Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) CEO Greg Brown just can't make up his mind on trying to find a leader for the telecom company's troubled wireless handset division. First, he anointed himself as leader of that division, which needs a swift kick in the pants to return to profitability and deliver some knockout cellphones customers will lust after. Maybe he bit off more than he could chew.

At least Brown says that the company is "committed" to the handset division, after rumors of a company breakup swirled heavily in the air. Well, that may be true, as Brown is reportedly looking for a new executive to run the handset division. In fact, he stated that 80% of his time these days is being spent looking for that person as he aired in a few conversations at a recent Morgan Stanly Technology Conference.

Motorola's Brown said that he's looking outside the company as well for the new executive to lead the handset division of Motorola -- someone who will be tasked with leading the most public face of the company "on a
product-led recovery." That's an understatement -- this executive will need design and marketing finesse in addition to strong logistics and P&L experience at the very least to get some kick back into Motorola's cellphone existence while making a consistent profit. That's a tall order considering the state Motorola's handset division is in at the moment.

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), which can't seem to make up its mind regarding its floundering wireless handset division, has given yet another sign that it may be considering some kind of equity move with it. The Illinois-based telecom company has hired private-equity executive Paul Liska as its new CFO. Liska will have responsibility for hoarding as much cash for the wireless giant as possible, but will also probably take a look under the hood in regards to what needs to be done about the company's wireless handset business so that it can be making consistent profits again.

Here's tip number one to Liska: all the financial moves in the world won't help a thing unless Motorola can make wireless products customers want -- and hopefully, desire. That's not happening right now. Korean rivals Samsung and LG Electronics are churning out sexy handset designs with multiple wireless carriers left and right. Motorola? Not so much. The Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone has put the hurt on Motorola just that much more.

So, where does that leave Liska? Even though Motorola CEO Greg Brown said that the company was committed to its handset division, that could be interpreted as this: "we are committed to looking at every option to ensure our handset division remains part of the company or is spun off into a separate entity that would shield Motorola shareholders from its dastardly performance." I'm not putting words into anyone's mouth here, but Brown's "committed" statement could mean several different things. It will be up to Liska to make a map of those things and drive the best decision into the boardroom for the company. Maybe he'll get chummy with longtime Motorola pundit Carl Icahn as well.

It's really sad that a wireless giant like Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), who invented the radio technology used heavily in World War II and helped invent the consumer cellular business more than 20 years ago, could have fallen into such disrepair. It's so bad that it may be a hard search to find a company to buy the handset maker's faltering handset division. LG Electronics' spokesperson Joh Joong Kwon even said "We are not interested in buying Motorola's handset business ... we believe it is better for us to focus on our resources to grow on our own."

Remember, this is the part of Motorola responsible for trend-setting hits like the StarTac and the RAZR. It's hard to imagine how a seasoned leader like former CEO Ed Zander (mis)managed to completely fail in his attempt to keep the cellphone giant at the top of its game. After quarters of huge losses and a product portfolio that spent all of 2007 losing market share, Motorola's just not near what it used to be. And, buyers are not coming out of the woodwork looking to buy its cellphone business.

Just a few weeks after Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) released disastrous fourth quarter results, the telecom company's new CEO Greg Brown has taken direct control of the company's wireless handset division. Apparently, Brown is not ready to cede defeat to Samsung Electronics, which wrestled the "world's second largest" wireless phone maker spot away from Motorola in 2007.

Even as Brown apparently rolls up his sleeves and tries to fix what's wrong with the wireless giant's handset division, the company is still being rumored for a breakup to unlock shareholder value. With Motorola shares sitting at under $12, the pressure will be on for that to happen sooner than later. With Carl Icahn still yelling for Motorola blood, 2008 will be an interesting year for the Illinois wireless behemoth.

Brown will replace Stu Reed, who took operating responsibility over Motorola's wireless handset division last July. Reed will remain with Motorola, but the company was not clear on his responsibilities. With Motorola's handset division producing half of the company's revenue, Brown will now have the job of trying to either get it back to prominence in the global handset market or prime it for a sale should a breakup of the company happen.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) chief Ed Zander is on the hot seat, big time. Although Carl Icahn failed months ago to secure a seat on the Motorola board (where he would have pushed Zander out if possible), there are activist shareholders amassing at the cellphone maker's border ready to torch the place and install new management. Why? Well, Motorola's recent results just posted today added more doom to the gloom for Zander and Co. His days are now officially numbered.

Why in the world is Motorola not profitable and not expecting to get there until 2008? It is still the world's second-largest wireless handset maker, but for some reason it has not figured out in recent quarters how to turn a profit, while making upwards of $9 billion per quarter. If Zander was brought in years ago for his operational expertise (generally this involves cost cutting and margin expertise), then the exact opposite results being seen now at the company he leads are just nudging him closer and closer to the front door. As in, bye-bye, boss.

Motorola blamed weak sales for the second quarter on lackluster results in Asia and Europe. Well, its business is not that stellar in the U.S. either, so where is the company doing well? Nowhere -- and without a road map of some new killer cellphone product, Motorola may be going absolutely nowhere. Even if the RAZR 2 launch is very successful, I'm not sure it can repeat the blowout success of the original RAZR handset, which padded Motorola's bottom line for over two years. That day has now ended, and Zander's inability to line up successors and revenue producers in the last 24 months will lead to his end at Motorola this year as well. Chalk it up.