Eh was around when people could speak out and drive change and challenge the norm. The leaders we have in place are scared and gutless and are used to leading under JD.
Unless EH makes some changes to leadership, the same culture continues.
If he sends some packing, morale changes, people drive the company to be better and current leadership left realizes they cannot lead with ignorance, yes men and the threat of layoff.
Your move EH. We’re ready to move and get back on track but you’ve got to get leadership packing or send a message of how to lead. Too many weak clueless leaders su-king up budget. Hype speeches without action are not allowing us to thrive if we still have leaders that don’t allow us to move the needle. Cut the fat. We don’t need them.
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@bx+1jm3tnjn7 This 10000%. Our current “leaders” are simply yes-men and yes-women who build flashy decks regurgitating talking points upper management want to hear. They have no spine to address real issues, no ability to create real value, no interest in the consumer, no interest in fighting for what’s right.
I believe in EH but personally I am done.
Leadership is still full of yes men who are incapable of making any decisions due to rising through the ranks by purely managing upwards. It is impossible to get any sh-t done when your “leader” is in a constant state of indecisiveness due to being afraid of stepping on anyones toes.
Gutless, uninspiring, ignorant, incompetent… Looking good is more important than getting actual results. Zero accountability policy for leadership also fosters this.
Years of backstabbing only pushed out the best talent and nuked the talent pipeline. What we have left as “leaders” are only interested in doing fancy decks to impress their superiors.
Nike’s issue is lack of talent and through that lack of competent leadership and nothing else.
@ab+1jm3tnjn7 Sincere and insightful post. Clearly, you have deep knowledge of Nike, PK, and its history. Makes me curious who’s behind these words, though I find it ironic you suggest others leave their initials while leaving none yourself.
I agree with your macroeconomic forecast. Consumer behavior is already shifting, and the days of endless discretionary spending seem numbered. Brands that rely on artificial scarcity or hype alone will struggle, but Nike’s legacy, brand equity, and cash strategy do put it in a unique position to navigate the storm.
The Jordan IPO idea is one I hadn’t heard before, but it makes a lot of sense. Managing Jordan like its own company within Nike, Inc. creates so much inefficiency and redundancy across functions. A spin-off could allow Jordan to define itself fully while removing distractions from Nike’s core business. Whether leadership would ever make that call is another story, but from a pure business standpoint, the logic is there.
That said, I wouldn’t put blind faith in Nike’s resilience. Plenty of iconic American brands once thought to be untouchable are now shells of their former selves because they underestimated change - failed to innovate, ignored new competition, made consecutive bad decisions, and slowly slipped to mediocrity over years. Some of that sounds familiar? Nike is at an inflection point, and this is the longest and deepest slump it has faced. The company has had shaky moments before, but it always had the right people (for the most part) guiding it through. The question now is, do we have those people today? That’s what many on this site are questioning, and rightly so.
As for EH - if PK put him back in, does that automatically mean he’s the right person? Because PK also chose JD. And while we’re here, are you aware PK turns 87 next week? The company’s future will be decided by those leading it now. Are they the right ones? That’s the real question.
Sincere, and timely.
Your love of NIKE is evident.
PHK\EH\MP\TAK
The American consumer is about to stop spending, because they can, because they should, and they realize it is about to be cool to not buy endless sh/t.
DOGE is about to subtract the equivalent of about 4% of the US aggregate GDP, and an incalculable and critical percentage of International demand.
The mass corruption and graft being exposed, going back to 1994, is legally debatable, but it must also been seen as what it is, stimulative, QG, Qualitative Graft - deflation now looms,
NIKE will survive.
Nike's unique strength will reveal itself, as every other brand struggles, and Nike's cash strategy, honed from PHK's earliest travails, and NIKE's national cultural brand heritage, Make America Do It Again, will resurrect and make NIKE relevant again. Hundreds of brands, in many industries will not make it.
PHK is a Political Economic Historian, likes reading VDH, EH is his Paton. PHK is Eisenhower.
PHK still hates one thing more than any other, losing. Sorry about those Ducks, Happy Birthday btw. May you have that National title by next year.
Consider selling Converse PHK, your grudge against Gib Ford is now done.
Consider putting the Jordan Brand into it's own IPO. It is a Brand of it's own. Born from Nike, but now strong enough that it confuses the Primary, and dilutes it's own Jordan uniqueness accordingly. But NIKE primacy must be rediscovered, and NIKE primacy must go back to just one thing.
Blasphemy, The Jordan Brand is unique and great, most of the time, but it is no longer NIKE, it is Jordan. With Inflated Equity valuations still raging, and a dearth of quality IPO's, a spin off allows this unit to be valued independently, managed by Jordanians, and pulling it's own Wall Street following, Black Rock\Vanguard\Fidelity want to hold and own a Pure Play like the Jordan Brand.
EH can do it again, or PHK would not have put him back in.
Maybe leave your initials next, Buck used to appreciate that type of courage.
This site is kind of a Bu-----e meeting at times.
No change can take place until Nike creates a new Coach Prime x Phil Knight internal sizzle reel.
Agree. Cut the fat of overpaid leadership and keep the people who were actually working vs laying them off!