Dear EH
Congratulations on your comeback tour! I’m sure it feels good to slide back into that corner office after what must’ve felt like the world’s longest Gatorade break. But, let’s get to it. I know you’ve just unboxed your favorite Nike kicks to make that first big stride, but before you even consider celebrating, there’s some house cleaning to do.
You need to fire the CFO, the Head of HR, the Chief Supply Chain Officer, the President of Consumer, and the Chief Marketing Officer—stat. It’s like the starting lineup has forgotten which sport they’re even playing. Let’s start with the CFO, because if anyone needs to be sent back to Accounting 101, it’s this calculator-happy exec who somehow managed to turn Nike into a discount bin item. Stock prices have been dropping like LeBron in the paint, and the numbers just don’t add up—unless we’re counting how many talented people were laid off.
Speaking of layoffs, we’ve got to talk about HR. You see, HR is supposed to be the heart of the company, not the cold-blooded executioner. But here we are, post-pandemic, with the morale of a losing team stuck in overtime, and HR’s playbook seems to be: “How many people can we fire before someone notices we’re tanking?” Apparently, too many. The layoffs may have cut costs, but it also cut the soul out of Nike. And who needs a soul when you have spreadsheets, right?
Then there’s your Chief Supply Chain Officer—what a year they’ve had. Look, we all understand supply chain issues. It’s the modern corporate version of “the dog ate my homework,” but other brands are inking deals while we’re still untangling our distribution channels like a pair of earphones from 2004.
Now, let’s address the President of Consumer, who, let’s be honest, is currently presiding over a consumer relationship that’s about as distant as Michael Jordan’s retirement from pro basketball. It’s time to get back to what made Nike iconic—innovation, not Instagram filters.
Last, but definitely not least, is your Chief Marketing Officer. She ain’t it.. her mom got her in and set her up for a helluva career but nepo babies do as nepo babies can.. you need fresh thinking not an also ran.
EH, the time to act is now. Sure, we could wait until next quarter’s earnings report but let’s face it, if Nike’s going to get its edge back, we need to ditch the bean counters, the bureaucrats, and the brand-ki-ling execs who’ve forgotten what makes us, well, us.
Think of this as your first coaching move. Fire the dead weight and lace up for a win. Because if you don’t, we might as well start calling ourselves "Just Get By" instead of "Just Do It."