DailyFinance names RIM Co-CEO's on Top 9 CEO's who need to be fired list, do you agree?

Recently I watched a gamechangers program on Bloomberg that featured Steve Jobs. When he left Apple to build Pixar then came back, he made an astute observation... Apple's products were stale. The first product they developed shortly after was the iMac, followed by iPod with iTunes. Not to rest on their laurels, the iPhone was born, followed by iPad. Nearly all changed the face of the industry. As a result, Apple is the second most valuable company in the world. Not bad for an organization wondering how to stay afloat in the 80's.

If you look at Research in Motion under the leadership of Jim and Mike, their products of late are more evolutionary. The ones that are revolutionary should be marketed as such (Bold 9900: The world's only touchscreen smartphone with a non-slide QWERTY keyboard. Style 9670: The world's only flip smartphone). The PlayBook is even revolutionary with gesture control, the sharpest display of any tablet, and bridge to enjoy BlackBerry data compression. Yet none of these things are mentioned in RIM's marketing.

RIM has a fair-sized list of industry-changing achievements in the past (push e-mail, security, Enterprise, BBM) but the innovation has stagnated. When a pro sports team that was at the top of their league takes a downward spiral in the standings, personnel changes are made from the top down. The GM and head coach are held accountable.

RIM has no choice but to hire a new charismatic CEO who brings a fresh, innovative approach and stops the bleeding. It's time to become an industry leader again. And if RIM is of the opinion they still are one one, their new leader should position themselves as such.

I think that the problem is that they lack proper focus and they lack proper focus because customers like us want them to turn their product into something it was not meant to be in the first place. The BlackBerry is a business phone, you can't get around it, no matter how you try.

Every decision they have made has been enterprise first, consumer second. If you truly look at it, we aren't their customers, we are just the end users. Their customers are the companies that buy the phones and issue them to their employees. We fell in love with the phone because it was/is a great communication device and that is its core competence.

But since the iPhone and Steve Jobs proclaiming that everyone should have one device, we have gotten envious, which is perfectly natural and we want RIM to bring all that goodness to Blackberry devices. But because of this, we lose sight of the big difference between Apple and RIM and that is enterprise. Yes, some people have brought their iPhones into the enterprise world but the same way that RIM is floundering in the consumer space, they are in the enterprise. You cannot force a square block in a round hole.

What they need to do now is focus back on what they are good at and instead of trying to grab the entire consumer market, they should do niche marketing for the consumer market. Find the target segment that suits their present product and market to them. But I think, given my view on things, that firing them is not a good idea. They just need to stop listening to the outside noise, refocus on their strengths, minimize their weaknesses and they are the ones to do it.

I love CrackBerry.com, but you guys are idiots and have blinders on if you think a change at the top is not needed. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid! It reminds me of Kevin's review of the Torch, it was so biased, and that is an asstastic device.

i disagree with the survey in that they shouldn't be ninth, they should be first!

Why does everyone need a dual-core phone to do what? To update Facebook apps and watch Avatar on a 2x4 screen? Get real.

I agree with some points but I am tired of this RIM hating bandwagon. Yes the 9900 and Torch 2 should have been the 9700/9780 and Torch 1 phones.

They have released phones exactly one year after the Torch 1, not bad, why does everyone need 12 phones released every month?

I agree though a change at the top is necessary though, leave Balsillie, move Mike....retool all of the current products and leave out this BB TV nonsense I am hearing about and other Apple like accessories, they aren't needed.

These "DailyFinance" idiots, like all Wall Street A-Holes, are trying to sink the stock, so they can buy it, then reap the rewards when it shoots back up. It's all a scam. All of these "tech journalists" do the same. They write negative reviews to profit.

LOL! These same A-Holes are trying to blame the London Riots on BBM.... people... just wake up and see the game.

Go Mike and Jim....stay the course.

WOW! I'm stunned that 2-1 folks want the co-CEOs fired! I agree there have been big mistakes made, but firing the co-CEOs will accomplish what? Where is the vision and passion coming from? Do you folks have someone better to fill those shoes? RIM haters must be skewing these numbers. They want RIM to fail because they desperately want Apple and Google to succeed.

RIM defined this space -- the smartphone. Unfortunately, they don't have the financial resources of Apple or Google to make all their dreams reality. In comparison, they're a small company with smart engineers and big ideas. They have a strong following because they deliver well engineered products. We've all been screaming for FASTER well-engineered products, and BB7 delivers. BB8 with QNX will be even better.

