When Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) hired Ed Zander in 2004, the company was looking for someone to ignite its wireless handset division with fresh product designs and gargantuan sales. Once the Motorola RAZR hit the shelves and started selling like hotcakes, Zander looked like a genius. But the market-defining RAZR was something that already existed once Zander arrived, lucky enough for him. Over the next four years, though, Motorola fizzled and couldn't replicate the snazzy designs or the robust sales that all its main competitors were still enjoying.

Zander resigned from the CEO post earlier this year and Motorola exec Greg Brown took his place. Things have not gotten better really, and Brown's plan to spin off the wireless handset business into another company even had to be put on hold. This week, Motorola also announced it is freezing salaries, suspending 401k matching contributions and cutting compensation for executives in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

But Zander, for reasons unknown, just became a board member of EagleView Technologies -- a company that measures distances using detailed aerial photography for all types of industries like roofing, solar, fencing and others. Why would EagleView want Zander -- who failed miserably at Motorola -- to join its board?