Jim Balsillie served as co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry) until January 2012, according to an Empire Club of Canada introduction, and later chaired the Council of Canadian Innovators, as stated in Balsillie’s House of Commons testimony. The items below are things Balsillie said and wrote. — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions.

Infographic for "Lessons from Jim Balsillie, former co-CEO of Research In Motion".

Leadership, Judgment, and Personal Discipline

Scaling Companies and the Innovation Economy

  1. On Selling Through Carriers: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of working with wireless carriers: "our strategy was to make the carrier strategic services platform and sell through the carriers". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions.
  2. On a Profitable Model You Can Defend: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of raising money: "people only give you money if they think you're gonna turn their dollar into two dollars so you have to have a profitable business model that you can defend". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  3. On Where the Puck Is Going: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "it was understanding where the ball was going or the puck was going". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  4. On Focus Groups: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "focus groups are tools for a very specific purpose". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  5. On Focus Groups and Breakout Products: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "very famously focus groups said the chrysler minivan was a bad idea and fedex was a bad idea". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  6. On Surgical Marketing: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "marketing is surgical it's deliberate". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  7. On Seeding Chief Executives: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of seeding BlackBerry with chief executives: "it was the first bring your own device literally it was a designed byod to subvert the power structure of the i.t department". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  8. On Never Resting: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "we never rested on our laurels". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  9. On Making Hay: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "in tech you got cycles you got windows you gotta make hay while the sun shines and grab as much market as you can". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  10. On Ambition and Biting Off Too Much: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of the BlackBerry Storm: "there's a fine line between ambition and biting off more than you can chew". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  11. On Giving Everyone Confidence: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of the patent dispute: "my job is to give everybody confidence". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  12. On Hard Negotiating and Trust: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of dealing with carriers: "they said you know you're difficult to deal with jim but we know we can trust you". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  13. On Holding a Strong Position: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of dealing with carriers: "you have to play very sharp back but you have to have a strong position and then hold it". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  14. On Complexity: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "if it was so easy lots of people would build a 20 billion dollar company". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  15. On Starting Versus Scaling: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said of building technology companies in Canada: "it's easier to get started but it's much harder to scale". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  16. On Fighting for What You Need: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "go understand what you need and fight for it and fight hard for it". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  17. On Getting the Conditions Right: At the Empire Club of Canada in 2015, Balsillie said: "you have to get the conditions right in your organization and in yourself". — Empire Club of Canada: Jim Balsillie in conversation with Jacqueline McNish and Sean Silcoff, Blackberry: Lessons Learned from One of Canada’s Most Riveting Technology Companies (June 9, 2015), auto-generated captions
  18. On Taking Ownership: In a short video on taking ownership, Balsillie said: "when you actually have to take ownership of it and reflect on yourself that's a much much more sobering and challenging place to go". — Jim Balsillie shares what he has learned about taking ownership, auto-generated captions
  19. On Making the Situation: In a short video on taking ownership, Balsillie said: "you made the situation the situation didn't make you". — Jim Balsillie shares what he has learned about taking ownership, auto-generated captions
  20. On the Firm as the Agent of Innovation: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "in the economy of intangibles the firm is the agent of innovation because that's where commercialization occurs". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions.
  21. On What You Do Not Own: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "you cannot commercialize what you don't own". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  22. On Freedom to Operate: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "the strategic operating principle for firms is called freedom to operate". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  23. On Legal Monopolies: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "by owning ip you restrict others from using a valuable idea and then you collect economic rent when others use that idea". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  24. On Bad Advice: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said of advice for young entrepreneurs: "stay away from bad advice um but no advice is better than bad advice". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  25. On Knowing Better: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "as maya angelou famously said when you know better you do better". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  26. On the Premium for Coherence: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "in the intangible economy if you get 90 of it right you get 10 of the benefit so there's a huge premium for coherence". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  27. On Universities and Innovation: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "universities are not designed or attuned to innovation they're designed to invention and they're also designed to education". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  28. On a Rivalrous System: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said: "it's a rivalrous predatory system". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  29. On Protecting and Creating Ideas: In a keynote on Canada’s intellectual property, Balsillie said of the cost of intellectual property for small firms: "you give them a terrible choice do i protect my ideas or do i create my ideas". — Prosperity & Security: Canada’s IP Imperative, featuring Jim Balsillie, auto-generated captions
  30. On Banks for the Scaling Cycle: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "Canada requires fit-for-purpose banks capable of serving firms through the scaling cycle". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026).
  31. On Optimizing for Stability: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "Canada’s commercial banking framework has become highly optimized around stability, but less effective at supporting broad-based SME dynamism and scaling". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026)
  32. On Funding Early Innovation but Not Scaling: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "Canada increasingly funds early innovation while other jurisdictions finance scaling activity, capture the resulting value, and retain the strategic assets". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026).
  33. On Innovation Without Ownership: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "Innovation generation alone is insufficient without corresponding domestic ownership, control, and value capture mechanisms". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026)
  34. On Procurement as Growth Capital: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "In many jurisdictions, procurement functions as a form of non-dilutive growth capital by providing reference customers, revenue stability, and commercialization pathways for scaling firms". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026)
  35. On Research Funding Without Commercialization: In a 2026 follow-up brief to the Senate banking committee, Balsillie wrote: "Canada spends more than 7.5 billion dollars annually on research funding without sufficiently integrating commercialization, IP retention, domestic spillovers, and ownership outcomes into the policy architecture governing those investments". — Follow-up brief to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, Jim Balsillie (May 12, 2026)
  36. On Reversing the Brain Drain: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said of recent graduates whose job offers were rescinded: "The government can use this opportunity to reverse the costs of our enormous brain drain". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie.
  37. On Crises Clarifying Priorities: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "Crises always clarify priorities". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie
  38. On Diversifying Products: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "Canada needs to diversify its products, not just its markets". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie.
  39. On Digital Policy Infrastructure: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "What Canada needs instead is a digital policy infrastructure that facilitates productivity, prosperity and security via global value chains". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie.
  40. On Shovel-Ready Projects: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "Using a traditional shovel-ready physical infrastructure lens, whether for roads, bridges or hockey rinks, to stimulate demand and drive productivity has no traction in the 21st century global economy where IP and data are the most valuable economic and national security assets". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie
  41. On Crises and Structural Change: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "The COVID-19 crisis generates an ironic opportunity for Canada, because it induces structural changes normally spread over years into a few months". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie.

