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

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#81

Post by tensor » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:12 PM UTC

blinkingled wrote: post #59

pyre wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

What repeatedly failing strategy? Their strategy seems to have created a very successful business, although they failed to update it with the changing market. They've acknowledged that and have new products in the works that they hope address their shortcomings.

What would you rather them do beyond this? Claim a major shake up of their internal structure? That would be incredibly damaging to their ability to quickly create and ship the products they need to. Not to mention, as outsiders, we really cannot know if there is even a problem with their internal structure. Certainly a single anonymous letter is not enough information to draw this conclusion.

It seems to me that people just love to see successful companies fail. Perhaps its reaffirming to know that even successful people make mistakes. Perhaps people are just morbid and love to see others suffer. Maybe people are too attached to their current products.

Regardless, all we can do is wait and see. Everyone has noted RIM's precarious position, RIM included. Hyperbolic negativity is unnecessary.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#82

Post by wtracy » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:12 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #33

kin wrote: post #9

This response is meaningless. Any public company will say the same jargon to reassure their shareholders but I will put money down that internally RIM executives are dwelling on the letter and taking action.

I will put money down that internally RIM executives are dwelling on the letter and taking action Really? Are you buying some RIM shares then?

That probably depends on whether "taking action" means "actually addressing the issues" or "shoring up the stock price up long enough for the board of directors to cash out".

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#83

Post by 18pfsmt » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:20 PM UTC

robtoo wrote: post #77

whakojacko wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounded like standard bland pr-speak to me. They didn't specifically address any of his points and it comes off as extremely impersonal. I hope for RIM's sake they are sending around a much more detailed memo internally. For instance, the second sentence: "It is obviously difficult to address anonymous commentary and it is particularly difficult to believe that a 'high level employee' in good standing with the compan…

"It is obviously difficult to address anonymous commentary and it is particularly difficult to believe that a 'high level employee' in good standing with the company would choose to anonymously publish a letter on the web rather than engage their fellow executives in a constructive manner" says the unsigned blog post.

Most of us do this everytime we post to HN and let our logic stand for itself. I feel this is the most reasonable way to conduct ourselves, and I have come to hate browsing blog comments after being spoiled by HN.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#84

Post by 9999 » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:22 PM UTC

[deleted] wrote: post #79

9999 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you think this response damages their brand exactly?

[deleted]

I believe they did address the parts of that letter that they could reasonably address in public, and they did it in standard corpora-turd-ese which is what their investors and clientele all seem to like. I don't think they absolutely had to respond in the first place, but I just don't see how they're any worse off than they were before.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#85

Post by ellyagg » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:23 PM UTC

yellowredblack wrote: post #78

The complaint: but unfortunately the culture at RIM does not allow us to speak openly without having to worry about the career-limiting effects The response: it is particularly difficult to believe that a “high level employee” in good standing with the company would choose to anonymously publish a letter on the web rather than engage their fellow executives in a constructive manner

Since the merits to making anonymous public arguments are so obvious, that line is one in particular that stands out as defensive. It also confirms one of the points made in the original letter, that people are afraid to speak out. Is there any doubt that the author of the above quotation is someone to be feared?

For a good example of a case where public anonymous argument had far more persuasive power than "engaging fellow executives in a constructive[sic] manner" look at the Federalist Papers, which had a profound effect on the ultimate ratification and subsequent interpretation of the US Constitution.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#86

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:25 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#87

Post by abbasmehdi » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:25 PM UTC

I'm a former RIM employee (probably not relevant because this was pre-iPhone). From what I know I can tell you RIM is not the kind of company that just folds and goes away. The company-wide spirit, which is hard to find at a goliath that size, was insane. The leadership was always speaking to the employees, inspiring them all the time (not like Ballmer screaming developers developers like a crazy man in the voice of a 13 year old girl at a Justin Beiber concert). Every week or two you’d feel an adrenalin rush. I think they can get people behind their idea. I also think the leaders are obsessed with whichever direction they move in, and aren’t stubborn donkeys who don’t change direction for egotistical reasons. This response is very un-RIM - it's defensive and lame. The guy who wrote the letter made some legit points, and the response failed to close the chapter on any one of his arguments at the cost of damage control, PR-style.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#88

Post by Angostura » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:40 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 think the obvious tactic, would be to say "The open letter identifies issues that we too have identified and take very seriously at RIM, our current restructuring is specifically designed to address them and other issues that we believe will propel into a new era of growth. In terms of user experience we are doing X. We are strengthening our software management by doing Y."

You take the criticism, acknowledge it and parlay it into a skillful advertisement for your forthcoming strengths.

If you;re really smart you circulate the open letter yourself anonymously in the first place.

It would appear that the people in RIM's PR department are not really smart.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#89

Post by kin » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:43 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #33

kin wrote: post #9

This response is meaningless. Any public company will say the same jargon to reassure their shareholders but I will put money down that internally RIM executives are dwelling on the letter and taking action.

I will put money down that internally RIM executives are dwelling on the letter and taking action Really? Are you buying some RIM shares then?

By putting money down I just meant 'confidence' in my point. And my point wasn't that the company is going to do well but that they now have the awareness that they are currently going about things incorrectly.

Re: RIM’s Response to 'Open Letter'

#90

Post by athst » Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 11:45 PM UTC

skroth wrote: post #63

jessedhillon wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a two paragraph response to a well-reasoned critique, which outlined several important, thoughtful points. By contrast, the response looks as though it was co-authored by an accountant and an HR rep. > ...it is particularly difficult to believe that a “high level employee” in good standing with the company would choose to anonymously publish a letter on the web rather than engage their fellow executives in a con…

I'm obviously in the minority here, but I don't feel their response was so bad. There are plenty of "well-reasoned critiques that outline several important, thoughtful points" of many companies on the internet. I think the fact that they responded at all is good. Remember Apple's response to the iPhone 4 issues? We (finally) got Jobs pointing the finger at other companies and trying to shift the attention. Here RIM i…

I agree, it was good for them to respond with something. It shows that they are aware of the many criticisms flying around the press right now, and that they are actually paying attention. Saying nothing would make it seem like they are totally disconnected. Maybe it wasn't the best response in the world, but it wasn't bad either.

In the quick news cycles of today driven by twitter, as a company you have to respond quickly to stuff like this. Otherwise it just snowballs. I'm impressed they drafted a response in the same day as well.