It’s hard to tell how executives will react after delivering poor quarterly results, but praising themselves probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Unfortunately for RIM shareholders, that’s exactly what happened last night. After announcing weaker than expected shipments of BlackBerrys, weak PlayBook shipments, poor financials, and a lower outlook for next quarter, co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis praised their leadership of the company, according to quotes from the call posted on AllThingsD.
“Mike and I would like to address some of the concerns that have been expressed surrounding the executive management structure at RIM and, specifically, the joint nature of our leadership,” said Balsillie. “Mike and I have been partners in this business for almost 20 years, and during that time RIM has grown to $20 billion in annual revenue. We are currently approaching the tail end of a significant transition in our business, that, frankly, few companies would have survived. But we have. And I believe, and I think Mike would agree, that neither of us could have taken RIM this far alone.”
“I agree with Jim’s comments,” Lazaridis added. “Our co-CEO arrangement is what led to RIM’s success over the past two decades.”
Well then, I guess everything is okay at RIM. Here I thought there might be some trouble brewing.
Jim and I have the perfect balance to make the hard decisions,” said Lazaridis. “This is fun. … We’re changing the world. We’re transforming the way people work. … We birthed a tablet in a year! … We transitioned to a new operating system!”
Guys, you are not changing the world — the world is laughing at you. The only reason you birthed a tablet in a year is because you are so far behind Apple, you had no choice but to come out with something, and that wasn’t very good.
The co-CEOs just don’t seem to see the writing on the wall. In fact, like they over-promised and under-delivered with the PlayBook, Balsillie is promising great things for RIM devices later this year and how they are “a quantum leap over anything that’s out there.”
Something needs to change.