BlackBerry
Featuring Mike Lazaridis, Jim Balsillie
In 2007, BlackBerry was the dominant smartphone, and Research In Motion's co-CEOs were publicly dismissive of the new iPhone: worse battery life, no physical keyboard, weak enterprise security. Every criticism was true. What Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie missed was that Apple had quietly redefined what a phone was even for. RIM kept iterating on the product it had, confident its loyal business base would hold, while the consumer market sprinted ahead and then dragged enterprise along with it. By 2013 the share had collapsed.
For founders and operators riding a strong track record, this is a case about the most dangerous moment to be right, the one where success makes your beliefs feel proven. It asks what the strongest argument is that your core strategy is already wrong, and whether you have genuinely engaged it or just found reasons to wave it off. The named cognitive trap behind the failure is the one to go discover.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to BlackBerry after the iPhone launched?
BlackBerry was the dominant smartphone in 2007, but its share collapsed by 2013 after the iPhone redefined what a phone was for. Research In Motion's co-CEOs dismissed the iPhone for its worse battery life, lack of a physical keyboard, and weaker enterprise security. Every criticism was true, yet none of it mattered as the consumer market sprinted ahead and pulled enterprise along.
Who were BlackBerry's co-CEOs and what did they get wrong?
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie ran Research In Motion as co-CEOs and publicly dismissed the iPhone. What they missed was that Apple had quietly redefined the category, so iterating on the existing product no longer addressed the real competition. They stayed confident their loyal business base would hold while the market moved underneath them.
Why is BlackBerry a classic example of confirmation bias?
BlackBerry's leaders kept finding evidence that confirmed the iPhone was inferior and that their strategy was sound, treating their strong track record as proof. Success made their beliefs feel proven at the exact moment those beliefs were becoming wrong. They engaged criticism only to wave it off rather than seriously test whether their core strategy had already failed.
What can founders learn from BlackBerry's decline?
The lesson is that the most dangerous moment to be right is when success makes your beliefs feel proven, so you should actively seek the strongest argument that your core strategy is already wrong and genuinely engage it. A loyal base can mask a category shift until it is too late. CaseBook turns this into a move you apply to your own company, with an AI coach that reads your answer.