[ThaMunsta]

The Globe posted this question and right now there aren't really any good responses but I thought I would bring it to the attention of CrackBerry. I think RIM listens to us here a lot more than anywhere else, but I thought I would mention it.
If I ran RIM, I would... - The Globe and Mail

[Double_J75]

I would fire who ever messed up the PB browser, and get my hands on BB10.

[_StephenBB81]

Well I replied

Stephen81BB is me

If I was to take over RIM today..

1s I would continue on the QNX based software Path,

BB10 for Phones & tablets
QNX_Auto would need some fancy name for the Transportation sector, bringing software to Cars, Trucks, Planes, etc.
Start building a NEW BES from the ground up more than mobile fusion, but a fully secured BES platform that can handle multiple devices per user account with multipermission settings. This would be a long term project, 3-5 years for completion ensuring the HIGHEST level of security possible is achieved.

RIM is to become as much a software company as they are a hardware company, if not more so to the 60/40 split between the 2.

My Focus would be just as Mr Heinz said on the earnings call, Enterprise first, RIM must offer a user experience with BlackBerry products, and Server side products that is unmatched for Enterprise.
The Current BES / Mobile fusion would be expanded upon in the short term, with a software team developing models for markets I see as Key growth markets for BB products and services,

BES Medical Service - RIM would enter the Multimillion dollar Electronic Medical Records business, and Hospital management software. With BES encryption and RIMs attention to detail with notifications and data flow efficiency this market place could be dominated, putting BB Handhelds and tablets into the hands of medical professionals.

BES Education Services - More and More Technology is bring brought into the Class Room, more School boards will be bringing digital textbooks into the class room, the distribution, and management of textbooks to devices would be served well by BES PUSH technology, the notification systems that are in place would be excellent for tracking, and the communication tools such as BBM with groups could build virtual classrooms pairing students from all over the globe working on similar problems

BES Transportation - with QNX Transportation making vehicles essentially driving smart tools, the need for management, controls, and tracking increases, this model extended ontop of a fleets existing BES allows IT and management to be more aware of service schedules, mileage, locations, and services, Taxi companies could deploy NFC payments, and location sharing, Trucking companies could push LTL pickup locations to a GPS for the drivers to follow, Airlines could house Push content rather than satellite feeds for onboard entertainment,

With a Back end focus approach I would deliver hardware to meet consumer and enterprise demands, with extensive continuing feedback requests about the market needs.
If there is demand for a 4" touchscreen, RIM will make it, a full QWERTY candy bar, RIM will Make it, if the Construction and Military market want a full featured smartflip phone, RIM will make it. We will not pigeon hole the company into 1 or 2 form factors and will remain connected with the large user bases.


Consumers NEED content, so as CEO of RIM I would reach out to content providers, RIM would develop a content portal, a singular BBID could be used by a BlackBerry owner to purchase content from anyone within the Portal, the Portal would have Music suppliers such as Amazon, and 7 Digital, and other players in various markets, the portal would include digital book distributors, the portal would include the App World, RIM's financial cut from the portal would be minimal and it would scale based on volumes of sales generated from within the portal,
As CEO I would be much faster to bring on a CMO, and PR team to join RIM, Though I would want my input on the image of the company, the CEO's time should not be spent on such matters when there are many other things that should be done, so the CMO would be in charge of getting positive media attention through quality Advertising, and work with a VP of sales and distribution to have a Clear plan of education and training for people who sell and service RIM products.
Commercials would highlight what BlackBerry’s offer and would focus on the product, when you see a BlackBerry commercial you shouldn’t walk away thinking cupcakes.

Consumers want Apps, Relationships with Key App providers would be both MY Job, and the Job of Alec Saunders and his team of evangelists, Netflix, Hulu, Skype, and key apps like those must be brought to the platform, so negotiations from the highest level to make it happen would happen!

could have kept going, as I'm long winded but they limit your response size, and I didn't want to need to break it into 3 posts

[alexandros2011]

id fire the entire advertising department in a heart beat.....ive never seen such stupid commericials in my life

[Mystic205]

I would stop looking at CB forums...

