Good news: You’ve been promoted to CEO! Bad news: Public perception of your company has tanked over the past few years, and your stockholders are looking at you to save the day. What ever you do first, just hope that you don’t give the world that sound bite that suggests you think everything is okay and that nothing at the company needs to change. Whoops!
Less than 24 hours after RIM’s executive shakeup, the company is already seeing its first “drastic change”: its stock price.
After opening the day at $17 (down from $62.69 a year ago, a drop of about 75%), the effects of the incoming CEO’s first (surprisingly defensive) teleconference call began to spread. To put it gently, it was not well-received. By closing time, the stock had dipped another $1.44. That’s a drop in the bucket for most mammoth tech companies — but for the already bruised RIM, that works out to another 8.5% lost.
I’m actually surprised it didn’t tank further. If I was someone who still had money in RIM (un-disclaimer: I’ve got no money in anything), I’d have lost my last shred of hope by noon today. If RIM’s new CEO really thinks that something doesn’t need to change, he’s probably just about the only one left.