After a performance in 2011 that can only be described as disastrous, Research In Motion had to act – and act decisively – in early 2012. Consumers expected it. Investors demanded it. The Canadian economy needed no less.
Canada’s premier high-tech company had to reassure them all that it’s serious about meeting and beating its challenges. The inventor of the smartphone had to prove it had learned from the slumping sales and stock-price free fall that unexpectedly followed its phenomenal rise. And it had to serve notice to its competitors – especially Apple – that it was itching to take them on.
A week ago, after months of speculation, RIM finally acted and in a way that could well satisfy every one of these urgent needs. Gone are Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie as RIM’s co-chief executive officers and co-chairs of the board. In their place is Thorsten Heins as the sole, chief executive officer and Barbara Stymiest as the lone board chair.
These are good moves. These are necessary moves. Yet they are surely, from the perspectives of Lazaridis who created the company and Balsillie who grew it into a technological behemoth, tough moves. Have no doubt, an era has ended at RIM and in Waterloo Region, which has benefitted immeasurably from the thousands of jobs, all the high-tech spinoffs and fabulous philanthropy that flowed from this incredible company but especially from Lazaridis and Balsillie.
The multi-billion-dollar question is: Will these moves be good enough? The market answered with a resounding no as RIM’s stock price dropped a jaw-dropping nine per cent on Heins’ first day as boss. This day-one reaction is based on too much collective knee-jerking. RIM has acted wisely in delivering measured but limited change.
The message that came from the new chief executive is that the fundamentals of RIM – which boasts 75 million subscribers worldwide – remain solid. Yes, change is required. But change as evolution, not revolution.
Heins is an inspired choice for chief executive officer. Some critics contend a new chief executive should have been brought in from outside and had no previous connection with RIM. Nonsense. Such an individual would have faced a steep learning curve that would include unfamiliar technology and an alien corporate culture.
Heins has worked at RIM for four years. That he has knowledge of the company is a given. But his recent experience outside RIM – particularly with Siemens AG – equips him with fresh perspectives and ideas.
Heins is not calling for a total remake of RIM. That would be ill-advised. It would be tantamount to admitting that far from just stumbling, RIM is in danger of collapse. What the company has just done is jettison a cumbersome and, in North America at least, unusual corporate governance structure while introducing promising new leadership. No more will two emperors try to rule one empire.
As for these former emperors, they will remain on RIM’s board, which will ensure a necessary stability. While Balsillie will no longer have any operational role with the company, Lazaridis will be the chair of RIM’s new innovation committee. Another good move, blessing the company with continued access to a visionary who changed the way humans communicate with each other.
Of course, this is just the start. Of course, RIM’s future still rests largely on the success of the new products it will begin selling later this year.
One of Heins’ most pressing priorities will be to ensure that these new smartphones come out on time, are of the highest quality and are marketed aggressively.
At the end of the day, what RIM makes will determine RIM’s future – regardless of who is in charge. But the way we see it today, Research In Motion is back in motion.
This editorial first appeard in the The Waterloo Region Record.
