As Doug reported on earlier, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is searching feverishly for a possible CEO to lead the company that will be created when it spins off its cellphone division. The only problem is that the candidates aren't just lining up for this one. Respected turnaround executive Todd Bradly said yesterday he would not be leaving his post as Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) for the top job at Motorola. And this is from a guy who has made a habit of taking the reigns of troubled companies and turning them around very successfully.

It's hard to completely understand why Motorola's cellphone division went from shining start just a few years ago to a complete and total mess. Former CEO Ed Zander blames former cellphone division head Ron Garriques, who bolted for Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) in January 2007 just as Motorola's long slide down to insignificance and missed profits was just beginning to take hold. Did Garriques time his exit almost perfectly? It sure seems that way, but the mess that he left behind was either his own doing or was partly the fault (if not completely) of Zander, who ended up resigning under pressure as a result.

It's hard to see how Motorola can completely turn around its cellphone business, even if that part is indeed spun off into a separate company. It's a textbook story of how, within just a few years, a company can go from best to worst as it misfired on about every possible front. It's been in a rut before, such as the 1990s when it missed the transition to digital cellphones and gave up tons of marketshare to rival Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK). This will be a lot harder for someone to fix, although it's a massive and unique opportunity. If Bradley won't bite, though, who will?

In what I would characterize as a desperate effort to win back market-share from Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) recently announced that it would be partnering with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). Monday's Wall Street Journal takes a look at how Dell, once the king of the PC industry, ended up in this position (Subscription required).

HP brought in Todd Bradley in 2005 to revitalize its PC operations, and he did just that. He realized that HP could not compete with Dell on consumer-direct sales, and instead focused on strengthening its sales to traditional retail outlets. In 2006, HP passed Dell in worldwide PC sales for the first time in years, and Bradley looks like a genius.

Now, Dell is trying to get back in the fight by moving into HP's territory: sales at retail stores. What's wrong with this picture?

It looks like Dell may be making the exact same mistake HP made before it hired Todd Bradley: Rather than focusing on its strength (consumer direct), Dell is trying to directly compete with HP for sales at brick and mortar stores. HP's recent improvements in service to retailers may make it hard for Dell to compete there.

Dell may do well to borrow a line from Todd Bradley's playbook: Don't try to enter new markets in which the company has little expertise, and focus on the core strength.