Folks, before you point fingers, try finding two people who work harder to get good stuff out the door. In the past year we saw them buy a terrific little company (QNX) that the big boys overlooked, we saw the PlayBook come to life, and we're now seeing these excellent BB7 devices -- the best, fastest, and very competitive devices from RIM... EVER!!!

Tell me, where have they failed you in the past year? I know the BB7 devices were very late. Okay, this is one of the big mistakes, but it was well worth the wait. Hopefully, they're super stable and even better than what we see in demos ;)

bb is doing well so far. the only complaint that I hear bout blackberry is "what the hell, this is not iphone". right, this is not iphone, if you like this piese of sh... glass, go get it. bb is something different and will always be, i hope.

Jim and Mike are accountable to the shareholders. Shares have tanked. Nuff said.

Long live the RIMPIRE...without the CO-CEO's

BTW, don't they look a little like Laurel and Hardy in that photo?

http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/

Tim

If you want to see why:

1. Go buy a Playbook. (not done yet)
2. One phone (Iphone) is kicking all of RIMs phones a$$. (and not just a little)
3. Take a look at their stock? (how low can they go)
4. Ask the 2200 folks they just fired while they have 3 billion in the bank.
5. Ask the execs that have jump ship in the past three months.
6. Ask this again when everyone else has a QNX phone and you have your "old" "OS7. (in 6-9 months)
7. Why has no one attempted to take RIM over while the stock is so low?

I dont have time to list the rest.

Again, RIM good, CEOs bad,

Tim

To remove these men now would surely signal the end of RIM as they ARE RIM. This company flourished under them for years and now that they are going thru a tough time- everyone is calling for their heads. I see them changing with the new products coming out and I for one an sticking behind them.
I want to see the comments in another year or two when RIM is back on top-- I am sure these so-called analysts calling for their heads today will be singing their praises. (Remember Jobs??)

No one is denying what these two CEO's managed to do to bring RIM to the forefront in mobile technology......in 1995 (sarcasm intended).

People are questioning whether these people can still do this in 2011 and beyond and the answer is clearly NO.

They should have been asked to resign at their last shareholder meeting.

Considering that the Bold 9900 had just (barely) caught the tail end of Back-To-School sales season, I would give RIM's co-CEO's the benefit of doubt for now.
(This was a very close decision in my mind--I was leaning the other way last week).

These co-CEO's are RIM's best bet and perhaps fastest way to port all future BlackBerry smartphones to QNX system...

Let's hope that QNX smartphones would come online summer 2012 hopefully!

Balsillie should stay with RIM. Lazaridis is the one that needs to go.

Anyone that gives a damn about RIM needs to kick themselves if they think losing Mike Laziridis is a good idea.

Even losing Jim Balsillie isn't necessarily a good idea.

The heart and soul of the company is tied up in those two guys and if they go much of the current leadership will also leave. Most of those guys really don't need to work having made enough to retire on options in prior years.

The company would be a shell of it's former self and the share price would collapse.

The market price of RIM shares bears no relationship to the value of the company, which continues to increase sales globally.

RIM may look like an also ran now, but at one time no one thought Nokia would ever lose it's number one position.

In the mobile world you're only as good as your last phone. Anyone with significant investment in Apple should be ready to jump when Apple declines, as it inevitably will in the next couple of years.

They built this company from the ground up. They gave you the devices you love and enjoy. They are jump starters of this bb culture. It's their company and I'm sure they wouldn't let it go up in smokes. Despite their flaws and possibly false sense of stubbornness, I still think they are not stupid enough not to understand that things need to get done. RIM is their legacy and they deserve, well at least in my opinion, a chance to ride it through the storm. I have an iPhone and it sucks as a communication device. I'm not bashing apple. I love my iPhone when it comes to games and browsing. But bottomline, BBs are dependable hardworking phones. Not everyone likes fancy. Some like me prefer dependability. That's why my BB is my flagship device. I will never let go of it and will continue to support RIM as long as I see an effort on their part. Let's cut 'em some slack at least for the time being.

I am wishing for a better more productive year for RIM and I'm sure the new devices will keep us giddy long enough for the newer ones to secure their place as primary contenders in the market!

They built this company from the ground up. They gave you the devices you love and enjoy. They are jump starters of this bb culture. It's their company and I'm sure they wouldn't let it go up in smokes. Despite their flaws and possibly false sense of stubbornness, I still think they are not stupid enough not to understand that things need to get done. RIM is their legacy and they deserve, well at least in my opinion, a chance to ride it through the storm. I have an iPhone and it sucks as a communication device. I'm not bashing apple. I love my iPhone when it comes to games and browsing. But bottomline, BBs are dependable hardworking phones. Not everyone likes fancy. Some like me prefer dependability. That's why my BB is my flagship device. I will never let go of it and will continue to support RIM as long as I see an effort on their part. Let's cut 'em some slack at least for the time being.

