A lot of people were asking me about my podcasts eComm Live™ & eComm Awards | eCommerce Events over the course of this week. I work on a few so It is nice to be able to drop this episode today. My conversation with the gent that is Mike Perera Sr Digital Director at Nike. Yep, Nike. I first met Mike over dinner in London before interviewing him on stage at Rithum live in November. I loved his open, personable approach to conversation - an incredibly curious and genuinely interested person in what I had to say.
He says tht at at Nike says we’re nowhere near digital maturity. And we never will be. That’s the strategy. Such a massive contrast compared to listening to Noel Mack yesterday from Gymshark - and Noel said it himself. Just because you can box, does not mean you get in the ring with Ali. (or Mayweather).
Mike is a study in calm intelligence, and the first word he reached for, in the first minute of our conversation, was excited. 25 episodes into this show, no other guest has done that.
His operating frame, which I’m still chewing on:
→ Nimbleness is the strategy. Not a personality trait, a discipline.
→ Culture is the determining factor in whether your nimble thinking actually ships. It is not the HR poster. Anyone knows me, knows my feelings about culture and its place.
→ Diversity of perspective is operational, not decorative. If your team doesn’t reflect society, you cannot build for the consumer. This is a consistent message that i heard all over the last few days. Be close to culture - it is not a throw away comment or reserved for the biggest companies. It is something we can all do.
And the quiet detonation of the episode: at Nike, “anyone with a body is an athlete.” Total addressable market = everyone. Now try designing for that.
Massive thanks to Omnisend and Sumoblue for backing the show this season. We’re open for further sponsor conversations drop me a line if your product belongs in front of operators who think for a living.
Episode here ↓
