They were incredibly arrogant and are now paying the price for it.
I remember going to the CUTC conference (Canadian University Technology Conference) and having one of the ex-ceos (don't remember which) lead a chant on stage of "Waterloo! Waterloo! Waterloo!" during his keynote. To say that alienated the conference-goers not from Waterloo would be a bit of an understatement.
From what I've heard of people who have worked there if you went to Waterloo you're golden. Almost all upper management is from there. If you're not you're going to have to fight many times harder to get promoted. It's an old boys club and an incredibly short-sighted one. Just last year I met some Waterloo people working at RIM who were convinced that the company was doing just fine, that the Blackberrys were just as good as the iPhone and the stock tanking was just temporary. They spent way too much time in their self-congratulatory bubble and now it may be too late. I could see Microsoft buying them up, forcing them to get great exchange integration and be the "Windows Phone for Enterprise" provider.
After witnessing their arrogance I definitely won't mourn their loss. I just wish my taxes and mutual funds weren't pumped into them so much.
I just feel bad for the smart people there that may be out of a job soon.
And yes, most of my desire to see them succeed is because a lot of public money is invested in them, and it would likely send a ripple effect across the tech sector in Canada (specifically the Waterloo area).
I remember going to the CUTC conference (Canadian University Technology Conference) and having one of the ex-ceos (don't remember which) lead a chant on stage of "Waterloo! Waterloo! Waterloo!" during his keynote. To say that alienated the conference-goers not from Waterloo would be a bit of an understatement.
From what I've heard of people who have worked there if you went to Waterloo you're golden. Almost all upper management is from there. If you're not you're going to have to fight many times harder to get promoted. It's an old boys club and an incredibly short-sighted one. Just last year I met some Waterloo people working at RIM who were convinced that the company was doing just fine, that the Blackberrys were just as good as the iPhone and the stock tanking was just temporary. They spent way too much time in their self-congratulatory bubble and now it may be too late. I could see Microsoft buying them up, forcing them to get great exchange integration and be the "Windows Phone for Enterprise" provider.
After witnessing their arrogance I definitely won't mourn their loss. I just wish my taxes and mutual funds weren't pumped into them so much.