[jazson]

I'ld call a meeting email a couple of docs to everyone and say just sign it on your playbook and email it back........but wait!!we did not get that update!! Then I'ld fire who ever is responsible for dealing with developers who's product comes preloaded on the playbook but don't get the update!

Then I'ld say yeah I mean business people!!

[_StephenBB81]

Well I replied

{edit} moved it up

[JR A]

Get rid of current leadership, mainly those who are comfortable with their nice lifestyles funded by past RIM successes.

Bring in committed, hungry, young leaders who still know how to dream.

[_StephenBB81]

Get rid of current leadership, mainly those who are comfortable with their nice lifestyles funded by past RIM successes.

Bring in committed, hungry, young leaders who still know how to dream.

Pretty sure that has already mostly been done

Thorsten has really shaken up the Management structure.

[JR A]

Pretty sure that has already mostly been done

Thorsten has really shaken up the Management structure.

He may have fired/let go top people, and shaken up the management structure.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he's bringing in committed, ambitious, young leaders who still know how to dream...

[_StephenBB81]

He may have fired/let go top people, and shaken up the management structure.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he's bringing in committed, ambitious, young leaders who still know how to dream...

Well I think Dan Dodge is an Excellent CTO for RIM, that was putting the right person in the right spot

they still haven't replaced the COO, nor hired a CMO so that gives them room for bringing in some exciting talent. (I'd take the CMO job)

Alec Saunders VP of developer relations certainly seems to be passionate about his position, and their Social media team also really are out there,
I think RIM is starting to turn around with their management to a more dynamic team

[alexandros2011]

well lets hope that all these changes and a successful bb10 release will put rim and bb back on track again

[Joltcola1234]

After reading derusett's comments on the matter, I think the first thing I'd do if I ran RIM would be to hire derusett.

[JAGWIRE]

Well I replied

Stephen81BB is me

could have kept going, as I'm long winded but they limit your response size, and I didn't want to need to break it into 3 posts

I never understood why you wont work for RIM. Or if you secretly do LOL. You have such great insight and an obvious passion for the brand.

[JAGWIRE]

If I ran RIM what would I do????

well im not a big business person, yet , so my vision is fairly limited to the matter but from my experience i know what kind of a CEO id be:

#1) definitely be cracking the whip and holding people accountable for their short comings
#2) informing the general public with the going ons of the company as much as possible, be it good news or bad
#3) be involved with the customers. its the customers that make your company and make you money, without them the company is gone
#4) personally reply to all rumors about the company.
#5) reward good behavior and the ability to stay on track and push things out on time or even before.
#6) NEVER say something that i wasn't 100% about. that is including products and product timing.

I know my head is more customers then it is business but i think that is a trait that is missing in the business world today that we need to get back.

[_StephenBB81]

I never understood why you wont work for RIM. Or if you secretly do LOL. You have such great insight and an obvious passion for the brand.

If I worked for them, they wouldn't be in the position they are currently in I'll tell ya!

If on paper I qualified for a CMO roll I would be applying for that, and laying out a business plan but alas, I don't qualify on paper so it would be pointless to Apply to RIM for any roll that would make a difference so I'll remain an ArmChair CEO, and be successful in other markets

[up488]

I would get on CB and tell people to stop making threads about what Rim should or shouldn't do!!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 using Tapatalk

[JAGWIRE]

If I worked for them, they wouldn't be in the position they are currently in I'll tell ya!

If on paper I qualified for a CMO roll I would be applying for that, and laying out a business plan but alas, I don't qualify on paper so it would be pointless to Apply to RIM for any roll that would make a difference so I'll remain an ArmChair CEO, and be successful in other markets

I good cover letter can easily make up for what you dont have in your resum�. If you want a position you should apply for it no matter if you think you can get it or not

[BoldPreza]

If I were running it? Well lets see.

