Why in the world are some of you so distraught over what's been happening with this place? Nike is not your family. Nike is your job. Take care of yourself and your actual family and worry about what is right for you and your family. Just do your job to the best of your ability. If Nike is about to implode, so be it. You'll find another job, trust me.
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I was in the family for 10 years. I drank the kool aid, sand kumbaya at all hands meetings. Until they escorted me out without warning, took my badge, and forgot I existed.
Adding to my last comment about love for sport and competence.
TLDR; being a valuable employee doesn’t necessarily relate to the company’s end product. It does relate to the specifics of your role.
Let’s say you work for Google ads. Do you think all those engineers are passionate for delivering good ads? No. They are probably passionate about solving the problems they are tasked with, efficiently.
Nike happens to have a tangible end product but most roles here won’t require you to even like Nike shoes, let alone be passionate about them.
Another example is sports teams who hire data analysts: it is preferred to hire folks who do not support the team or aren’t big fans of the game, so that they can do their job unaffected by sentiment.
Other roles will indeed require you to have a passion for sport, so that you understand the athlete better.
Love for sport doesn’t translate to competence, though. Love for delivering high quality outcomes is much more important for the business to thrive. Loving sports on top of that is an added motivation but not necessary for someone to be good for Nike.
I was told for almost 6 years that Nike was my family. I was even encouraged to share deep dark personal secrets with my family members. After all they're family right? Then one day I had zoom meeting with my family representatives and they told me I was out of the family.
Most of us do what we do because it’s more than a job. People joined and built Nike not because it was a job, because they got paid to do what they loved and for a cause they loved (sport). If that’s not you, that’s ok, but maybe that’s part of the problem. We need more people who love and understand the ins and outs of sport, not just checking a box by clocking in.
I have friends from Nike who were laid off last June, November and December who are still looking for a job so try not to be so cavalier like finding a new job is so easy for everyone.
I never cared particularly about Nike, not even sports. I joined because I had heard good things, the offer was amazing, and the role seemed fun. And I’ve had a great time here (minus living in Oregon, but that’s another story for another day).
Now, I still don’t really care about sports. But I love doing my job, it’s great. I take pride when I see cool Nike merch or ads. I’d describe my pov as:
- I take pride in doing the best work, collectively and individually.
- I feel good at my role, can see myself in other companies, but not much of the available stuff out there looks as cool for me. This is my favorite role by far and I’ve worked for the dreamiest MAANG company before (dreamy on paper only).
- I am not a Nike fanatic. If I wake up tomorrow and the company doesn’t exist, I will be upset because I lose my income and a job I loved. But it’s not my company, so…
Overall I think this attitude works for me and creates a great balance in my life. I care a lot, I do the right thing, but please. This is my employer at the end of the day and I respect them as long as they respect me.
@mdw+1uZBKxfE bro.. You are in a culture or what? Nike is just a job as bas as or as good as any other corporate job... chill
So the takeaway is 1. Make nike your one and only family. 2. Some people have a family already. And 3. You’re all wrong and just do your job
lol. You people and your downvotes. So much power in that click.
To the original poster; you do not understand the true power of NIke, when we unit and all row in the same direction. This company becomes much more than a job, it becomes a passionate group of people that have the ability to change things. We are an extended family. I hope you get to experience this, Nike is truly a special place to work, if you allow yourself to experience it.
What a narrow minded take. Some people don’t have family to go home to. Not everyone is in the same stage of life. Additionally, sounds like you have a good gig where you get to separate your home and work life. Some of us are expected to take our work home with us and if we don’t it’s reflected in our performance reviews. This affects family life for those who do have loved ones at home. As for finding another job, do you know the current state of the job market and the difference between what Nike pays vs other companies? It’s not that easy.
I dont know that passion for the brand is needed.
But you do have to _want_ to be doing what you’re doing. In some form, you have to love it.
Maybe you’re a coder building the nike app. Maybe you don’t care about nike at all but you dream in code and are absurdly passionate about UX, AI and building the future in bits and bytes.
I think that’s fine.
But if you’re complaining or have enough time to think about how bad things are, you’re probably not one of the people who should be here.
The responses here are encouraging. What a breath of fresh air.
If you can’t spend 40hrs a week here and not have any passion for what you do or the company you work for, it’s time to consider a new career.
Most of us have to work for money and it’s why we’re here but it doesn’t mean we can’t have passion about what we do and the Brand as a whole.
If you started a recycling company and wanted to promote recycling, you would probably want people that are passionate about recycling and why. People who believe in the cause or you would just come off as a company in it for the money. That’s how JD came off. He wasn’t passionate about the Brand or the people and it radiated down through all of us.
OP, if you have to work, find a place that inspires you to be the best version of yourself. If it’s not Nike, that’s ok, but it’s a lot of time a week to waste if you’re unhappy.
Yup. And everyone called for JDs head, and now that they got it, it’s on to the next complaint. I’ve never seen such a catastrophying group of ungrateful kids.