I am wishing for a better more productive year for RIM and I'm sure the new devices will keep us giddy long enough for the newer ones to secure their place as primary contenders in the market!

No. As much as I fault them for laggy phones, a PlayBook that came packed with lies of PIM apps "coming soon" and marketing failure. .. I love my BlackBerry products for a reason, a change of CEO risks losing what I love of BlackBerry.

QNX phone by the first quarter?!? LMAO I am possibly going to hold on to my upgrade just for one. But, you can't be narrow minded and not think outside the box when your in charge of a tech company. If you are (were) a leading company with a device that is widely used and depended on, why would you not think of constantly pushing the envelope? To sit back and think or say your device will never have a certain technology just because YOU don't want it to is idiotic. You're not making the devices for you, your making them for the consumer, your bread and butter. I guess that apparent smug attitudes finally caught up. Yea, you can make millions off of selling your old technology overseas, but that won't solve everything. I hope its not too late to fix what they have done. If they can open their minds to what we as consumers want, then get rid of them and find someONE who can.

My concern with the QNX phones (whenever that realistically happens) is that there's a HUGE risk of failure. We're already hearing a lack BES out of the box, and as much potential as the Playbook has, it's missing key ingredients that would've made it a real contender. One of those is apps, or LACK OF. A QNX phone, frankly, will only be (at best) as good as the Android and IOS counterparts, but an empty app world (native apps, not a desperate pull at Android apps, not all of which will be available) and lack of expected features will kill this thing. It will be labeled as a half baked attempt! There's a whole ecosystem that needs to evolve. It's become a lot more than "just the phone".

RIM needs to realize that being last in technology advancement is almost always a bad thing. Luckily for RIM, most of the people who own BB phones (CEOs and IT Managers) approach technology with the same sense of caution. With that, BB phones will still be alive as long as RIM meets business with innovative.

They knew the iPhone OS and Droid OS weren't going to be polished on first release, so they had time on their side. The problem was, RIM forgot they were dealing with Google and Apple, the top-tier technology innovators of this past decade. These companies will move their most prominent resources to focus on the next thing, even if it fails (Ex: Google Wave or Apple TV).

Using a baseball analogy, RIM has left the pitcher on the mound too long and it is time for a reliever. The new face will understand the changes in the market, the concepts and goals for RIM and BB, and the client's anxiousness for the latest and greatest. Most importantly, the new face needs to observe Apple's annual iPhone product release plan or Google's continuous Droid platform selling techniques. With this, you can set a proper scheduling pattern based around what the other phones are doing and meet or beat their latest technology.

All in all, I'm still going to buy my BB 9930 and the Blackberry QNX OS 8. Like many of the readers on this site, you are true "Black" and will continue to support and promote RIM and BB regardless if the ship floats or sails. #TeamBB!

I'm torn on this. As a consumer, I would love to keep everything as it's going. Blackberries running behind never affect me because if it didn't exsist I seriously would be torn on what kind of phone to get because a mobile "media center" doesn't appeal to me. I'm excited about the 9930 and actually nervous about the qnx phone (loosing too much form factor that made blackberry what it is.)

From a business stand point there has been quite a few promises that never came through. Though it does say in the bible not to promise anything because nothing is guaranteed (paraphrased) and I feel some of the promises broken iniclude a device (playbook) that is missing alot of pieces. I love my playbook but I will be hard pressed to trust another device if they come out with a new Playbook and leave this one burning in the dust. Long story short, when these promises were thrown out there it seemed as if it was empty promises to slow the bleeding.

I don't care how long it takes for devices to come out when this is the only device I like. My concern is going to be when they are putting out less than blackberryish devices to get things out and satisfy the greedy fans who need everything NOW. I want the quality not the NOW!!!

Yeah, as much as I appreciate their work...they need to have one guy on charge to take the blame and credit. That is why their stock price is so low...nobody can trust that the board can makes the necessary changes if the time comes, because they honestly can't. Whats wrong with being a top executive? One CEO is the face of the company, does the PR, is charismatic and carries the responsibility. You can't have two captains of a ship or two presidents per country.

19th!!!!!!!

I think it's time for some new blood. I am a HARD CORE Blackberry fan and will continue to be. But it's time for Blackberry to realize that they don't have a monopoly on the market. It seems that even when they bring out new tech, we are still months (which feels like years) behind the competition.
As soon as the Torch 9800 came out, I was first in line to buy it (like all of their previous "flagships"). Looking at the spec of the first 9800, they were almost a full year behind the competition for CPU, screen,...