Product line: Time to completely streamline, nothing under an OS 7 can remain on the shelf currently. Once BB 10 launches OS 7 is gone from the new handset market.

Also no more wasting development time on six different product lines. Not when Apple is eating out Blackberry market share with one device. As such product line will consist of:

Blackberry Ignite(flagship): Replaces Bold, has all new look for a Blackberry, made of stainless steel and vinyl exterior. Will be available in unpainted, Blue, Black or White Carries same form factor as current Bold model so fixed keyboard and touchscreen.

Blackberry Blade: All touch, 4.5" screen multimedia phone. Battles top of the range Android's and iPhone. Standard 16GB on board media card, can be upgraded to 64GB. Android player capable as well as App World. Plexi-Glass encased but has removable battery. 10MP camera, 8MP FFC, 1080p video. This will be the high end phone, as such all features need to be at the top of the range.

Blackberry SwitchBlade: Same as Above but a two piece, longitudinal slider.

All models NFC capable, all models have same internals, using 2.0GHz Dual-Core processors. All phones will come standard with a full office suite. If Microsoft doesn't make MS Office available then Corel WordPerfect and its associated equivalents would be perfect. Also the Adobe line must be adopted to work with the platform. It simply NEEDS a PDF reader to be a truly versatile phone.

Multimedia features:
-10MP rear cameras, 8MP FFC cameras and 1080p video recording.
-A tie in with Bose for speaker systems should yield the best music players in the Business enabling Blackberry to have a brand name sound system to compete with Android's equipped with Beats Audio.
-Android player enabled.
-Nintendo tie in for more high end video games. Goal would be to have all Nintendo games past, present and future available for purchase and use in Blackberry's App World.

Now for the low end option:

Obviously to keep momentum in emerging markets they will need an entry level model. The best way to do this is to do the absolute minimum which is take an existing line and upgrade it to handle the minimum BB 10 experience. For this I would take the current 9900. This phone would then be stripped down. By that I mean on the outside, instead of the current fairly high end materials, it would become plastic available in several different colours. The cameras would be the same but with Auto-Focus squeezed in somehow and a new FFC(basic as possible while still being clear). The processor would be upgraded to the 2.0GHz dual-core from above and the touchscreen gone. This model would replace all Curve's. It will have trim levels though. The base phone will not have a camera of any kind for example. You can option it up, but that will be extra.

This phone will have no additional moniker but will simply by the Blackberry. Still a capable piece, but basic and cheap. It will look almost identical to the current 9900, but materials will obviously be cheaper and the base models will be pretty much a workhorse phone, very little in terms of multimedia.

Why so few models, one being a rehash? Its not because I intend to cut development costs but rather because I want to throw more money at individual designs. Also having the same internal across the high end range will allow me to spread the costs and hopefully give me purchasing power in the volumes I need to make it all cost effective.

Marketing Strategy: The All-In-One
Whether its BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Email, Youtube, Skype or endless games(work on the apps people!) Blackberry has got you covered. Obviously things need to be added. with NFC, you can buy that pretty girl across the room a drink/flowers with just a swipe of your phone.

Marketing Strategy(2): All around the world connectivity and security. No matter where you are you can get in contact with that loved one.

Marketing Strategy(3): With the Ignite being the new face of Blackberry an Ignite your Passion campaign should be launched that has the Ignite as the Centrepiece showcasing all the multimedia capabilities(camera, music, videos, etc). The Ignite will still be the workhorse like the 9900 line and as such will do well with businesses, but the public at large need to know that it can do more than show spreadsheets.

All marketing strategies will close off with an image of the three main Blackberry families, no longer will the focus be on one line. There simply isn't enough resources to do that.

Network strategy:

Simply put the Network is their best asset and they need to use it to their advantage. In a B2B strategy I would say approach individual businesses and say look, we know you aren't using our handsets, but our networks have proven over the years to be very effective in terms of speed, efficiency, security and cost effectiveness. Open the network to other handsets and charge a fee to the company. There has to be a way to do this effectively. The Network is the crown jewel here(or would be with me in charge) for all of the above reasons and for a fee they should be able to open it up to other platforms. The days of 45% of the smartphone market being RIM's are gone, so why not take advantage of other peoples growth?

