of the board meeting where Lazaridis points to the touchscreen Z10 and says "I don't get this!"

Nope, Lazaridis didn't get it. Apparently there a lot of things that he "didn't get".

[NotGoodIMO]

1)He was clarify in favor of building services based organization as he was convinced that Google has made OS commodized by offering it free.

2)Wanted to build SMS2.0 or cross Platform BBM

3) Least interested in Hardware.

4)Clearly has the most business sense of all.


Posted via CB10

Completely agree. Also, he seems to be the best leader, arrogant and confident to confront the media.

[NotGoodIMO]

He will be back...i would put his chances at 90%...But in my opinion he was still better than TH who dug a big grave for Blackberry called Z10.

Posted via CB10

TH is the worst leader for sure. When he needs to come out in the open and clarify things, he is hiding some where in his hole.

[luisoman2000]

Balsilie definitely had the brains and business sense of those two.

I mean, just imagine if RIM had launched a cross platform BBM with multiple carriers aboard back in 2011 or early 2012! (Which it could... If the company had focused more on it)

They could have been a contender today, replacing Whatsapp, Skype, Dropbox and other companies/services on millions of phones. A licensing fee of just a dollar pr. device pr. Yar could have been a major revenue stream by now. Heck, Blackberry could probably also have gotten Samsung or other manufacturers on board. Indirectly, it would sell devices as well, through a halo effect, just like iPods sold MacBooks a few years ago...

Lazaridis on the other hand? He pretty much threw away every chance at keeping the company successful that he got...
The botched Storm device/launch... Not getting aboard Android right away... Keeping BBOS and not realizing that the company needed a new and modern OS... And of course taking too long to develop a next-gen phone and botching the execution.

Imagine if Blackberry had started developing a modern handset the day that the iPhone was presented... It took THREE years for Android to pick up steam, it wasnt until 2010 did it start to threaten Blackberry. If Blackberry could have either introduced a modern iPhone competitor, or gone aboard Android full steam from the get go, they could have had a position close to Samsung today. It could have been a hundred billion dollar company, with a little luck, and somebody else but Lazaridis behind the wheel.

The most telling place in the article, was the description of the board meeting where Lazaridis points to the touchscreen Z10 and says "I don't get this!"

Nope, Lazaridis didn't get it. Apparently there a lot of things that he "didn't get".

This! Cross platform bbm would have been a great source of revenue for blackberry, allowing it to speed up the bb10 launch(At least that's my opinion). And yes, if development of bbm would have started earlier they would have a fighting chance againts apple and android. BB10 would be a mature OS by now and would have greater app support. It's a shame how heins dismissed such a golden oportunity by ditching sms 2.0,they already had liveprofile as a base to go on, and trust me, with the popularity bbm had back then android/ios/symbian users would have flocked to get the app and would have paid for the service(At least i know i would have, i was a nokia user at the time and was waiting for liveprofile 2.0 to get symbian support).

[R_from_Toronto]

TH is the worst leader for sure. When he needs to come out in the open and clarify things, he is hiding some where in his hole.

TH is leading BB to the same place that led Siemen's mobile business...NO WHERE.

[mikeo007]

Also in the article is the tidbit that Mike L isolated the QNX team, creating not only discord within the company but a failure to retain the true essence of the BBRY experience...

When I read this part of the article, everything that happened with BB10 suddenly clicked. It now makes perfect sense why it feels like such a disconnect and an incomplete product. It was completely segregated from the Blackberry DNA.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

The Z10 is a fine phone, it's just WAY too late to the market!

Z10 is underpowered - needed a larger battery.
BB10 was not ready for the lauch, it is much better now... but the Verizon release version for the Z10 was a PR nightmare.


But I agree that the big problem was timing. MAYBE if they had been able to deliver on their initial timetable and released a Z10 back in the fall of 2011... it would have made a difference.

Could've - Would've - Should've

[AzzlanOfBB]

Eff you, TH is a G #Haters

Just Zeddin' It .....

[BBVegasGirl80]

The Z10 is a fine phone, it's just WAY too late to the market!

I disagree. I think it's way ahead - of its time. People might not agree with me, but that's my opinion.

Sent from my sexy white hot Z10 in Sin City ;-)

[ranzabar]

No. No. No! They missed it by a mile. Don't repeat the mistakes of the past

Posted via my BlackBerry Z10