Maurice you make a good argument about Q's willingness to take risks, but in Nokia's defense I believe San Diego is a much better place to become broke and homeless than Helsinki. More to the point, there's a difference between managing a small startup and managing an S&P 500 company worth billions. Companies which undergo this transition often need to undergo a change in leadership as well. I don't think that's the case with Qualcomm, but if it's not then IJ needs to be keeping a lot more balls in the air. R&D is one of them, but cash flow and present day payoffs are others. Funding R&D is one thing, but if Q still wants to be in the startup business, they should fund them separately and give them their own management. And if running startups is what keeps IJ coming to work each morning that's what he should be doing, but not in his present job. Qualcomm can no longer afford to divert too much management attention to the long term payoffs. They have to begin living in the here and now.
And Tero, my apologies for invading the thread, but this is now the only place where one can discuss Qualcomm without drowning in a sea of muck. Based on what I've seen lately this state of affairs will probably not last much longer, and I apologize in advance for any role I might have played in the process. <g> |
