Kevin, What are your thoughts on Thor these days?
- I'd just like to clarify a few things.
So, in a time of pessimism (the only optimism was within CB circles and they were clearly raging about the "negativity" outside CB), with the stock falling off a cliff, with commentators and even a few of the most astute CB'ers discussing how bleak the outcome was, you think Thor, who has been deep inside the company the entire time, knows the products, knows the competition, knows the internal struggles, believes that HE can turn it around. This despite the fact that you say it was almost certain he could not.
You certainly paint Thor as very delusional and/or narcissistic. Your scenario makes him far more incompetent than others are portraying him.
He believed that staggered launch would be the way to go. He believed that skimpy marketing was the way to go. He believed that stretching out the product line corresponding to financial quarters was the way to go. He believed that BB10 was indeed setting records and meeting all expectations - as he sat and saw the numbers come in each and every day.......sure.....
You know, he could have walked away (maybe only with a few million). He could have made a radical course change. He didn't, because he knew exactly what was happening and had long before accepted his role - he isn't as inbred-donkey stupid as you portray him.
PS. Ray, Mc65c02 and others are correct, your moral reasoning is not sound. The fact that you think many others might not resist the lure of cash (and you may well be right) does not morally justify the behavior.....and others have turned down such positions, believe it or not.
Secondly, I don't think that Thor was delusional or narcissistic, but he certainly over estimated his ability and likely under estimated the challenges. My reference to delusional was aimed at Mc65c02 for suggesting that Thor should have turned down the job under the circumstances that it was offered to him.
Lastly, I never portrayed Thor as a stupid inbred-donkey. I said that he was way out of his league. Big difference.09-30-13 05:16 PMLike 0 - I'd just like to clarify a few things. I never inferred any such thing. I think a proper CEO search could have yielded much better candidates.
Firstly, when Thor took over, there was a lot more optimism than exists today. BBX or BB10 was just around the corner and a number of insiders, industry personnel & pundits thought the new OS with QNX at its heart had potential to vault Blackberry back into a more competitive position. I'm not suggesting to you that everything was rosy, but the prospects looked a lot better than they do today.
Secondly, I don't think that Thor was delusional or narcissistic, but he certainly over estimated his ability and likely under estimated the challenges. My reference to delusional was aimed at Mc65c02 for suggesting that Thor should have turned down the job under the circumstances that it was offered to him.
Lastly, ... I said that he was way out of his league.
My apologies for my error in inference: But I thought that one of your main points was that Thor had done a good job, all things considered. Therefore, I'm losing your thought process here. It appears, now, that we "all" agree that Thor had the opportunity to turn BB around. Okay, as you state, clarification is important.
In your second paragraph, however, you emphasize that the worm (i.e., synonym for delusional, narcissistic, and bad judge of his abilities), Thor, should not be judged poorly simply for having had an inability to take a company that was otherwise with good reason optimistic about resurgence and instead kill it. But you insist: "I don't think that Thor was delusional or narcissistic but he certainly over estimated his ability and likely under estimated the challenges." This, my CB friend, overlaps with the definition of all those adjectives you insist are not descriptive of our leader. You provide the icing--i.e., further support--to the cake when adding: "he was way out of his league."
Arrogance = having an ability of self importance, merit, or abilities, (Marked by feeling of self importance or superiority towards another. [Note: You might refer to the relatively recent press Q/A session wherin Thors was quoted as blaming the consumers for being [idiots].]
Delusional = False or unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities
Nacissism = Ego-centrism and smugness
Maybe do a rethink on this one for a few moments and tell me how much these definitions differ from the adjectives for personality traits of our BB leader: arrogance, narcissism, and even delusional. Other than na�ve, what other adjectives, off the top of your head, would better describe him (and, granted, there are a few more).
Actually, in the end, you support the contention of most of these Thors naysayers better than we do by saying that Thors took over a company in a much better position than (at least) I would say. But your insistence on an attempt to sway back to this come clean after the fact and/or we all forgive your error routine is now even tougher to accept given your point that Thors took over an even better company than I might have insisted . You were given six, or more, quotes since M65c02 (many more before) that insist the Thors should be held wholly responsible. I still see nothing to have weakened any of these opinions.
Yes, clarification is usually a good thing.Last edited by M65c02; 10-01-13 at 03:43 AM.
ray689 likes this.09-30-13 06:48 PMLike 1 - Dunking Heins: The Irrational Exhuberance of The World's Most Optimistic CEO
Fifty Shades of "Nay": Denying the Future, Mike Lazaridus-Style
"Nine People Can't Make a Baby" and Other CEO Comments Which Demonstrate Your Business May Be Skidding Off The Rails
Blackberry: Jammed
Eating Blackberry: Tim Cook Larry Page and Sergey Brin on Crushing All Rivals
I Supported Blackberry and I Bought Shares: Memoirs of a Homeless Mankevinnugent and mas_quemex like this.09-30-13 08:05 PMLike 2 -
It requires special skill and bravery to run up $1B worth of inventory in a matter of how many month? 6 months or so?
And we are not even talking about the products of higher unit price. It's a measly cell phone, people!
In order to build up this much inventory of a few hundred dollars cell phone in such a short time, there must have been no control or monitoring of production rate, and someone simply must have gambled with a bull mentality. But is it really because of a "steep learning curve"? Sorry, "consumers" are not that stupid.
It's just amazing!
Sorry guys, I am tired of spewing negativities, and even feeling bad about it, but there is no other way of describing the utter ineptness of the BBRY management.ray689 likes this.09-30-13 08:22 PMLike 1 - 09-30-13 08:26 PMLike 2
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Posted via CB1009-30-13 08:26 PMLike 0 - Interesting.
Can you tell me what you think about this answer from Thor, from todays Globe And Mail article. Do you think this is an accurate answer? Do you think it was the steep learning curve on the Z10 that was the main contributor to low sales, as he states?
Q: How do you feel about the way things have turned out with the BlackBerry 10 launch?
A: We launched a new platform that delivers a new and different user experience, an experience that was engineered for people who value extreme productivity, but the downside is that there is a steeper learning curve when it comes to adopting any new technology that is disruptive, and I believe that contributed to the slower sales.
Posted via CB1009-30-13 09:26 PMLike 0 -
For me, I learned my way around the Z10 in one hour. Why didn't the marketing crew market appropriately after seeing this as an issue? BB10 was supposed to be an operating system to keep you moving. (it is for me) They did not take this aspect and run with it. People researching BB10 only see that it's hard to learn. It's no wonder they stayed away.09-30-13 10:15 PMLike 0 -
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Kevin, What are your thoughts on Thor these days?
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