We recognized the problem years ago. We created countless strategy decks and held countless strategic discussions. Yet, no real action was taken, and no substantial change. Why? Because leaders prioritized job security over meaningful action. Who is the finance leader that ignored reality and kept pushing for unsustainable growth? It all starts from the top, and we bottom feeders all saw it coming.
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@zgd+1tfmKIUW you're on point. NR does not know how to make good strategic decisions. Her decisions are all spreadsheet based, and even then it's all about making the math work. Forget about understanding how this links to corporate strategy, ensuring she understands the KPIs and real impacts of business requirements on the business. the problem with both her and MF is that they never actually oversaw a Geo in an operational capacity. They both ran Geos as a consolidation exercise than from a true operator mentality. And so they just don't get how to connect the dots in our total business whether it is wholesale or retail. Its also telling that all the finance layoffs (and those who chose to leave in the last 1-2 yrs) were key leaders with real operational background and experience actually managing the P&L from a business perspective. Now they're gone making other companies better and we are stuck with these 2
I foreseen this happening in 2017 with the DTC announcement. Remove the product from peoples eyes as they shop and they will slowly forget you exist and move to the next shiny object. Covid just amplified it.
Don't worry! HON with her pet chihuahua SB will turn this company around. Macroeconomic Intergalactic Intelligence for the win.
The “strategy decks” were nothing more than empty tropey word salad. Nothing more than marketing materials for ELT pretending to care. I nearly fell out of my chair when HON announced that the Next% strategy was to focus on consumers, like it was the best idea since direct to consumer. Huh? As a cpg company, were we not focusing on consumers? Am I missing something?
In addition, we need to get rid of this CFO and his bench, in particular NR. the CFO and NR do not know how to manage the Geos - the heartbeat of our companies. NR is simply a paper pusher, she has no ability to align financial strategies with the overall business goals and market conditions. her boss has been promoted beyond belief because of his privelage and does not know how to EXECUTE. He's a blowhard.
@ice+1tfmKIUW This started more than 5 years ago. I left of my own accord in 2017 and could see this coming a couple of years prior to that (as did many others I knew). It was just a matter of how long it would take.
I say bring back Parker, he led the company through the last down fall. We have a two year window with Parker, as it looks like he is the secessor to the Disney throne in 2026.
Hmmmm…..I wonder what happened around 5 years ago which influenced the decision making of who got appointed to these important leadership roles and who didn’t….. such as the people who report into the ELT…..or even the layers below
Nike was a cult. In good times and with good leaders this generated incredible energy and momentum and loyalty. About 5 years ago the negatives started to emerge. Dissenters and people with contrary opinions were sidelined, and anyone who challenged the hubris (especially the DTC hubris of HON) were kicked to the curb.
But JD, HON and the people they hired (like DH) didn’t know how to deliver. They were too clever and aloof to get into details and terrible people leaders. They only wanted good stories and polished decks. Their lack of people leadership skills meant that teams were spinning and there was no delivery. They didn’t want to get their hands dirty, they didn’t have technical competence and people didn’t tell them the truth. It was a mess.
People who have been around a while are bitter. They saw it coming but have been let down. And many good people have been wrecked financially by this hubris.
We don’t have any real leaders anymore. Just yes-men and yes-women who exist to complete the echo chamber feedback loop which their bosses want to hear. No one with the courage to speak up and act with courage and put themselves on the line. Spineless.