Describe 2018 for me please. Give me a script, how are things going to play out? Thank you!
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nike stock soars and haters gonna hate. seeing a lot of mud slung on this site. say anything here. Russian bots replace footwear designers
Nike's culture hasn't been 'cool' for years.
Hiring has not slowed and interns are already 'promised jobs after completing college next year'
The 'good OLD boys' network is still in charge. Without leadership also changing to the 'new blood melliniamism' that's supposed to turn nike around, it will continue to flounder with momentary successes followed by the same OLD thing.
"This is a Corporation not Mom and Dads house where you are indulged" - bad news for the 'new blood'.
Pride comes before the fall.
Always.
Morale will be terrible. There will be additional unplanned attrition as people leave on their own volition, which means more work with fewer people. In some teams, this is fine - the folks who left weren't that great to begin with and now the go-getters can really shine. In other teams, it's an unsustainable workload and people start making costly mistakes. A lot of good people will leave, and not enough of the bad. There will still be too many of the people who don't have a passion for the athlete or for the product. As a whole, Nike will continue to face a decline and there will continue to be a lack of trust between the rank and file and the folks in JM4. Expect more significant spending and budget oversight and spending cuts, but no more aggressive headcount actions. Halfway through 2018, Nike still isn't changing or reacting fast enough, and decisions from the top aren't happening, and the strategy is still unclear, but the stock price isn't cratering. The remaining folks look to second half of 2019 to be a crucial year to turn the ship around. Someday, Nike will emerge stronger and hopefully it will remember the lessons learned from its hubris.
Nike will be a agile company it used to be with less VP and Sr Directors.
This is being addressed. Many were given packages or demoted this round. Decisions will be more about the What based on Logic, facts, data not the how good old boy network, and superficial foolishness. Efficiency and ratios will become important.
The expansion will be cut by 25%. saving hundreds of millions of dollars. Hiring will slow except for talented designers.
The culture will morph but not loose its cool. It is a great company just top heavy and slow and the culture has to evolve.
It is also moving from a growth company with 8-12% growth to a mature one with 4-6% growth. That is a natural evolution. This is a Corporation not Mom and Dads house where you are indulged.
You get paid to share your talent you hope to stick around for 7-10 years and move on. They need new blood. I am thankful for my experience there and hold no grudges. However,The manner in which it all happened was callous. It could have been more sophisticated more severance and warning and a chance to say goodbye with free financial planning and help with resumes and outside companies . Captain out.
Good thread... Really good thread.
You guys (guys and girls on this forum) are the reason why I like working for Nike. Witty, compassionate and direct.
Paper-pushers, PowerPoint warriors, smooth talkers are of no interest to me - it's sad that they are taking over...
First let's talk about what the rest of 2017 looks like. There will be a bunch of big meetings where they say how hard these decisions are and how it will make us stronger. You'll have shell shocked employees who just got a front row seat to how replaceable they are - hard to work or invest yourself when you know it could be you any time. You'll have teams expected to do more with less, low morale, low trust and all the while watching the expensive buildings rise on campus. 2018 will be a bunch of VPs still trying what worked way back when and not realizing that time and the industry have changed and other companies are doing it better and faster. The younger generation isn't talking about Nike. Meanwhile, how about an athlete scandal on top?
The VPs will still text each other in meetings today and we will be left waiting for them to make decisions that benefit themselves.
Am I lucky I am still here?
Less traffic issues? Nice!
Yes, there's also I daresay the opportunity to make things right. Obviously it's going to be hard, but it has to be driven by a vision. A vision about what made Nike great in the first place, a roadmap relying less on fancy terms and strategies, facing the realities, acknowledging the screw-ups, having more accountability and not letting that fall into a black hole. This requires strong leadership, forceful action and less glitter talk. Can it happen?
Lots of pep talk. Mark Parker is let go or the transition started (good holiday season will not save him). Bad holiday season will certainly ensure an inglorious exit for him. Probably another round of layoffs in Jan /Feb time frame. Apple or Amazon buys Nike for cash truest starts divesting off of crappy business lines.