In the wake of declining market share and serious criticism about a lack of oversight from the board of directors, Research In Motion (RIM) Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have stepped down.
The pair have also relinquished their co-chairmanship of the BlackBerry maker's board of directors. Many company outsiders, including a growing number of investors, have voiced frustration ... [ read the full article ]
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I've seen this in the past where a guy has 'true vision' or an idea of forward thinking, but a partner or number cruncher just wants to follow a status quo... basically a goon that never figures in human factors or quantum trends in nature that (while you really can't depend on) you have to have a 'gut' feeling for; tend to start fist fights over.
Granted, John Q Public (yes, me) has no real idea what is going on behind closed doors, but it certainly seems as though this is a case of 'those without a clue & in desperation' are grabbing the wheel of the ship from those who actually know what they're doing. Except it's more like, "grandma can most certainly keep the 69 Cadillac. I just don't think she should be driving it anymore!"
I just can't help but think now isn't it a good thing Jim didn't buy that NHL team for Hamilton, ON after all. It'd have been pulled from NHL this year if he had.
RIM has been doing one thing well since day one - secure, corporate email on a device with a great physical keyboard. Any other functions on a Blackberry seem to be an afterthought. Most of the apps in the BB marketplace are slow and crappy. The hardware has fallen behind the competition in technical innovation. RIM could afford to slowly develop new devices when they were the only real game in town. Now that iOS and Android devices are here RIM can't keep up to the pace that is required in the smartphone industry.
It's a shame really. I've had various Blackberrys provided by my work for over 10 years. I couldn't see myself using anything else for work. At the same time, I bought an Android phone for personal use. I hate the virtual keyboard - but everything else is great.
Watching RIM die is like watching a friend wither with old age and disease. It's slow and painful. I'll miss you when you go RIM.
