[John Arnold]

Any Blackberry observer can recount the many mistakes the company's leadership has made. At first, it was easy to write the errors off to 'bad luck' and a 'competitive, fast moving industry'. But over time, the consistent track record of failures forces one to stop and reflect...is the leadership incompetent?...or are the errors so plentiful, that they are corrupt (i.e motivated to work against the shareholder's interests')? Let me know what you think!

[John Vieira]

Porque no los dos?


Posted from the Shield Helicarrier

[Sexy Sadie]

None.
They just failed to be leaders and stay calm during the storm. It happen to them as it happen to a lot of people on this place.

[nuff_said]

you can't blame this on one factor alone... so i say both :-)
mind you we cannot prove corruption but the last few months definitely prove incompetence.

[RGLozon]

yes the corruption is unfathomable and Thurston is walking away with how much! I think jail is more suitable

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

Could be interesting

[h20work]

I stand by my earlier claims of incompetent. Thor's "laser focus" shelved too many projects that could have given bbry a much needed cash injection.

The company that boasts about "true mulitasking" was unable to do more than one thing, and even that didn't go so well.

[Roo Zilla]

I say none. Was Microsoft's leadership incompetent and/or corrupt because the Zune failed? The problem for BlackBerry is that it's basically a one trick pony. MS had other product lines to fall back on. BlackBerry doesn't have that luxury.

[MartyMcfly]

I say both.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[MartyMcfly]

yes the corruption is unfathomable and Thurston is walking away with how much! I think jail is more suitable

He didn't do anything illegal.


Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[Sexy Sadie]

It is a story about weak leadership that appearantly subdued its counslers.

[modbro]

Neither, just human. So many once excellent companies have fallen the past few years. What is really important is what is going to happen moving forward. Get the Z30 out, get 10.2 out and roll out all these new "prime time" apps they have been discussing!!! The faithfull will remain and user base will grow. Be patient.

[canuckvoip]

Is this thread negative, destructive, or both?

[John Arnold]

Is this thread negative, destructive, or both?

The thread is relevant - 'selecting the right people and rewarding them' is THE most important job of the Board and CEO. The Board and CEO obviously failed, the question is why?

[h20work]

Is this thread negative, destructive, or both?

Have you replied to any of the postive threads? If not, why?

[sigint99]

BlackBerry's leadership is non-existant.

The company is being run by self-serving opportunists with no long term goals.

[belfastdispatcher]

None.
They just failed to be leaders and stay calm during the storm. It happen to them as it happen to a lot of people on this place.

Wrong, corupt and downright criminal:

http://m.cnet.com/news/sec-fines-rim...ating/10165901

http://m.cnet.com/news/article/10158017

Posted via CB10

[godsfantasy]

I say none. Was Microsoft's leadership incompetent and/or corrupt because the Zune failed? The problem for BlackBerry is that it's basically a one trick pony. MS had other product lines to fall back on. BlackBerry doesn't have that luxury.

It was incompetence. Their inability to market the device and capitalize on the Microsoft brand was appalling.

[SK122387]

It's easy to look back now and say they were incompetent, because we see where their mistakes were. "Hindsight is always 20/20," or so they say. My hindsight shows me that BlackBerry should have stopped trying to be a consumer product, and instead make business/government devices that consumers can buy directly though them.

I don't think management is incompetent (though marketing is another story), and I especially don't think they're CORRUPT. Did they conveniently announce news that Friday to drop the stock, so Prem Watsa and co. could make a bid? Maybe. But that's not corrupt.

It's clear that past management failed to predict the impact of the iPhone, and at the time made decisions that they thought were the best.

One thing people always say on here is that "Y is what X really should have been when it launched." You can say that about EVERYTHING, and it's really lost meaning. The Z10 is what the Storm SHOULD have been, right? 10.2 SHOULD have been the OS at launch, right?

I don't think BlackBerry's management is incompetent, but they were just wrong. And the two are different, though many might not see how.

BlackBerry's management made decisions that brought quality products...........but products that weren't well received by most people.

Had they been incompetent, BlackBerry10 would be riddled with bugs and a bunch of other problems. It would be lacking a ton of stuff. It's not. It's missing key apps.

BlackBerry10 is like abstract art that's trying to fit in at a museum of modern art or something. It's just a different kind of art that shouldn't be trying to be modern art..it should be telling people why abstract is also art (and this is the part where I tell you that yes, the marketing department just doesn't seem to get it!)