They need to start being more INNOVATIVE and more aggressive in this cut throat market. They have so many strong points, but they need more bells and whistles (hotspot, HDMI, DLNA...) for the regular Joe. Time to expand to the VAST majority of the market, not only the corporate market.

These guys have done a great job (look at the company from day one), but it's time to rethink the Mission of RIM.

BUY MLSE JIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! get those damn teachers outta there!

Need to add "Fire Lazaridis, Keep Balsillie" and "Fire Balsillie, Keep Lazaridis" to the survey.

I would vote to get rid of Lazaridis and keep Balsillie!, Lazaridis is so bad at PR...

I agree. RIM got too comfortable while they enjoyed a substantial share of the business market. That led to them stagnating with new os versions that were hardly upgrades at all (when compared to Android and iOS). Hardware was no better. While new android phones popped up all over the world and apple's little fad turned into a phenomenon rim was struggling with the bb storm (disaster, I had 4 of them). Way too little way too late - just like the playbook.

Instead of acknowledging the threat early on they considered themselves in another league and by the time they realized what had happened it was too late. The developer tools suck, certificate fees for utilizing different components, lack of a developed app market, coupled with the big flop of their early touch screen devices set the stage for big failure. Piggy backing off of android via the player is a good idea but it shouldn't have come to that. I switched from BB to Android and I haven't looked back along with many many others.

Now we just wait for them to change the name from RIM to RIP.

They are a company that has seen explosive growth, from $6 billion in revenue to $20 billion in three years, and with that growth comes added problems as they have to delegate more authority and that generally leads to problems.

While constantly being accused of being behind the times, they are positioning RIM for the future of mobile computing. They also started this transitioning while posting the best revenue and profit figures in the history of the company. That is a choice the CEO's of Nokia, Microsoft, Sony, Motorola,HTC and LG never did. It took the collapse of their product lines before they looked elsewhere.

I have never seen the open hostility that the media holds for RIM for any other company that wasn't an industry leader. RIM isn't and never has been the dominant name in mobile, yet some act as if they were holding the industry back with the choices they made.

Mr. Lazaridis and Mr. Balsillie have built a company with a financial footing that is at the top of their industry. Operating margins, return on assets and return on investments are stellar and always have been. They cannot control short-sellers who seed negative stories in order to drive the price down.

I'm torn on this one:
1) I understand that the new OS7 phones are gonna be stupendous, but the wait for them has been abysmal i.e. 8-11-11 and we still don't have one of the new phones in the U.S.
2) They are working on the QNX phones which "should" revolutionize the phone industry--I think--but the reality is those phones might not see the light of anybody's day until summer next year or early 2013
3) If the current CEO's can get a move on and shake things up themselves then they should stay, but if they are gonna be idiots--doing the same thing and expecting different results--then give them the old cast iron boot and hire Ross Perot, j/k about RP
4) Most of us BB users wait patiently, some have jumped ship only hoping to jump back on later, but time is of the essence. Can we wait forever?

ABSOLUTLEY THEY SHOULD BE FIRED. Or at least demoted. They have lost the vision necessarry to lead......800MHz processor in the first Torch, are you serious? Incremintal increases....are you serious? What happened to taking risks....I realized the STORM failed but come on...what happened to try try try agian? I dont want them out of the company but the final descisions should not rest with them. Perhaps a little time at the bottom might change their prespective and thinking. Yes they gave is the 9900 and the 50/60 but look at how long it took. Plus look at the OS itselfs. Its stale and in need fo a complete overhaul. Yes QNX is coming but in the meahwhile how bout givin the OS a facelift? The OS just does not look appealing in comparison to Android and iOS. I dont want to hear "every OS is built for different people" Android and iOS are the standard. They have the look and the feel.

They have some new products, but they under-deliver at launch and realistically their new devices and marketing fall way short of their competitors. I think they need new leadership

First of all, what is the point of just posting to be first? You bring absolutely nothing to the conversation, except your proof of idiocy.
RIM should absolutely shake up the top execs, including the CEO's. Their job is not to create new phones, but to create a valuable company for their shareholders. They are not doing their job. Under better leadership we wouldn't wait months for new phones and have to rely on "leaked" updates. BlackBerry fans are rabid, for sure, but these CEO's aren't creating new consumers, just barely hanging on to the old ones. Look at the RIMM stock. Do you really think they deserve to stay?

No, not after buying the 9900. I really think they hit a homerun with this phone. Give them one more chance

WOW!!! 10-2 lol

BTW FIRST!!!!!!!!!!

first :) and depends if they screw up on the qnx super phones