Both of these companies had strong engineering (not software) cultures that served them very well in their domains. Up until very recently, that domain was closed off, and had a well-understood status quo. There were some smartass companies in the Valley, like Google etc. but no one paid attention to them.
But suddenly, WHAM!, everything became one, suddenly Google is both Motorola's ally and enemy (Android and Google TV), Apple, who used to make cure computers only, is a big competitor. You know the rest. These Titanics had no time to change.
This is what killed Motorola and is killing Nokia now. Problem is, this cannot be fixed by firing N managers, M engineers and hiring "better" ones, because the culture is built into their DNA. You should fire all management and rebuild the culture. Jha is trying to do that with Motorola Mobility (evidently, with limited success, as seen from XOOM pricing and tethering to Verizon).