Retail Strategy:

Since carriers aren't really pushing Blackberry handsets as I believe they should a retail network strategy needs to be started. Outlets such as Costco, Walmart, The Bay and so forth would be targeted for store within a store concepts. We take some of their floor space where we can put RIM people in whose sole focus is making the Blackberry work for you on whatever carrier you have. Personnel will be trained to handle minimal tasks, provide details on upgrades, etc.

Additionally stand alone stores the the major cities such as Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Delhi, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc will be developed. Whether they are in malls or Airports, I haven't gotten that far into the thought as yet.

Customer Retention:

Trade up program goes directly through the vendor. Its a good program with good prices, but it needs to be more direct. Doing it through the vendor(carrier store or Blackberry store), right at point of sale will move it forward. There is now a large incentive to keep a Blackberry that trusted tool you have used for years.

If you are trading up to one of the high end touch devises, there will be a Guaranteed Trade Up value of $100, no matter how old your old Blackberry phone so long as you have had it longer than six months and it is active. That is right, I want those OS 4's and 5's out of the public hands and replaced with new Berry's. I am willing to pay to get them and not have them flooding Craigslist.

Desktop Manager:

No longer will the carrier be responsible for updates. When you purchase a new Berry, they will link your phone directly to the network. When there is a new update you will receive email notification of it and your Desktop manager will be updated with it automatically. All phones around the world, one time. Just plug your phone in and confirm that you want it. And no there will be no cost to the owner for this. The idea is to keep those phones running like new and as efficiently as possible as long as the owner chooses to keep it.

Thats all for now, I will probably think of more that I want to do, but I mean aside from wiping out the current exec team in charge of planning and marketing(which really has begun) there isn't much else I can think of that needs to be done.

[BoldPreza]

If I ran RIM what would I do????

well im not a big business person, yet , so my vision is fairly limited to the matter but from my experience i know what kind of a CEO id be:

#1) definitely be cracking the whip and holding people accountable for their short comings
#2) informing the general public with the going ons of the company as much as possible, be it good news or bad
#3) be involved with the customers. its the customers that make your company and make you money, without them the company is gone
#4) personally reply to all rumors about the company.
#5) reward good behavior and the ability to stay on track and push things out on time or even before.
#6) NEVER say something that i wasn't 100% about. that is including products and product timing.

I know my head is more customers then it is business but i think that is a trait that is missing in the business world today that we need to get back.

What you're talking about though is more of a PR role than anything. Important to have, but not what the CEO should be dealing with day to day.

[nyplaya610]

I would have sold it last year to save the investor $$$$

[phoreoneone]

Do you recall the saying: "a gif image is worth a 1000 words"?

This is what I would do:




Michael Scott is RIM (BlackBerry). Toby is everyone else.

[BoldPreza]

LOL, so logged on this morning to check out Crackberry and on the Home page is why Balsillie resigned. LOL, its pretty much my idea on the network, expanding it to use with other handsets.

I don't know how I feel about this idea now.

[_StephenBB81]

I very much think making RIM give BIS to other device manufacturers would turn RIM from a device maker, into a service provider,

They would lose their hardware margins and would have an even harder time making devices then they do now competing against the technology titans like Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, and Google who all have MANY MANY forms of revenue RIM can't compete with, the NOC is their only competitive advantage

[BoldPreza]

At the same time though, they have the infrastructure in place. If they can charge fees to carriers or other handset makers that would generate large amounts of revenue. Other handset makers right now are in trouble. Motorola now has Google backing it, but on its own it was in trouble. Sony is a mess right now. HTC isn't the strongest and Nokia's struggling to gain marketshare with its Lumia line(part of grown process IMO).

Heins has said, they don't want to be a handset maker, they need to be more and this would be a great way to do it.