http://www.wirelessweek.com/News/2012/01/RIM-CEO-Heins-Clarifies-Stance-on-Change-Devices/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/23/us-rim-idUSTRE80M04920120123?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29
When I first started writing this posting Thorsten Heins had not clarified his statements.
I was like so many, dismayed by Heins comments. However, I had decided to cut him some slack.
On the surface you could have taken Thorsten Heins’ earlier comments as either being disconnected from reality and investors or you can take Heins’ comments as being cautious.
People need to keep in mind that Heins has employees to think of. When a new CEO comes in and says there will be drastic change the first that happens is that employees panic and run for the doors. Of course the company has already lost a lot of very solid employees, which implies there may not be enough of the right kind of talent left to actually propel the company forward.
Bottom line Heins needs to generate a sense of change, a sense of stability, a sense of confidence, and a sense he has everything under control. He has a big job ahead of himself. One tactic Heins could have taken when he stepped out into the spotlight is he could have proclaimed a plan of change, while simultaneously proclaiming how the team will need to stay together to get the job done. That is what he finally sort of did by stating he wants change but nothing seismic. I actually understand what he means. His new comments fall into line with what I initially believed.
As for the company having a lot of cash sitting around. That is a nice cushion to have around but that does not guarantee success. Heins’ predecessors had the same pile of cash and they did everything wrong.
What people need to worry about is that Heins may be pretty much like his predecessors. Folks need to keep in mind that when Heins was hired Balsillie and Lazaridis were firmly in charge. What I am saying is managers procreate versions of themselves; hire and promote people like themselves.
There are a few things Heins can do right now and all at once:
• Stick to whatever plan he has in terms of deploying the BB 10 • Shop the company around to be bought • Look to acquire someone that can transform the company’s culture and product line • Get on his hands and knees and beg the applications development community to come in and work with RIM. I suggest he turn the Blackberry operating system in an open platform. • Develop strategic alliances with other handset and software companies right now.
Why bother going through all of that trouble? The answer is: Heins has to hedge his bets and run through a bunch of parallel paths. It is like throwing a bunch of ideas against the wall to see which will stick. By the way he also has to run the company, hence the need to continue work on BB 10.
In regards to opening up the platform, RIM is not BlackBerry; there are no young cool developers and customers out there that worship the company. The cult of personality of Blackberry existed with guys like me 10 years ago when we were (sort of) young business professionals but now I am not that young audience that products companies target.
Since Heins plans on promoting the BB 10 as key component of his plan to save RIM, I would start looking for a turnaround expert to help with the implementation.
Now here is my real problem with Heins. He has already made his first mistake as CEO. The mistake being: he did not communicate what he really meant. Tiny error? Absolutely not. One of the key things a CEO must do is: communicate with his/her shareholders. He did a pretty poor job of that Day One. Communicating is a critical skill necessary to run a company. If he cannot say what he means, then heaven help the shareholders. RIM needs to hire Heins a better publicist.
I give Heins 15 months, tops. By the end of the 3rd or 4th quarter of his tenure we will all know if he is going to be successful or not.
