We are not the only ones who are noticing that Adidas is getting way ahead of us, with less and less chance of us catching up to them... I hope somebody decides to do something about this before it's too late...
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14278831/1/adidas-is-on-fire-and-that-should-terrify-nike.html
Some coworkers are moving scheduled meetings for other times, as they got personal calendar invites for tomorrow for 1:1 from VPs (WHQ, Beaverton, NDT, Cloud Acceleration)
Very true. A coworker of mine went to a state school and during an interview was told by the hiring manager that although the would like to hire them, that his VP wouldn't look at anyone that wasn't Ivy League.
isn't it interesting that the demise of Nike is tied directly to the timing of the hiring of more McKinsey alumni and ivy leaguers. Leaders wanted to up-level (HRs soft opaque term for letting people go) talent. They targeted the big brains and brought them to Beaverton. They definitely have the smarts. But they don't have heart and they don't have any balls.
Heart and balls is what Nike is (was). This was the magic formula that Phil Knight spelled out in shoe dog. Nike is not that company anymore. It is now Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, or Microsoft. Unfortunately that type of culture won't be innovative or sell a lot of shoes. Meanwhile Kanye and Jay Z pump millions into Adidas and Puma. Vans sells because of its authenticity. New Balance stays true to its roots. Only Nike is trying to reinvent what it is. Their calculated risk.
Nike HR took a look at the FTEs and anyone that was over 45 or with a state school diploma (Oregon, Oregon State as examples) were considered expendable. Next week these will be the 2 groups of people let go.
The sportswear industry is driven off emotion, not spreadsheets and double speaking consultant talk. And the latter is the spell that Nike has fallen under. Mark and his LT have bought a faulty bill of goods. The trick was to double down on Nike's brash attitude and to charge ahead with no quarter given. This is the legacy of Michael Jordan or Charles Barkley. No apologies, win at all costs. It is what made the brand exciting and dangerous. Now Nike is as dangerous as a pocket protector.
My wife was layed off back in the '09 massacre. She wound up at Apple in Cupertino. The difference in how the two companies operate is glaring. Apple meetings, 4-5 people tops, and only people that are supposed to be there. Its quick and to the point. 100% results driven. Nike meetings, 12-20 people, people who have absolutely no business being there, meeting goes completely off track and then have to reschedule a meeting to talk about what was supposed to be talked about. Its madness. There are a lot of managers and directors at Nike that don't have a clue what they're doing (they're all a part of the boys club) and do nothing but impede progress and get in the way.
Mark Parker-
Hello, are you there? Are you paying attention? Do you still care? Not so many years ago, a fellow named Bill Perez was FIRED for suggesting our company should focus on staple items (Lemon Pledge improved, a better Ziplock bag…) and not introduce new products. Our company was built on providing consumers with innovative products that they couldn't have imagined possible; remember Bowerman and his waffle iron? Constantly striving to improve. Products that inspire people to achieve things they didn’t think were possible. Our current Leadership in Category, Product and Merchandising seems on sustaining status quo, staple items and not driving innovation. Focused on some vague strategy, with no thought of the people that actually have a sense of what’s needed. What’s wrong with this picture? Our consumers see it, do you? Adidas leading us in innovation- seriously?! We should own this game, LEAD.
@1inm so true - MBAs have taken over this once great product company - now, all that we can produce are piles of PPT slides that help with nothing. paralysis by analysis...
Well said! They SAY they want to fix the issues but if you speak the truth you are being negative. This happening at Converse as well.
There are too many vertical and horizontal layers. Everything is just hashed and rehashed in PowerPoint decks and meetings. Making even the smallest decision is like moving the Titanic. For at least the past couple of years, no one has been allowed to tell the truth or without being branded as "not being a team player". Now everyone just spouts what others want to hear.