• First and last name of the group members

• The role (name of the character) your group has chosen

• Write the new story (new decisions) your group would have undertaken

• Indicate the sensemaking steps your group would have adopted

Rewriting BlackBerry’s Story Using Sensemaking

From the perspective of Mike Lazaridis

1. Explore the Wider System

At the height of BlackBerry’s success, I realized that the smartphone industry was changing fast. Instead of assuming that our old model with a keyboard would always be popular, I started gathering information. I looked at customer feedback, financial reports, new technology, and what competitors were doing. I saw that Apple’s iPhone was becoming more popular, and I understood that its touchscreen was not just a passing trend. People wanted phones that were easier to use and had more apps, so BlackBerry needed to adapt.

2. Involve Others in the Sensemaking Process

Instead of making decisions alone, I brought together engineers, marketing experts, and industry professionals to analyze the market. We studied the rise of touchscreen technology and app stores. Getting information from different people helped us understand that our focus on security and business users needed to be combined with features that appealed to everyday consumers.

3. Move Beyond Stereotypes

For too long, we believed that business users would always want physical keyboards. However, new data showed that even professionals were starting to prefer touchscreens because they were more flexible and easier to use. Instead of sticking to outdated ideas, I encouraged the team to rethink what customers truly needed.

4. Be Sensitive to the Frontline

I personally spoke with BlackBerry users, including business clients and regular phone buyers, to understand what they wanted. The feedback was clear, which was that people liked our security and battery life, but they also wanted an easier to use phone with more apps. I also visited tech stores and events, where I saw how competitors were promoting their products. This experience made it clear that BlackBerry had to change quickly.

5. Avoid Imposing Old Frameworks on New Situations

Based on everything we learned, I worked with the team to create a new strategy. We focused on three key areas: developing a touchscreen phone to compete with Apple, improving our software so that more apps could run on BlackBerry, and using our strong reputation in security to stand out in the market. 

7. Use Metaphors, Images, and Stories

To help my team understand the need for change, I used a simple example of chess. Just like a chess player must think ahead to win, BlackBerry had to plan for the future instead of reacting too late. This helped everyone understand that we weren’t abandoning our past success, but evolving to stay ahead.

8. Act to Change the System and Learn from It

We created test versions of a new BlackBerry touchscreen phone and gave them to business clients and early users to try out. Their feedback helped us improve the design before launching to the public. At the same time, we tested hybrid models, some with both a physical keyboard and a touchscreen, to see which design worked best.

The New BlackBerry Outcome

With this approach, BlackBerry would have adapted in time to compete with Apple. Instead of clinging to past successes, we would have combined innovation with our strengths. Using sensemaking, we could have made better decisions and remained strong in the smartphone industry.