Reinhold Matay/AP
RIM may or may not be in a “death spiral.” CEO Thorsten Heins certainly doesn’t think so. If you were in Thorsten’s shoes, what would you do?
Research in Motion used to be on top of the Smartphone world, with ubiquitous Blackberries in the hands of just about every businessman in North America. These days, they are fighting for survival in a much more competitive marketplace. RIM has had to layoff 5,000 employees, and have had disappointing launches for their Playbook and Blackberry 7 phones. They are now executing a last-ditch push on their BB10 operating system and phones, and are hoping this launch will get them back in the game.
As a Canadian, I like to see Canadian companies succeed. What can I say, I’m prejudiced that way! I think there are a lot of ideas RIM could implement to boost sales in new demographics, such as:
- A new focus on creating tools for aspiring writers, hip-hop artists, and musicians on Blackberries and Playbooks
- Creating Playbooks that can take wear and tear for foremen on construction sites and other tradespeople. Having apps for blueprints, etc.
- Creating apps for Playbooks so they can actually be used as ‘playbooks’ for high school, college, and professional football/basketball/baseball/etc. coaches. The iPad is actually being used this way now
Those are just a few ideas. What would you do if you could take RIM over?