We didn’t do anything wrong, but somehow, we lost: Nokia’s Heartbreaking Farewell

At the emotional press conference when the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft was announced, the CEO of Nokia concluded his speech with the words, which will remain imprinted in the minds of people saying, “We did not do anything wrong, yet we somehow lost”. These are strong words to show the emotions of a management team who sees their company that once dominated the global mobile market collapse right in front of their own eyes.

But, how did this come to be? So we pull back the curtain on the actual truth behind the decline of Nokia, a combination of technology stagnancy, squandered opportunities, and the risks of shortsightedness in regards to market changes.

Nokia: a Leader to a Learner

Nokia used to be a company with reliable, fashionable and economical phones popular among millions of customers, in particular in India. But the entry of the mighty competitors (Apple iphone and influx of android phones) altered the rules in an instant. Customers began to demand modern iPhone phones with an aesthetic appearance, implementation of touchscreen technology, artistic design, and coupled with application ecosystems. In this case, Nokia lagged.

Nokia clung to what it was doing best, on established patterns and the old, poor Symbian operating system which was slow, and not user friendly compared to Apple at the time iOS or Google Android.

Although the world was rapidly changing, Nokia was not prompt enough to respond to changes. Their top-of-the-line releases were late in being launched and when they did, they never could deliver the experience that contemporary rivals could.

What Went Wrong? Beyond the CEO tears

Although the CEO mentioned that they did not do anything wrong, facts show that Nokia made some fatal mistakes:

Apple and Android producers actively explored new territories, whereas Nokia remained within established bounds and did not predict disruptive ideas, in particular, the trend of the touchscreen smartphone emergence.

The company also overestimated the time taken by the users to switch preferences as they wanted something new, easy, and exciting. In the meantime, rivals developed solid branding and powerful app markets.

Analysts view the Nokia control to have become too complacent, depending too much on history and business performances rather than technical aspirations and innovativeness. This made blind spots, thus failed to make immediate strategic shifts.

Effect: Lost Opportunities and Falling Irrelevant

• Market Share loss: By taking a slow approach to adopting smartphones, the iPhone and Android products developed by Apple increased in popularity and quality and gained customers in India and other parts of the globe.
• Diluted brand strength: Nokia used to be an iconic brand, but it was unable to keep up, and even their subsequent attempts, such as collaborating with Microsoft, did not help.

Microsoft acquisition also meant the death of Nokia with cell phone leadership as many of the employees and lovers suffered heartbreak as a legend was dying.

Important Lessons for Today’s Businesses and Students

• Adapt or Perish: However successful you may be, the market may turn on a dime. Businesses have to be innovative, have to listen to the customers and should never rest on their laurels.
• Adopt New Technology / New Consumer Trends: Monitor world technology changes and act with rapidity and finesse. What customers demand-always remember that and go ahead and give them a solution long before competition does.
• Vision and Leadership Count: Teams should have those leaders capable of looking beyond numbers, foreseeing the changes in the future and taking the organization through rough changes.

The story of Nokia is not a missed opportunity, but it is a lesson to everyone. The accomplishment in current times is no clear guarantee of survival in the future. In the rapidly evolving world, businesses, professionals and students need to learn, adapt and evolve in order to keep ahead of the game. When we think of the poignant farewell of the CEO of Nokia, should we forget the most essential fact that not to change in the changing world was the most dangerous step of all.