Three weeks ago, I introduced a new weekly series, the "CEO Gaffe of the Week." Having come across more than a handful of questionable executive decisions last year when compiling my list of the Worst CEOs of 2011, I thought it could be a learning experience for all of us if I pointed out apparent gaffes as they occur. Trusting your investments begins with trusting the leadership at the top -- and with leaders like these on your side, sometimes you don't need enemies!
This week I want to highlight BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion's
The dunce cap(s)
Have you ever had one of those "where to begin" moments? Well this is one for me. Research In Motion has been a train wreck for the past year, losing market share faster than you can blink to Google's
The biggest detriment to RIM has been its lack of innovation. Innovation is what allowed the BlackBerry to compete with the iPhone a few years ago, and now its lack of innovation is what's crushing the consumer side of its business. Essentially relegated to just the enterprise side of the mobile sector, RIM's smartphone market share has plummeted from 44% in 2009 to just 10% in 2011, according to marketing research firm NPD Group.
The primary culprits of RIM's demise have been co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis who have steered the ship directly into an iceberg. The company's tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, has been rivaled in inferiority only by Hewlett-Packard's
With shareholders lined up with pitchforks calling for their ouster, Balsillie and Lazaridis obliged by stepping down this week and installing former chief operating officer Thorstein Heins as the new CEO. And how did Mr. Heins begin his tenure as head of the sinking ship? He assured investors that "no drastic change is needed."
Now, if you're a RIM shareholder, I'll give you a few minutes to go bang your head against a wall and grab a Tylenol, because the "steady as she goes" strategy has been working so well for RIM thus far!
To the corner ... all three of you!
All sarcasm aside, this week's move looks like nothing more than the former co-CEOs installing a puppet head to run their company. RIM's strategy simply isn't working, and staying the course is the last thing investors want to hear.
RIM is committed to launching its BlackBerry 10 operating system later this year along with a new series of smartphones, but I still have my concerns. For one, the BB10 OS has been delayed on multiple occasions, so I'm wondering if it can even hit its end-of-the-year target. Secondly, RIM may run into the same issue that Nokia
These three stooges are set to go down with this ship unless they do something fast. Hope remains that RIM could find a buyer since it's still profitable and boasts a decent amount of cash on hand -- but don't hold your breath!
Do you have a CEO you'd like to nominate for this dubious weekly gaffe honor? Shoot me an email and a one- or two-sentence description of why your choice deserves next week's nomination, and you just may wind up seeing your nominee in the spotlight. A special thanks to David Feldt for this week's recommendation via email.
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