Today was one of those rare moments when two unrelated things clicked.
Last week I was playing chess with a co-worker. He was an exceptional player and the match was close until he unleashed an attack that seemed to come from everywhere, it was very demoralizing. Following the game, he gave me a piece of advice that I’ll never forget- “When you’re playing chess, figure out a strategy you want to go with and stick to it like a bull dog, never give it up”.
Had anyone else said this, I’d say they were crazy, after all, isn’t it the element of surprise that wins a game? Isn’t it being flexible and able to respond to changing situations that make a player talented?
He was good though, so it stuck.
Not long after, I was writing an MBA paper on the strategic decisions of Mark Parker, CEO of Nike. In the paper I was asked to comment on his strategic leadership. So far he has restructured Nike to focus on sport-based divisions, invested in technologies like iPods and aligned with educators and investors to research new possibilities.
Each of these moves may seem trivial, but looking deeper, I realized that like a master chess player who clings to a strategy like a bull-dog. These moves, especially the restructuring can’t be done wildly, it’s difficult and will define the company for decades to come. Mark Parker is clinging to the strategy of creating a highly-personalized experience for consumers, keeping with the past present and future of their needs.
What do you need to stick with?
