January 24, 2012 2:45 PM

RIM’s co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis clearly did not want to step aside. Lazaridis laid RIM’s foundation and Balsillie helped him build on it, and what they wrought was wonderful and a beacon for Canada’s tech sector.

But giving up the centre seats was clearly the right thing to do. As Lazaridis said, “In every successful company that’s developed by founders, there comes a time when it enters a new phase of growth and it’s time for the founders to pass the baton to new management.” (New York Times)

Doing so was surely not easy, and for that they deserve praise.

Now, the question turns to their choice of CEO. Is former COO of Product Engineering Thorsten Heins the right person for this daunting job?

His appointment kicked off furious analysis, much of it centring on his first comment as CEO: “There’s no need for me to shake this company up or turn it upside down.” (The Globe and Mail)

That was the opposite of what many, if not all, observers wanted to hear. In fact, the stock that had lifted slightly on news of Heins’ appointment dropped almost 10 per cent when people starting hearing his plans.

Arguably, RIM’s recent problems fall into two large categories: innovation and execution. Innovation is a puck Apple and Google neatly stick-handled away from RIM a couple of years ago. And with the announcement that Lazaridis is staying on as chair of RIM’s new innovation committee, that may not change anytime soon. As for execution, RIM’s new CEO is the former chief operating officer, a role built on execution.

Given those two factors, what do we make of Heins’ avowal to stay the course? Here's my hope: maybe this is an Obama/Bush handshake moment.

Stick with me for a minute. Barack Obama faced an awkward inauguration ceremony, because the outgoing guy customarily shows up and gets a nice send off. But Obama deeply disliked Bush and, worse, blamed him for America's difficult recent history.

But Obama stuck a smile on his face, shook hands, said a few nice words and then proceeded to criticize Bush in his speech and began immediately to undo many of his policies.

It is possible that what we saw Obama do in minutes and hours is the same process Heins will undergo in weeks and months, that — with Balsillie and Lazaridis standing right there beside him — he had to assert everything is rosy and that a slightly revised same old-same old is the best idea.

That’s possible and I hope it’s the case, but is it likely? No. Heins told the truth as he sees it. He got the power handshake right, but that is likely where any wholesale change ends. And I expect RIM will have a new CEO within 18 months, if it even exists as a company by then.

What do you think? Is Heins the man to turn RIM around? Give us your opinion in our LinkedIn Group.

Blogger Profile: Peter Wolchak

Peter Wolchak has been a professional print journalist for more than a decade. Starting as a news photographer at a community newspaper, Peter then worked as a staff writer at ComputerWorld Canada, a national trade magazine, and later served as the editor of that publication for four years. Peter then moved up to the national business magazine arena as the editor of Backbone. In addition to these journalism activities, Peter has also worked as a public speaker and discussion moderator, served as a judge for the McLuhan Festival’s Vortex awards, and sits on the E-Business Program Advisory Committee at Sheridan College.

Posted by Sue Ansell at January 24, 2012 2:45 PM

Categories: General Trends

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