We need to hold top leadership responsible for the current state of things

This was posted by @P8hu5VM-hnoh in an old thread, really thought it deserved to be read by more people:

TE & JM need to be held responsible for the current state of things. Instead, lower level employees pay the price for the sins of their leadership.

I remember the days when the athlete mattered. We helped them perform better, run faster, jump higher, and to reach our own personal best.

We were always in pursuit of greatness. We acted as if we were #2 in the business so that we could stay #1. We had a competitive drive that nobody could match.

And then, we started pointing fingers at each other, we started building walls between teams, categories, and functions. We became our own worse enemy. We had to sit and listed to TE pontificate while actually saying nothing. We had to bite our lips for fear of TE freezing you out. Disagree or debate with TE, you're out.

Eating our own, political battles, and a "TE's way or the highway attitude have become the new playing field we compete on. The enemy isn't the Germans, it's our own arrogance.

As we fought with each other, we lost our focus on the athlete. We had numbers to make so we accelerated NSW as the (product) answer. Our NSW product is great, but fashion isn't what makes us great. Innovative products, built first and foremost for the athlete, is what we do best. Instead, we are simply taking old models and spinning materials and colors.

Our "new news" is a collab with Commes de Garçon? That's not new news. That's doing exactly what everyone else in the category is doing.

WHO ARE WE?

That's not original. That's not the Nike we used to know.

Get back to focusing on the athlete. Innovate for them because that is what made us great.

And, while we can certainly continue to make new colors of the AirMax....a groovy little, energy team driven, colorway isn't going to get us back to greatness. In fact, it's just going to pull us down faster. That crap is just a bunch of sneaker hipsters talking to themselves. Sure, KITH is a cool shop but "c'mon man!", this stuff now rules the day. The athlete no longer does.

Edit to amplify.

Just do it NOW.

Comment! It's anonymous!

18 replies (most recent on top)

TE is out? How about ES. He's the dolt on the shipping SNAFU.

Rumors are already swirling that it's done, TE is out. Anyone know?

Consulting firms have consulted the heart and soul out of Nike.

"If you have an accent you are smart at Nike". So true, so very true. What happened to sport? The World Cup is the only sporting event the company cares about, I wonder why. Yes, the NBA All Star game was a blip a few years back, but thats because it was in NYC and allowed the exec team to go out and party at Lavo and every other pathetic VIP lounge at bridge and tunnel bars, blow 8 million dollars on a court that lights up, and invite C level hip hop artists to "collaborate". Nothing will change until the "mafia" is pushed out.

"When you have an accent you are smart at Nike". So true. Just look at where the European mafia has gotten us, stale product, flimsy leadership, poor messaging, terrible morale, and indecisiveness to the point of constipation. I would laugh at the post if it didn't make me want to cry every time I enter the berm.

Great post

If you have an accent you are smart at Nike.

Perfect storm. Product innovation is lacking. Leadership is greedy and disengaged. Consumers are shifting to other things. Trust and equity are gone behind the berm. It will take years for Nike to get back on track.

@7iob, apologies... but what from I can see, the heart and soul no longer exists.

Thank you for reposting my response.

We need to drive change.

We are too good (at our heart) to let this happen to this company.

best post ever! so much truth. It's all political meltdown and lack of innovation currently, give Nike back to people who love to create the future, not one ride the wave for a career.

Rome fell because of the enemy within. Nike is NOT too big to fail. Becoming more like Microsoft than Apple!

So we'll said. So true. And ever so sad. Arrogance has infected most of the Nike senior leadership team and its deadly. It's killing Nike and from what it sounds like those arrogant leaders are spilling out to Converse and killing them too.

This is so true! So true. Well said.

"... Nike used to be great because of the people who worked there, now many of the people who work there think they are great because they work at Nike."

When the NA VP becomes the new CMO, the problem addressed in this post will get 100x worse. He’s the main culprit behind all the fashion BS and couldn’t care less about sports. Except for Tennis, I mean, Nike Court. Weak.

Very well said. One of the best ways I've described it to people is Nike used to be great because of the people who worked there, now many of the people who work there think they are great because they work at Nike.

Preach it! Especially the "listed to TE pontificate while actually saying nothing." And it's NOT just TE -- all leaders now are the same way. Whoever has the coolest sounding answer -- regardless of content -- wins.

Agreed

Thread regarding Nike Inc. layoffs

We need to hold top leadership responsible for the current state of things

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