wearing adidas to work at nike?

Doing this would be like wearing a Yankees shirt to practice if you played on the Red Sox.

comp product wrote:

as an industry person, wearing competitor product to work is absolutely idiotic. why would you support a competitor?

...

to me this is common sense and when i see co-workers wearing competitor product i make a point to say something.

At what point do you become completely drunk on the Kool-Aid?

This happens in every industry:

Let's say, and this may be true, that no GM employee ever bought a Japanese car. At what point do they lose track of how far the Japanese car manufacturers have pulled ahead? I'm sure there still are GM people who blame the government, the unions, etc. for all their problems, but as a run of the mill car buyer who talks to his mechanic, I buy Japanese cars because I know the long-term quality is much, much better. Obviously, tens of millions of other Americans feel the same way, so GM can only sell cars by wrapping themselves in the flag. But by doing that, they fall further behind on quality.

Groupthink is dangerous. Mandating groupthink is scary.

an mba wrote:

At what point do you become completely drunk on the Kool-Aid?

This happens in every industry:

Let's say, and this may be true, that no GM employee ever bought a Japanese car. At what point do they lose track of how far the Japanese car manufacturers have pulled ahead? I'm sure there still are GM people who blame the government, the unions, etc. for all their problems, but as a run of the mill car buyer who talks to his mechanic, I buy Japanese cars because I know the long-term quality is much, much better. Obviously, tens of millions of other Americans feel the same way, so GM can only sell cars by wrapping themselves in the flag. But by doing that, they fall further behind on quality.

Groupthink is dangerous. Mandating groupthink is scary.

GM's research and development department buys dozens of cars from GM's competitors. There's a lot of reverse engineering and research. However, it makes no sense for a guy making widgets on GM's assembly line to drive a Toyota. What would him driving a Corolla do to benefit GM?

This. Every R&D lab be it running shoes, cars, whatever, will tear apart and analyze competitor products so they can (hopefully) build a better one.

comparing the auto industry to footwear/ apparel industry is not a good comparison. i've worked for all the major brands and the scale of difference between products is very minimal (when you remove the emotional tie) compared to the auto industry. in the auto industry there is a distinct difference in the overall performance, safety and the value with certain auto brands. in the athletic world product marketing rules. if a consumer is in the right product, regardless of the brand, then the safety and product reliability is on par with the competition. ALL brands source and manufacture with the same companies and within the same factories in asia. go visit a factory in china and you will see all the major brands alongside each other building your favorite products.

i can understand someone not wanting to drive a dodge when they could drive a honda or toyota because there is so much more at stake; the value, safety and performance is distinct. the value, safety and performance between a pair nike shoes and adidas is minimal, if at all.

the athletic industry is a different work lifestyle than most industries. your work and personal life is often one and the same. so representing your brand at all times is important. it isn't drinking the kool-aid, it's supporting the brand you work for, plain and simple.

an mba wrote:

At what point do you become completely drunk on the Kool-Aid?

This happens in every industry:

Let's say, and this may be true, that no GM employee ever bought a Japanese car. At what point do they lose track of how far the Japanese car manufacturers have pulled ahead? I'm sure there still are GM people who blame the government, the unions, etc. for all their problems, but as a run of the mill car buyer who talks to his mechanic, I buy Japanese cars because I know the long-term quality is much, much better. Obviously, tens of millions of other Americans feel the same way, so GM can only sell cars by wrapping themselves in the flag. But by doing that, they fall further behind on quality.

Groupthink is dangerous. Mandating groupthink is scary.

You write and sound just like an MBA. And while I have no contempt for those with that degree, it is a perfectly good thing to pursue, you are why most people cringe when people show it off like you are.

As has been pointed out, how would it help GM if some of their employees buy a Japanese car? Do you think they will tear it down in their spare time and measure and document the things they did well? What message does it send to the public (the public who buys cars!) when NOT EVEN THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AT GM buy their flippin' cars? Even when they are given a nice discount?

I don't know why anyone, anywhere would blame the government for GM's slide over the last 35 years? I don't even know what you are thinking? The government is the only reason why there is a new GM existing right now. What have you been studying? Do you have an MBA from Phoenix?

I used to work at GM at the Engineering Center and they buy the market-leading models from top brands and weigh them, dimension them, test the emissions, wear test them, etc. ... it's called benchmarking.

