Boards, Not Boring

Has anyone ever started an article with the words, ‘poor Nike’? 

Well, today I do. 

Unless a company is the genuine tool of Satan – or one of his earthly representatives (you know who I’m looking at) – I want to see businesses do well. It’s good karma and you want the same for your own.

The dark nights of Swoosh team have been well documented over the past week or so. If we learn nothing else from their woes, it is a salutary lesson in just how crucial the people behind the brands – any brands – are.

Those of you saying, ‘Well, durr,’ please bear with me. In my job I see a lot of pitch decks for sports tech companies of all sizes. What unites the goods ones is a board of people that fits with its current needs and ‘next step’ ambitions. 

As the opening line in Anna Karenina puts it ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ 

So where are the brands behind these unhappy brands getting it wrong? Here are a few of the key points:

1. Get Connected: Startups who don’t have anyone well-connected in sports on the board are setting themselves up to fail. Sport is a funny old sector: we’ve a ‘locker-room mentality’ when it comes to buying stuff. If you don’t have someone senior who can make some commercial introductions, you are going to struggle – however bright you are and however good your work. 

2. Know Your Market: It’s surprising how many firms are creating a product for a niche sector without that niche being represented properly within their team or board. For example, it is staggering how many men are trying to get traction in women’s sports via the passport of being ‘the dad of two daughters’. This doesn’t make you an expert in very much pertaining to women’s sports, other than being a dad of two daughters*. Get a person who knows their stuff on your board, give them a voice – and listen to them. 

3. Diversity: Aside from point two, a senior team or board that comprises people of the same age, ethic origin, gender and talents is a weak one. It is even more worrying when you can see someone parachuted in as a tick-box – that suggests they won’t be listened to. You need people with a different point of view at the table to steer you away from mistakes and towards opportunities. If you ever need an example of why diversity is vital in your organization, Google ‘H&M + ‘monkey’. 

4. Echo-chambers: This is often a side product of founder-dominance. Leaders who surround themselves with people who agree with them usually find themselves further down the line wondering why the rest of the world doesn’t share their vision.  

5. Plurality: This is a real top-to-bottom issue. Startups have frequently given away significant equity to people for low-value returns, such as free office space or unspecified levels of advice. At the other end of the spectrum, when you have directors who sit on multiple boards, you need to question if they can execute their duties properly. Only get board members with real skin in the game and make them accountable to their commitment. One NED I know is horrified if anyone has more than four commercial commitments. She reasons that you should be needed a day a week by four companies, and the fifth day is the extra day off she has worked for throughout her career. 

6. Updating the team: The board you need changes as your company grows – and if your company isn’t growing, it is definitely time to review your structure.   

And whatever your business – whether Nike or niche, I only wish you every success.

*although your advocacy is hugely important, please keep helping