Intellectual Property and Commercialization

  1. On Outdated Economic Thinking: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee in May 2020, Balsillie said: "Policies rooted in 19th and 20th century economic thinking applied to the 21st century knowledge and data-driven economy have resulted in a 25-year slide in our national productivity". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 18 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie.
  2. On Owning Before Opening: In testimony to the House of Commons science and research committee in 2023, Balsillie said of open science: "you cannot make something open that you don't own". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research, meeting 37 (44th Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie, March 30, 2023.
  3. On Filing Provisionals: In testimony to the House of Commons science and research committee in 2023, Balsillie said: "You simply file provisionals for the patents when you're publishing. That's what other nations do. It's quite inexpensive". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research, meeting 37 (44th Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie, March 30, 2023
  4. On Managing Patent Filings: In testimony to the House of Commons science and research committee in 2023, Balsillie said: "When you file the provisional, who does it and who manages its 10 years of filing? We have no system for doing that". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research, meeting 37 (44th Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie, March 30, 2023.

Investment, Spillovers, and Strategic Control

  1. On Extractive Investment: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "It is not the case with FDI into the innovation economy where FDI is extractive". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.
  2. On a Bolt Lock and a Screen Door: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "Our current approach to dealing with Canada's most valuable economic and national security assets is akin to putting an additional bolt lock on the front door, while advertising that our screen door on the side is open". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act
  3. On Spillovers: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "In the knowledge-based and data-driven economy, prosperity and risk do not scale with size but with spillovers". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.
  4. On Owning and Controlling Intangibles: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "Companies and countries now compete by owning and controlling intangible assets". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act
  5. On Who Controls the Data: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "whoever owns the IP and whoever controls the data, controls who and what interacts with it". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.
  6. On Critical Assets: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "if the assets are critical to Canada’s prosperity, security and sovereignty, then we need to ensure they remain in our control regardless of the foreign counterparty". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.
  7. On Consequences Beyond Jobs: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "there are many other economic consequences beyond jobs that must be considered". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.
  8. On Unpriced Spillovers: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on the Investment Canada Act, Balsillie said: "IP and data have strong public good characteristics, so private decisions do not price the associated externalities or spillovers into their contractual agreements". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, meeting 24 (43rd Parliament, 1st Session): opening statement of Jim Balsillie on the Investment Canada Act.

AI, Privacy, and Democratic Governance

  1. On Privacy and Household Costs: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "inadequate privacy governance contributes directly to higher household costs". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026).
  2. On the Contest over Economic Rents: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "Privacy is a critical part of the contest over economic rents in today’s economy". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026)
  3. On Consumer Surplus: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "consumer surplus is not realized by the consumer but instead appropriated by the company selling the product or service". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026).
  4. On a Market of One: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "You are increasingly a market of one". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026)
  5. On Data Becoming More Valuable: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "each new data set a company collects makes all pre-existing data sets in the hands of the same corporations more valuable". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026)
  6. On Algorithmic Pay: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote of opaque remuneration programs: "tailors the pay to the minimum possible amount a worker is willing to take". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026).
  7. On Privacy as a Human Right: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote of how regulation is framed: "rather than treating privacy as a human right which is much harder to justify violating". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026).
  8. On Computing Power and Sovereignty: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on artificial intelligence legislation, Balsillie said of artificial intelligence: "You cannot think of this stuff independently of computing power and sovereign infrastructure and how we're going to approach those properly to be a sovereign, safe and prosperous country". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, meeting 111 (44th Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie.
  9. On Getting It Right: In testimony to the House of Commons industry committee on artificial intelligence legislation, Balsillie said of artificial intelligence legislation: "This is a place where you have to get it right in a complex zone". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, meeting 111 (44th Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie.
  10. On Banning Personalized Election Ads: In testimony to the House of Commons ethics committee, Balsillie said: "One of my recommendations is to just ban personalized online ads during elections". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, meeting 152 (42nd Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie.
  11. On the Sovereign Self: In testimony to the House of Commons ethics committee, Balsillie said: "Elections and democracy are centred on the sovereign self, exercising a sovereign will". — House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, meeting 152 (42nd Parliament, 1st Session): Jim Balsillie
  12. On Human Commodification: In 2026 remarks and an appended op-ed to the Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee, Balsillie wrote: "This has caused a new era of human commodification that violates fundamental human rights in new ways". — Remarks by Jim Balsillie to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Part 4 of Bill C-4 (February 12, 2026), with an appended Globe and Mail op-ed (February 4, 2026).
  13. On the Pace of AI: In speech notes quoted by the National Post, Balsillie wrote: "AI is transforming industries at scale in ways we haven't seen since the rise of the internet". — National Post: Tech is wreaking ‘catastrophic costs,’ Jim Balsillie warns.