Because you are really dumb I got off on a rant, back to the subject: If you worked at Nike and you were expected to wear some of their shoes to work, and they had a store that sold something like what you were used to for $60, but you could go to FootLocker and buy Adidas for $100 ... what do you do? What does "Mr. MBA" do? It's a no-brainer.

This has nothing to do with "scary" or "groupthink" or slipping quality. It is simple common sense.

I had a friend who worked at Nike. She could not wear anything BUT Nike/Cole Haan, even when she wasn't at work. Her entire family had to wear only Nike. I can't even imagine what would happen to you if you wear something else to work.

When I've run on the wood-chip trail that surrounds there campus in my Asics shoes and my mix of different brand running clothes, I am always fearful that someone will get on the loudspeaker and yell at me to leave. ("Hey, you!! In the Asics! Get off the property!!!" It's never happened, but the pervasiveness of that culture makes it seem kind of likely.

I live next to the adidas campus and I do feel a little odd running through it in my Asics/Brooks/whatever I happen to be wearing, but certainly not as intimidated as at Nike. My middle school son and his friend were playing basketball on the adidas campus and an employee saw them and was talking to them. "Hey man," he told them "what's up with the Nikes??" He gave them a bag of M&Ms and said, "here, this is to show you we're cooler!" ;-)

Don't bring those Nikes up in here.

Quite Orwellian , wwwhhheeewww !

My Cousin began working for Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that would become Nike, in the late sixties. BRS essentially supplied designs to Onitsuka (Tiger, now ASICS) for manufacture in Japan, and had in turn exclusive distribution rights in the U.S. My first pair of real running shoes, as opposed to the low-cut Chucks I had been running in, were Tiger Marathons sent to me by my cousin. I subsequently bought some training shoes, Tiger Viccas, from the BRS warehouse my aunt ran under the White Stag sign on the Burnside Bridge in Portland.

Early in the 70s, it became apparent that Onitsuka, in violation of the exclusive agreement with BRS, was distributing through other companies as well, and a lawsiut was brought. While it worked its was through the courts, BRS formed its own manufacturing company, the result of which was a period during which both Nike and Tiger marketed several models that were identical except for the stripes and swooshes.

In 1973, my cousin was married at the farm of a good friend near Wren, Oregon, outside of Corvallis, along the Mary's River. After the ceremony, while most of the guests, which included most of the employees of the fledgling company, were drinking and swimming in the river, I took off for a run along the railroad right-of-way.

On my return, a number of well-oiled Nike employees spotted my Viccas, and were about to toss me in the river when none other than Phil Knight intervened on my behalf, knowing I'd come by my ancient Tigers "honestly."

Soon thereafter, I found myself in possession of my frst pair of Nike Cortez, by far the most advanced running shoe in the world at the time, the only one with a dual-density midsole. It appeared on the cover of S.I. purportedly on Pre's foot, when the issue contained an article on runing by Bill Bowerman. Now, of course, they wouldn't even exist, except that they are favored by cheerleaders everywhere.

In the 80s, a group of rabid Nike reps began referring to themselves as "EKINs" (NIKE spelled backwards, an homage, apparently, to the fanatical Cheyenne warrior society called Contraries, who were said to do everything backwards.) They had swooshes tattooed on their ankles, ironic for workers in an industry renowned for abrupt and arbitrary firings, necessitating seeking employment, if in the industry where your experience was of value, with a competitor. Nike seemingly was always hiring former Reebok execs,and so forth.

It should not be forgotten that addidas was put back on its feet in the U.S. by Rob Strasser,Knight's long-time right-hand man, after Knight abruptly canned him. Strasser was also partners with my cousin, who had by then left Nike, and others in Rogue Brewery, whose products were reportedly banned from Nike functions. When a Salazar-led Nike team beat addidas in a hotly-contested Hood-to-Coast team race in the mid-ninties, Knight handed salazar the keys to a new BMW, and reprtedly quipped, "That's another nail in Strasser's coffin." Strasser had died of a heart attack not long previous.

Jeff Johnson, Nike's first full-time employee, namer of the company, and designer of most of its best shoes in the mid and late seventies, as well as the guy who alerted Vin Lanana to the talent that is Andrew Wheating, himself left Nike in the early 80s, but scorned the thought of anyone going over to rival addidas. "The Hun," he called them.

