On The Market - Get Tuesday! - August 13, 2024
I wanted to start today’s Get Tuesday! Post with some news. Unfortunately, my position at ChenMed was eliminated during a reorganization effort last week.
While I’m sad to leave a special organization with a powerful purpose, I’m already fired up for what’s to come and optimistic for the future.
I don’t know what is next, but I am eager to go find another gig that appreciates my enthusiasm and opportunity for impact. I’m actively seeking new roles where I can inspire energetic teams, leverage my leadership skills to drive innovation and contribute my passion and skills — particularly in brand, marketing, or customer experience. I’m open to opportunities across various industries, including healthcare, sports and beyond.
For nearly 15 years, I've thrived in the world of consumerism, fostering connections between brands and their audiences. My career has taken me from world-class marketing in a niche industry (college athletics) to broad-based brand-building and experience transformation in healthcare.
My ability to develop impactful strategies has been pivotal in engaging consumers and stakeholders alike. My team's collaborative efforts have resulted in enhanced connections between brands and their audiences, reflecting my passion for fostering loyalty and more meaningful consumer interactions.
I’ll focus my energy in the near term on finding a place that matches with my passions — but won’t stop creating and posting content that interests so many of you.
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Now, a few (normal) things from this week:
Former Nike exec on branding
Via Massimo Giunco on LinkedIn
The Problem: Nike has experienced a significant downturn, with its stock dropping over 30% year-to-date, erasing more than $60 billion in market value.
A former Nike branding executive, Massimo Giunco, attributes this decline to three major decisions made in 2020 under new CEO John Donahue, which prioritized direct-to-consumer (DTC) business but ultimately backfired.
The Reasons: These decisions included: 1) Eliminating product categories and reorganizing into broader segments (like Basketball, Soccer, etc.), which led to the loss of expert insights; 2) Ending many wholesale partnerships to focus on Nike's website, which resulted in reduced brick-and-mortar presence and inventory issues; and 3) Shifting marketing focus to digital platforms and membership, moving away from brand-building advertising.
These changes, while appearing promising during the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately led to a slowdown in sales and a loss of market presence. Nike has since quietly reversed some of these decisions, such as bringing back product categories, indicating the strategy's failure.
"Nike invested a material amount of dollars (billions) into something that was less effective but easier to be measured vs something that was more effective but less easy to be measured. In conclusion: an impressive waste of money.”
It Boils Down to This: The company's reorganization and focus on performance marketing over brand building have led to a decline in stock value.
Despite still being a market leader, Nike faces a long road to recovery, needing to rebuild product leadership, marketplace influence, and brand magic.
A Michelin guide for patient experience
I’ve read this piece a few times now in the past few months, and I’ve really enjoyed it. (h/t Rik). It focuses on how delightful customer service — whether in fine dining or healthcare — begins with great operations. Every square inch of a Michelin-star kitchen is designed, every movement choreographed, to create the most efficient, high-quality output possible, so that on the other side of the wall in the dining room, customers are wowed with the perfection, precision, and personalization of every dish.
Better patient experiences lead to better financial and clinical outcomes. The building blocks of a great patient experience are processes and products designed to improve care teams.
Through the lens of a Michelin-star restaurant — the North Star of great customer experience — it’s clear that great outcomes are driven by thoughtful, human-centered design, flexible standardization, and reduction of cognitive burden.
Gilbert’s Law
“Do your job” is a wonderful slogan — if you completely understand what the job requires.
Gilbert Lafayette Laws was a multifaceted American figure in the 1800s, serving as Nebraska Secretary of State, U.S. Representative, newspaper publisher, and businessman. He's credited with an insightful observation about workplace dynamics: "The biggest problem with a job is that no one tells you what to do."
This statement highlights a common issue in professional settings. While job descriptions outline responsibilities, they often fail to provide guidance on how to effectively perform within the role. New hires are frequently left to navigate their positions using prior experience and intuition, hoping their approach aligns with company expectations.
The lack of comprehensive onboarding or mentorship leaves many employees feeling isolated in their roles. There's often a shortage of instruction on company-specific best practices or how to apply critical thinking skills to job-related challenges.
This gap between job description and practical execution can lead to uncertainty and inefficiency in the workplace.
