Author of Wrong Fit, Right Fit | Chief Talent and Learning Officer | Ex-Google/Target/Nike/Mars | Board Member | EdTech Advisor | Organizational Psychologist | Mushroom Farmer
Lessons of Experience: Nike Nike is, and will remain, an iconic brand and an innovative growth company. Maybe. Though the picture being painted doesn't look so great right now, there is hope. Like most great companies: There is a "secret sauce" at Nike. A formula for innovation. A recipe for growth. A way of working d2d that is Nike at its best. But, over the last few years, Nike has lost its way. A new CEO from tech. An un-Nike approach to RTO. A lack of focus. A tough macro-economic environment. New, cool competitors. Here's the thing. Nike wins when it returns to what it knows best...bucking the trends, ignoring the competition, flipping "the safe route" the bird. There is a "secret decoder ring of success" in every company. Nike needs to rediscover theirs. They should return to the principles, practices, and platforms that made it unstoppable. Remember, culture is: the outcome of our collective behavior. Therefore, it can be recreated and reinforced. Nike, you have an amazing legacy and brilliant and committed people. Re-recruit them back to the best version of Nike and you will win again. Just do it.
"When you've built an institution with values and a purpose beyond just making money—when you've built a culture that makes a distinctive contribution while delivering exceptional results—why would you capitulate to the forces of mediocrity and succumb to irrelevance? And why would you give up on the idea that you can create something that not only lasts but deserves to last? The best corporate leaders never point out the window to blame external conditions; they look in the mirror and say, “We are responsible for our results!” Those who take personal credit for good times but blame external events in bad times simply do not deserve to lead our institutions. No law of nature dictates that a great institution must inevitably fall, at least not within a human lifetime. That most do fall—and we cannot deny this fact—does not mean you have to be one of them." Copyright © 2008 Jim Collins, All rights reserved. https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/secret-of-enduring-greatness.html
Well said, Andre! Reflecting on Phil's personal story and advice over the years, I recall him sharing that he learned the art of competing from track. And an important lesson he learned from track was the art of forgetting. In order to create space for the "unstoppable" ingredients in the secret sauce to re-emerge, Nike needs to invest in the art of forgetting and unlearning today's ways of working. To forget in this context, however, requires humility. It requires genuine confidence, not insecurity disguised as confidence. It means tough decisions. It requires individual and collective acceptance and ownership. It means actually moving on in word and in deed. It is daunting, intimidating, and exponentially more difficult than learning. I, like you, have witnessed Nike's brilliance firsthand, and I'll be watching closely to once again see them win as a team.
I was at the Track & Field Olympic Trials. Nike outdoor surrounds the venue. It looked cheap and sad. Craft has always defined Nike. The brand needs to get back to doing fewer things, beautifully.
“Want to improve your time? Run faster” - Bill Bowerman.
Or join Under Armour.
Ethan Decker made me think of our conversation yesterday. :)
Love the call to action on re-recruiting. The teams are their and their energies simply need to be captured and channeled to the collective good.
Systems Thinking | Systems Architecture & Engineering
3wTL;DR you can't force people into a box and then ask them to think outside the box. That is what the current Nike leadership has lost sight of. I got a tiny taste of the old Nike culture and it was good. But with the exit of the old guard, so went the culture that Made Nike into $NKE. The myopic, MBA driven, mindsets that put spreadsheets over people, and fungible KPIs over employee wellbeing, and that cripples innovation at many companies, came to Nike and did what it always does. Let the people drive the metrics, not the other way around.