When I was in college I worked at the Coors brewery, and once wore a T-shirt to work with a Bud Light logo on it without giving it any thought. It was a shirt from a charity volleyball tournament that Bud Light sponsored, and I had to change into a uniform as soon as I got inside the building, but my boss told me if I wore it again I would be fired. I had to start checking all my shirts from races, etc. before I wore them to work. I think it's very common across a lot of industries.

Excellent recount, Michael T. Smith.

While not ever a Nike employee, I've run on the campus (woodchips, soccer field, track) wearing Asics shoes but Nike clothing hundreds of times. Only once has anyone ever said anything to me about being there. I was running in the outer-most lane of their track one time, going reverse direction for a few laps to watch some others do their workout. One of their employees, who I know, chided me for not wearing Nike shoes. While she certainly had a right to do so, the words out of her mouth as ones I will never forget. She said by not wearing Nike shoes on their track, I was "not honoring the swoosh". Her exact words. I retorted by asking if she was part of a cult there. :)

Another true story - I was doing a tempo run on the roads around the campus with one of their employees a long time ago and was wearing a pair of Brooks Cheetahs. Anyone remember those? They were a tennis-ball bright yellow shoe. hard to hide. After the run, my friend invited me in to their sports bar (they have one on campus) but I hadn't brought a change of shoes. So here I am sitting in a booth there, when who of all people should walk in? PHIL KNIGHT. I tried to stick my feet as far back and under that booth as they would go...

Ah, good times!

Years ago I was wearing asics on the Nike Campus trail and was asked by a security guard to leave the Campus. Later, when I worked for adidas, I wore the brand at work but the running shoes really sucked (mid-late 1990's) so I would wear asics on the trails in and around Washington and Forest Park in Portland, but nowhere that I might run across another employee. Lots of washed-up Nike employees were hired by adidas and had to cover those stupid swoosh tattoos.

You have to drink the kool aid to engage with any strong company culture like Nike, Adidas, Brooks, Microsoft, or Google. It's part of the game, and those who are smart know that they're playing it. It's not that big of a deal, especially when your incentivized with discounts to participate.

SLCsucks wrote:

Years ago I was wearing asics on the Nike Campus trail and was asked by a security guard to leave the Campus. Later, when I worked for adidas, I wore the brand at work but the running shoes really sucked (mid-late 1990's) so I would wear asics on the trails in and around Washington and Forest Park in Portland, but nowhere that I might run across another employee. Lots of washed-up Nike employees were hired by adidas and had to cover those stupid swoosh tattoos.

They were probaly hired by Strasser. I guess the point is the universal one in corporate culture- your employer requires absolute loyalty to the brand, but feels no particular obligation to be loyal to emloyees in return.

I think you will find this is not peculiar to the sneaker industry.

I was loyal to Nike out of loyalty to my cousin and his family, whose finances were, especially early on, dependent on Nike staying afloat. Also, during my glory days, Nike forced development of better product industry-wide by continually developing better shoes, The Waffle Tainer,the Elite, the Daybreak. I simply preferred these shoes, and I admired the pressure the company exerted on R&D industry-wide.

Also, after I swapped two company cars between Portland and Exeter for them in the summer of 1974, (the year the company came closest to going under) in exchange for the gas money required to make the trip, (the check for which initially bounced when I tried to cash it) my cousin saw to it that I received lots of shoes to test, including the prototype for the original Tailwind, the first Air shoe.

When I ran Boston, Nike put me up at the Parker House with their sponsored athletes like Kardong, Rojas, et al.who were all at least half an hour faster than I was. When I began coaching, Nike set my team up with fifty sets of shorts, singlets and the new Jordan nylon muscle warmups, saying they would bill our athletic department half price. But rather than sending them to the school, they were shipped to me personally, so that I, and not the school, owned them. Then they never got around to charging me.

In short, though never an employee, I had more reason than most to be loyal to Nike. In addition, they have been loyal and generous sponsors of the Steens Mountain Running Camp, with which I have been associated for some time.

does this include going to oregon?

No if you mean the state

yes if you mean the University and an athlete

Thanks for the memories. Best wishes,

Tom

you will NOT see new balance being built in China