CHANGE
- Jeremy Connell-Waite
- Aug 22
- 2 min read
Nike's 11 Maxim's written 49 years ago by marketing VP Rob Strasser in 1977.
"Our business is CHANGE."
• 9/10 workers will need to reskill by 2030 (CIPD)
• 50% of the workforce need core re-skilling (WEF)
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to CHANGE." - Charles Darwin
Business is about CHANGE today more than it ever has been.
“This is the largest infrastructure buildout in human history.” - Jensen Huang, Nvidia (Davos 2026)
But change is messy...
It makes most of us feel very uncomfortable...
And it might not "be pretty."
• This is as much about battle as about business.
• Assume nothing.
• Push yourselves push others.
• Stretch the possible.
• If we do the right things we'll make money damn near automatic.
⚠️ But BEWARE of "Energy takers"! (You know who they are 😉).
⬇️
Need some motivation and inspiration?
🎬 🍿 🏀 Watch the Damon/Affleck movie "AIR". It features these maxims as a key part of the story. Print them out after you've watched it and stick them on your wall or into your notebook as a reminder. 👊🏼
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NOTES & INSPIRATION
Words that matter
This is my favourite piece of Nike copy from an ad that only ran once.
The story behind the share price
The Jordan effect kicked it off in the late 90's but direct-to-consumer changed everything. Not relying on other people's shops and supply chains. In 2010 DTC revenue was only about $2.5bn. By 2015 it was $6.6bn. In that year alone, DTC grew 29% currency-neutral and Nike’s online sales grew 59%.
$NKE stock up 4,600% since launch. If you had bought just one share of Nike at its IPO, you would have 128 shares today. At its current price of $82, you would own $10,496 in Nike stock.
Best ad of all-time?
Arguably the most powerful and compelling script Nike has ever written.
