RIM’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins, is determined to prove that sometimes one head is better than two.
14 Replies to “Big Shake-up at Research in Motion”
I knew this guy was going places when I saw him star on Gilligans Island with Luvvie. What with the Professor in charge of R&D, and Ginger and Mary-Ann in marketing all I see for RIM is boffo success!!
Yes, but you know that no matter what they do, at the end of every episode Gilligan will screw it all up, thus keeping them stuck on the island.
Got rid of my Blackberry Curve for an iPhone 4. Don’t miss the BB at all.
I think the RIM shakeup will prove to be too little too late, unless they invent something super bitchin’ that the kids can’t live without to knock Apple off their game…..but I doubt it.
True Larry, but because Gilligan is now in the running for the Lieberal Party leadership I’m not as worried!
I’ve been seeing this coming for a long time. I grew up in K-W and did my undergrad work there, and I’ve known RIM and people who work there since before Mohammed El-Masry invented the Blackberry (yes, *that* Mohammed El-Masry).
Jim and Mike are very, very nice guys, but they don’t have the life or executive experience to manage a company as large and as widespread as RIM has become. When RIM was the only game in town, a potato could have been the CEO and still raked in record profits. Now that they’re facing stiff competition in their market niche, though, it’s not going so well. It’s long past time for them to allow someone else to take the reins.
The idea of having co-CEOs was an utterly ridiculous idea from the start, and was a strong indicator that the founders didn’t have a clue about how to manage a large organization.
I visited RIM once years ago to discuss a technical collaboration, and I was surprised at how amateurish it all seemed.
Unless the new CEO is *extremely* talented, it is all too little too late. RIM = NORTEL, it’s only a matter of time.
These guys are typical of the get rich quick school of management. As soon as they became rich, they concentrated on gaining an NHL franchise, buying up several golf courses in Ontario ( Golf North) and other unrelated adventures. As a result, the company suffered from a lack of direction and commitment. A cautionary tale for future entrepreneurs.
Excellent point Tipton @ 11:08 AM.
BB has suffered from a variety of problems – including an overabundance of models leading to consumer confusion. I can’t keep them all straight, whereas the Apple products are simpler – iPhone 3, 4, 4S.
I just read that the new CEO is a German educated at Hannover. Ha! Too funny for words. That alone is a red flag. Previously he was COO at RIM, which means he presided over the disastrous playbook release.
The headline for this post should read “Same old same old at RIM”.
Eric, read Isaacson’s book Steve Jobs and that was Job’s pursuit of simplicity. A superb read on this amazing individual, though an incredibly difficult person to work for and live with, whose vision, attention to the smallest maddening detail and business sense made Apple the richest company in the world. Tough act to follow.
I agree with Dave at 12:05, I’ve read Isaacson’s bio of Jobs and one thing Jobs didn’t tolerate was failure to to a job properly. The person or team responsible for the Playbook would have been out the door a long time ago. Jobs also had a gift for strategic vision of where the company should be heading.
The dinosaur syndrome again.
Reminds me of the end days of my ‘lifetime’ career in the mainframe business. We could see all the fast moving changes in the minicomputer, work station and personal computer business coming at us, but the company was so ingrained in the old thinking that they just couldn’t change directions fast enough.
Near the end my employer bought up Zenith Data Systems.
Bad mistake, they should have bought up Apple.
(but then that would have killed that too)
My advisor said this will make no short term turnaround for RIM shares and no any long term change technically – I listened to the RIM shareholders sperch and Balsillie said that it was “business as usual” with no “major rediredtion” Man I bet that was a relief to share holders. LOL
I knew this guy was going places when I saw him star on Gilligans Island with Luvvie. What with the Professor in charge of R&D, and Ginger and Mary-Ann in marketing all I see for RIM is boffo success!!
Yes, but you know that no matter what they do, at the end of every episode Gilligan will screw it all up, thus keeping them stuck on the island.
Got rid of my Blackberry Curve for an iPhone 4. Don’t miss the BB at all.
I think the RIM shakeup will prove to be too little too late, unless they invent something super bitchin’ that the kids can’t live without to knock Apple off their game…..but I doubt it.
True Larry, but because Gilligan is now in the running for the Lieberal Party leadership I’m not as worried!
I’ve been seeing this coming for a long time. I grew up in K-W and did my undergrad work there, and I’ve known RIM and people who work there since before Mohammed El-Masry invented the Blackberry (yes, *that* Mohammed El-Masry).
Jim and Mike are very, very nice guys, but they don’t have the life or executive experience to manage a company as large and as widespread as RIM has become. When RIM was the only game in town, a potato could have been the CEO and still raked in record profits. Now that they’re facing stiff competition in their market niche, though, it’s not going so well. It’s long past time for them to allow someone else to take the reins.
The idea of having co-CEOs was an utterly ridiculous idea from the start, and was a strong indicator that the founders didn’t have a clue about how to manage a large organization.
I visited RIM once years ago to discuss a technical collaboration, and I was surprised at how amateurish it all seemed.
Unless the new CEO is *extremely* talented, it is all too little too late. RIM = NORTEL, it’s only a matter of time.
These guys are typical of the get rich quick school of management. As soon as they became rich, they concentrated on gaining an NHL franchise, buying up several golf courses in Ontario ( Golf North) and other unrelated adventures. As a result, the company suffered from a lack of direction and commitment. A cautionary tale for future entrepreneurs.
Excellent point Tipton @ 11:08 AM.
BB has suffered from a variety of problems – including an overabundance of models leading to consumer confusion. I can’t keep them all straight, whereas the Apple products are simpler – iPhone 3, 4, 4S.
I just read that the new CEO is a German educated at Hannover. Ha! Too funny for words. That alone is a red flag. Previously he was COO at RIM, which means he presided over the disastrous playbook release.
The headline for this post should read “Same old same old at RIM”.
Eric, read Isaacson’s book Steve Jobs and that was Job’s pursuit of simplicity. A superb read on this amazing individual, though an incredibly difficult person to work for and live with, whose vision, attention to the smallest maddening detail and business sense made Apple the richest company in the world. Tough act to follow.
I agree with Dave at 12:05, I’ve read Isaacson’s bio of Jobs and one thing Jobs didn’t tolerate was failure to to a job properly. The person or team responsible for the Playbook would have been out the door a long time ago. Jobs also had a gift for strategic vision of where the company should be heading.
The dinosaur syndrome again.
Reminds me of the end days of my ‘lifetime’ career in the mainframe business. We could see all the fast moving changes in the minicomputer, work station and personal computer business coming at us, but the company was so ingrained in the old thinking that they just couldn’t change directions fast enough.
Near the end my employer bought up Zenith Data Systems.
Bad mistake, they should have bought up Apple.
(but then that would have killed that too)
My advisor said this will make no short term turnaround for RIM shares and no any long term change technically – I listened to the RIM shareholders sperch and Balsillie said that it was “business as usual” with no “major rediredtion” Man I bet that was a relief to share holders. LOL