RE: RE: RE: "no other manufacturer" ........Long time lurker, first time poster. I opened an account because I couldn't resist replying to this bang-on post.
fistmaster2 writes:
Nice to have this type approval. However, it doesn't mean a lot if the customers aren't mandating it in their tender documents. Its then just an expensive certificate hanging on the wall. OSI can't get business because they don't stay focused on strategy. From what I've heard from OSI staff themselves is that the CEO is too easily swayed by the board, he tries to do everything on the cheap (except pay himself of course), and tries to jump all over potential big sales and screws it up in the process. Yes, OSI has a good product, competent engineering staff. The sales guys are apparently all YES-Men to the CEO, and he has not produced. He is the common denominator in the failed performance of the last several years.
As I have said before, the evidence of poor performance points directly at this CEO and half the Board - get rid of them and things will soon change. If not - Sperry and others will continue to eat OSIs lunch - and our money. Here we are, end of 3rd quarter and STILL NO BIG ORDERS!!! How dumb are the institutional holders that they swallow this guys line every time???
I too know people in the company. They have a lot of excellent dedicated people. They have good technology and the potential to make it better. ECPINS is by far the most advanced WECDIS in the market. Unfortunately it has a very dated implementation and user interface and there is no money to do anything about it. As fistmaster2 pointed out, the problem lies with the management, specifically the incompetent CEO and the utterly ineffective board of directors. OSI is dying a slow death under their pathetic leadership.
Where did all the money from the RN WECDIS and RN WAIS contracts go? That's easy. Follow the money to the CEO and see where it leads. He gets paid $300k + salary per year. That's a nice chunk of change considering his poor performance. The stock price has dropped. The company is losing money. The company has been shrinking year after year because they can't afford to keep the staff that they need to develop new products. All the while, the CEO's salary has stayed the same. What gives with that? By what performance measurement does Kirkpatrick deserve to still have his job, let alone to be receiving such a lucrative compensation package for such a small company?
Next, how much did it cost to open the head office in Ottawa and to what end? Has having an office in Ottawa led to any business? Hmm... I didn't think so. How much did the company pay to move staff to Ottawa? How many of them still work there? More money that could have gone into product development wasted.
Next OSI paid top dollar to purchase CHI Systems. Except for the technology that they sold to Harris, none of it will ever hit the home run that OSI needs to grow. Nothing CHI Systems brought to the table helped OSI get any closer to winning the holy grail - the US Navy.
Next, WTF happened to Liddy International? After OSI bought the company, they won a couple of contracts, then fizzled. Last I heard, they were down to a couple of people, yet Liddy still has his job. What gives with that?
For the kicker, how much money has OSI spent on executive severance since Kirkpatrick took over? Start with the previous CEO, then the BD VP, then the GM of OSL, throw in the CFO and CTO, and a few more BD VPs along the way, and finally the GM and CFO of CHI Systems. If all of that doesn't add up well into the 7 figures, I would be surprised.
So if you want to know why this company has been struggling for so long, look to the CEO and the spineless board of directors. They are the only common denominator. I guess the board's hands are tied because the company probably can't afford to pay the severance to fire Kirkpatrick - assuming they even wanted to. Sadly, this company is damned whether it's successful or not. If they continue going down the path they're on, which is likely, there may not be enough good people left to salvage. If they win some contracts, the CEO and board will not be replaced, which will result in the same chronic mismanagement. It is truly a shame and a waste.