RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter' • Hacker News Board

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#51

Post by schmittz » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:37 PM UTC

redsymbol wrote: post #41

I'm thinking about the response I'd choose if I were in one of the CEO seats at RIM, and I'm not sure I could have improved on this response. As noted, it's kind of content free and does not acknowledge any responsibility. But RIM had to make SOME short-term press release response that communicates the company strengths. No response would carry risk of a strong negative press and social media response. At the same ti…

I completely disagree. A company can be frank and honest without revealing anything. Of course they needed to release a press statement in immediate response. The press release could have been written much better as to not sound so nonchalant about the whole situation. For instance, they could have acknowledged the shortcomings of their current product and announced that their current roadmap's focus was on developing innovative, superior products. They could have also said that in light of the letter, they were beginning a new internal dialogue to allow employees to address problems in the company subsequently increasing profit, productivity, and potential.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#52

Post by SoftwareMaven » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:38 PM UTC

sc68cal wrote: post #25

hvs wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could be. Microsoft seems to have suffered a similar fate. My original point was that with a company that is that fiscally responsible, it is much less likely for it to go belly up than to flounder for a bit and then refocus and find its market.

I agree. Your comment made me think, what would I do if I was the CEO of RIM? To be honest, it caused a sense of great dread, having to try and turn a company with that kind of inertia around, without screwing the pooch. Especially if $3 Billion is on the line. I find it more comfortable to be a little guy, where I can make a mistake that only wastes a little bit of money, or time. I'd prefer to have small and freque…

That is exactly why proven "turn-around" CEO's get paid so much money.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#53

Post by pagekalisedown » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:39 PM UTC

sc68cal wrote: post #18

timjahn wrote: post #13

Gotta love how there's no author of the blog post. Just signed "Research In Motion". And "Filed in: News." And they didn't like how the author of that letter was anonymous? Seems to be company policy. No faces.

More importantly, no emotion. The letter to RIM used personal pronouns and conveyed a sense of exasperation or frustration, while the response by RIM is incredibly dry and distant.

Guess which one was reviewed by a legal and a PR department? :)

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#54

Post by pyre » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:40 PM UTC

blinkingled wrote: post #38

More suspicion (is the letter real?) and blame (sane person would never do this) followed by more passive aggressive denial (we are aware of a tangential situation and are addressing it - to hell with your comments, letter boy). Then boasting - 3B in cash, we are doing just great! How many times the above strategy has worked for someone in as precarious position as RIM?

  > Then boasting - 3B in cash, we are doing just great!

That seems worse than it is when you take it out of context.

In context:

  > The company is thankfully in a solid business and financial position
  > to tackle the opportunities ahead with a solid balance sheet (nearly
  > $3 billion in cash and no debt), strong profitability (RIM’s net
  > income last quarter was $695 million) and substantial international
  > growth (international revenue in Q1 grew 67% over the same quarter
  > last year).

My Translation:

  > We're still profitable with a large cash cushion and no debt, so
  > we're still in a good position to attempt to pivot our business in a
  > bid for survival. Don't write us off just yet.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#55

Post by SeoxyS » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:43 PM UTC

Disappointing to see RIM be so dismissive of a heartfelt and honest open letter by someone who (high level RIM employee or not) obviously cares a lot about RIM and took substancial amount of time to express his thoughts.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#56

Post by r00fus » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:43 PM UTC

canistr wrote: post #37

shawndumas wrote: post #36

Still no mention of iMessage...

Unless Apple intends to release low-end iPhones with equivalent iMessage only data-plans, iMessage isn't a true competitor to BBM.

iMessage will exist on iPod Touch and iPads.

It's not going to directly compete vs. RIM's strength, but it's still a big threat... once iMessage exists, the sword of damacles is over RIM's head.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#57

Post by SeoxyS » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:47 PM UTC

Skroob wrote: post #8

The only positive way to respond to a letter like that is to go out and do it. A press release reiterating the same old lines isn't going to solve anything; addressing concerns internally and releasing real products should be their response.

A much better response would have been:

Re: Open Letter

Thank you very much for taking the time to express your opinion. We want to let you know we're listening and very much appreciate feedback.

Hang in there.

- Mike & Jim

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#58

Post by dforeman » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:48 PM UTC

My guess how a fail like this happens- Executive team has an investor relations (PR) firm on retainer. IR firm sees "Open Letter" as a PR crisis, pulls page from crisis management playbook and opts to respond immediately. Responds in investor-speak. Flops with audience who elevated the letter to a PR crisis in the first place- the internet/consumer. Social media fail.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#59

Post by blinkingled » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:49 PM UTC

pyre wrote: post #54

blinkingled wrote: post #38

More suspicion (is the letter real?) and blame (sane person would never do this) followed by more passive aggressive denial (we are aware of a tangential situation and are addressing it - to hell with your comments, letter boy). Then boasting - 3B in cash, we are doing just great! How many times the above strategy has worked for someone in as precarious position as RIM?

> Then boasting - 3B in cash, we are doing just great! That seems worse than it is when you take it out of context. In context: > The company is thankfully in a solid business and financial position > to tackle the opportunities ahead with a solid balance sheet (nearly > $3 billion in cash and no debt), strong profitability (RIM’s net > income last quarter was $695 million) and substantial international > growth (int…

My point was that past success and cash at hand does not guarantee future success and RIM did nothing to allay the concerns around their repeatedly failing strategy.

So the assurance that we have money and we can try things out is not really in the spirit of the open letter - it is not worthwhile to point out cash at hand in this context.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#60

Post by timjahn » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 9:52 PM UTC

sc68cal wrote: post #18

timjahn wrote: post #13

Gotta love how there's no author of the blog post. Just signed "Research In Motion". And "Filed in: News." And they didn't like how the author of that letter was anonymous? Seems to be company policy. No faces.

More importantly, no emotion. The letter to RIM used personal pronouns and conveyed a sense of exasperation or frustration, while the response by RIM is incredibly dry and distant.

Great point. I sometimes think that CEOs of typical large corporations like RIM are a totally different species.