Over at Twitter, I asked folks to say what they’d do if they ran RIM. I asked them to be constructive, not snarky. And they came up with lots of sensible possibilities. Thorsten Heins, are you listening?

@harrymccracken RIM needs to switch to Android and/or WP7. They make great handsets, just need a better platform. BBM on Android FTW!—
Mike Poullas (@mikepoullas) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Unlink divisions: hope 4 some successes (Enterprise Msg; BBM) to survive w x-platform s/w despite handset&PlayBk implosions—
Walt French (@WaltFrench) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Merge with Nokia.—
Sky Hussar (@skyhussar) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken less models and more difference between them, one with keyboard, one without and one with touch and keyboard (torch)—
Wim Schelfaut (@wim_s) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken position RIM to play to its strengths — data security, enterprise deployment, device mgmt + differentiate with services.—
Daniel Leslie (@dan_leslie) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Draw xy coordinates, and fit 1 BB phone in each quadrant. X & Y are key customer types & product features, etc.—
Justin Adams (@justinfadams) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken windows :)—
Manu Kumar (@ManuKumar) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Android.—
Matt Baxter-Reynolds (@mbrit) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken RIM should sell server biz to IBM, sell patents to Google, place former TAT team at Apple, and dissolve company.—
David Oliver (@davidmoliver) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken position RIM to play to its strengths — data security, enterprise deployment, device mgmt + differentiate with services.—
Daniel Leslie (@dan_leslie) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Fork Android a la Kindle Fire, build core BB apps on top of it.—
Jason Snell (@jsnell) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken people hate Blackberry devices but they would love the enterprise services on their own devices no matter which OS.—
Gurpreet Bedi (@grprtbedi) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken That sounds like a prescription for an orderly winding down of the business.—
Ed Bott (@edbott) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Sell the hardware business and focus on providing high end enterprise solutions like mail and BBM to other mobile OSes.—
Gurpreet Bedi (@grprtbedi) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken RIM shud build on niche as a corp device and work with enterprise SaaS i.e Salesforce to value add and justify CTOs trust—
Ameer Zulkifli (@ameerplusone) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken RE RIM They desperately need an iTunes competitor. Native music, movies and apps that sync seamlessly (& Better Appps)—
Derrick LeBlanc (@docleblanc126) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Step 1. Realize you can't compete with Android or iOS Step 2. Find the People who don't like those two. Step 3. Sell—
Joshua Johnson (@JoshuaJohnsonT) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Utilize the current management tools to support Droid, iPhone, and Windows phones. Become a Mobile Security Software firm—
G (@yourpersnlgeek) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken give complete creative control to The Astonishing Tribe—
Chris Baluzy (@cbaluzy) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Focus on 2-3 devices, give them zippy performance, get more people to develop apps for BlackBerry.—
Martin Pinnau (@martinpinnau) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Kill PlayBook +BBOS licensing plan; reduce product range; focus BBOS on biz/corp, use Android/WP for 'consumer'—
Andy Weir (@gcaweir) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken re RIM. Make access to Rim services ubiquitous. Building hardware is expensive. i.e. playbook. Far better to build an app—
John Wright (@fortyrunner) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Cut off all current devices and make something new.—
Deep Soni (@xDeepS) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken re RIM. Cut back product lines to Business and Consumer b/berries. Build a set of iOS, Android, Win mobile, OSX, Win apps.—
John Wright (@fortyrunner) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Hire executives that understand the position the company is in and are not already tainted by its corporate culture.—
Dan Seifert (@dcseifert) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken 100% focus on enterprise smartphone market via HW redesign. Better integration with enterprise tools than iPhone/Android.—
Eric Andersen (@eric_andersen) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken As CEO or RIM, I'd partner with Google on Android ASAP. Not going to survive on their own.—
Keith Thompson (@kdttaz) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken
1. Get new OS phone working
2. Get devs engaged, apps vital
3. Build tools to make life easier for devs
4. FEEDBACK & FIX—
bastien koert (@phpster) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Do what it takes to get products finished in a timely fashion so they work and can be released without delays or bugs.—
Laura (@lak611) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken ditch BBOS. adopt #windowsphone. differentiate around BBM, enterprises services and those awesome keyboard devices—
Vijay Vadlamani (@VJV87) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken approach Microsoft for port of their phone OS—
PiNT (@P1NT) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken … Not to mention standalone iOS and Android BBM apps—
Michael Ouzounian (@edwardcbear) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken cut losses, perhaps take playbook off the market. Then focus on restoring BB's image. Product lifecycles considered.—
DHimself (@thatdarryl) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken @iansherr I would close the gap between "what we can contribute to mobile" and "what we should contribute to mobile"—
Behzod Sirjani (@beh_zod) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Go back and reconsider if Android Player is going to be a great feature of your OS going forward. Then build a great OS.—
Jeremy Stanley (@JeremyDStanley) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken RIM needs to get good apps on the platform (Playbook, BB10). Bribe developers as needed. App selection sucks, quality poor.—
Chris Saldanha (@ChristoDeluxe) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Offer only 2 products. Design them to be the “serious” choice for business & government. Position competition as “toys.”—
Kevin Mercuri (@KevinMercuri) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken trim all the fact and get down and dirty like a startup again.—
Matthew Davis (@Matt_JDavis) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Focus on enterprise (Security, Integration, SAP, Adminstriationm…) try not to be (a 2nd grade) Apple.—
Stephan Schmidt (@codemonkeyism) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken license BBM to Nokia/Microsoft and push Windows Phone integrated services. You've gotta come up with a cash cow somehow.—
Michael Ouzounian (@edwardcbear) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Consolidate the company to focus on phones, group hardware, eliminate fragmentation, and use open standards for BIS and BBM.—
Harris Kleyman (@maclover009) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Forget America – sell what you can, including assets, and concentrate on international market.—
Charles Pinker (@cdpinker) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Switch to WP and make back end server licenses free. Outdated OS and expensive/complex server backend are the biggest probs.—
John Denver (@ntman68) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Get Meego.—
Manik (@Manik_K) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Innovate the hell out of something. That's all I got.—
Cynthia Schames (@CynthiaSchames) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Start producing Windows Phone hardware like Nokia.—
Paras Valecha (@ParasValecha) January 23, 2012

@harrymccracken Stop the PlayBook and get back to core competencies.—
Peter Cohen (@flargh) January 23, 2012

 
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