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And another one bites the dust.

In technology innovation is key. Innovation tends to run contrary to typical business behavior which is still based on the industrial model of create and replicate. Innovation is about discovery, research, on-going creation. Fail to do that and you'll be in trouble.

The second key is execution. Innovate but fail to deliver and you'll be in just a bad a position. New is not better than good. Deliver good even if not new and people will love you, but it has to be good.

Blackberry's company, Research in Motion (RIM) is in deep trouble right now due to both of these issues. It had a good product, so it failed to innovate. Because good is better than new, it still did well, until the competition got better. A failed tablet, a sclerotic operating system and lack of a viable app stores have seriously wounded this once titan of the industry.

Now to add insult to injury they've lost a multi-million dollar case. RIM will be a study for business schools now, but not just as a stellar success, but as a cataclysmic failure. They're in deep trouble, it would need a phoenix like re-invention for it to survive. But hey Jobs did that more than once. It can happen...

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