[canuckvoip]

Have you replied to any of the postive threads? If not, why?

Of course. Have you? And have you replied/contributed in a positive way?

[belfastdispatcher]

It's easy to look back now and say they were incompetent, because we see where their mistakes were. "Hindsight is always 20/20," or so they say. My hindsight shows me that BlackBerry should have stopped trying to be a consumer product, and instead make business/government devices that consumers can buy directly though them.

I don't think management is incompetent (though marketing is another story), and I especially don't think they're CORRUPT. Did they conveniently announce news that Friday to drop the stock, so Prem Watsa and co. could make a bid? Maybe. But that's not corrupt.

It's clear that past management failed to predict the impact of the iPhone, and at the time made decisions that they thought were the best.

One thing people always say on here is that "Y is what X really should have been when it launched." You can say that about EVERYTHING, and it's really lost meaning. The Z10 is what the Storm SHOULD have been, right? 10.2 SHOULD have been the OS at launch, right?

I don't think BlackBerry's management is incompetent, but they were just wrong. And the two are different, though many might not see how.

BlackBerry's management made decisions that brought quality products...........but products that weren't well received by most people.

Had they been incompetent, BlackBerry10 would be riddled with bugs and a bunch of other problems. It would be lacking a ton of stuff. It's not. It's missing key apps.

BlackBerry10 is like abstract art that's trying to fit in at a museum of modern art or something. It's just a different kind of art that shouldn't be trying to be modern art..it should be telling people why abstract is also art (and this is the part where I tell you that yes, the marketing department just doesn't seem to get it!)

Does this sound not Corrupt to you?

"The co-chief executives of Research in Motion and two other executives will pay more than $74.5 million ($92 million Canadian) to settle a stock options-backdating case, under an agreement approved on Thursday by Canada's securities commission.

Co-Chief Executives Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Kavelman, and Finance Director Angelo Loberto have agreed to contribute $31 million to RIM for the benefit they received from the incorrectly priced stock options granted to all employees from 1996 to 2006. They will also pay $36.4 million to defray costs incurred by the company in the investigation and $7.4 million to the Ontario Securities Commission as an administrative penalty, according to the settlement.

RIM said in a statement that the company and the executives, have also made settlement offers to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve that agency's investigation into option granting practices at the company, which makes the BlackBerry handheld device. Those offers are subject to SEC approval. If they are approved RIM does not expect the settlements would have a material adverse effect on the company's business, RIM said.

"RIM is pleased that the parties have resolved matters with the OSC and looks forward to resolving matters with the SEC," John Richardson, RIM's lead director, said in the statement.

According to the settlement agreement, about 1,400 of RIM's 3,200 stock option grants were backdated (dated prior to the date of actual granting) or re-priced (dated later than the actual granting), both of which are done to increase the value of the option.

RIM employees made about $53.6 million as a result of the incorrect options dating practices, but only half of that has been repaid, the settlement agreement said.

The company announced on Wednesday that the settlement had been reached."

Posted via CB10

[canuckvoip]

Can't say that looks good... :>p
What year did you scoop that out of?

[belfastdispatcher]

Can't say that looks good... :>p
What year did you scoop that out of?

2009 but wait, there's more:

"The Securities and Exchange Commission has levied fines against Research In Motion executives for their actions in a stock-option backdating scheme, two weeks after Canadian regulators took similar action.

The fines imposed by the SEC on RIM co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazardis won't be quite as steep as the ones ordered by the Ontario Securities Commission. Balsille will have to pay the SEC a total of $684,250 in fines and penalties, while Lazardis will have to cough up $478,300. Earlier this month, the OSC ordered the co-CEOs and RIM executives Dennis Kavelman and Angelo Loberto to pay $74 million in penalties and fines in Canada, where RIM is headquartered.

The four men settled the SEC's charges without admitting or denying the allegations. Kavelman and Loberto were also fined, and they were banned for a period of five years from serving as a public officer or director of a company that is registered with the SEC."

Posted via CB10

[belfastdispatcher]

Come to think of it, isn't that when share prices started dropping?

Posted via CB10

[jtfolden]

I say none. Was Microsoft's leadership incompetent and/or corrupt because the Zune failed? The problem for BlackBerry is that it's basically a one trick pony. MS had other product lines to fall back on. BlackBerry doesn't have that luxury.

Umm... yes, MS has had incompetent leadership since gates left (and they were corrupt in their practices then... lol). They had their old Windows/Office business to hold them up but have become bit players in forward-facing technologies.