The Recovery Run
What Nike’s deviation - and return to form - teaches us about clarity.
I’m Carter, I lead growth and operations at Handstand [a bit more on me here]. I grew up just outside of Portland, Oregon - naturally, Nike has been in my orbit and part of my life since day one (see below: “Dear Santa, please bring me a pair of Chicago 1s”). It’s an inspiring brand we discuss and think about often, so I decided to write about it. Excited to continue sharing more perspectives from different voices on the team.
“When you see only problems, you’re not seeing clearly.” - Phil Knight, Shoe Dog.
We talk a lot about clarity at Handstand. When people ask what we do, our answer is simple: we help organizations see clearly. The process of going from unclear to clear is not a one-size-fits-all journey; it takes time, effort, the right people, and most importantly, acceptance that something - often what once worked - is no longer working. Uncovering and unpacking that something is step one.
In 1964, Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports. Today, you know them as Nike. The vision was - and still is - simple: If you have a body, you are an athlete. Clarity of purpose (bringing innovation to every athlete) has been the north star for 50+ years.
In 1971, they saw a problem (opportunity?): Oregon's Hayward Field was transitioning to an artificial surface, and Bowerman wanted a sole that could grip without spikes. The obsession with running led Bowerman to take his wife's waffle iron into his workshop and experiment with rubber, creating a sole with a lightweight grip to increase speed. That focus & clarity turned breakfast into breakthrough - and the rest is, as they say, history.
The Waffle Trainer was extremely popular with runners. Off-court demand was a natural byproduct. Athlete first, lifestyle second. Nike’s running shoes were selling so well that annual sales kept doubling. Athlete-driven innovation clearly hit an aspirational lifestyle nerve. If I have a body, I am an athlete. And my shoes say so. The Swoosh meant go time, whether you were running to break a record or to catch the bus to school.
There are countless moments of Nike's athlete innovations leading to widespread cultural adoption. Air Jordan. Shox. Flyknit. FuelBand. Nike+. Each started with sport → solved for performance → and probably ended up in your closet. Somewhere, the winning formula of products going from on the track to off the track… got off track
Writer’s note: Nike has grown into a multi-billion-dollar, multi-national, complex organization with complicated supply chains and even more complicated shareholder expectations. I’m not here to make suggestions out of hubris that clarity is the only solution. I’m here to draw parallels - as a consumer, fan, and today, a commentator.
For decades, Nike followed a clear formula: solve for the athlete, the rest will follow. Innovation didn’t start with moodboards or IG metrics - it started with the unmet needs of humans pushing the limit. Somewhere between collabs, the stream of drops, and category expansion, clarity seemingly blurred. Decisions were likely made without asking: will this bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world? This is understandable. If you’re big enough to just do it all, why not try?
Over time, Nike began matching the speed of culture vs. the speed of sport. And the speed of culture is relentless. Singles on Spotify are 90 seconds or less. Netflix series release weekly. What’s attention grabbing in the morning is forgotten by lunch. When you try to match that pace, fatigue is all you’re left with - internally and externally. It’s the tax of chasing culture instead of defining it.
The pendulum swung from a tight, athlete-first lens to a high-output lifestyle POV. But sport moves on its own terms - the buzzerbeaters, impossible winning streaks, and comebacks nobody saw coming never arrive on schedule. They simply can’t be manufactured into - or out of - an algorithm. On the flip side, these are the exact moments that provide the most clarity. Jordan’s flu game is Nike. Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile is Nike. The Serena Slam is Nike. Giving the thumbs up to a fellow runner you see struggling up an incline - and the only thing you have in common is your shoes - is Nike. These are the moments - from elite to everyday athletes - a winning strategy is meant to to empower.
As in sports, the sight of weakness gets exploited. Upstarts and legacy brands didn’t aim for clarity - it was the byproduct of conviction around a singular message. Unwavering and consistent. On focused on performance and made its case through innovation and Swiss precision. Alo honed and owned wellness as a lifestyle. Bandit made the running community their brand. And New Balance - refactored its marketing and partnered with next-gen athletes, emphasizing We Got Now. In an increasingly high-output world, clarity stands out. Meaning > more.
30-year Nike veteran Elliott Hill returned to the company as CEO in 2024. His vision is simple: return to its foundation, sport and the athlete. “We lost our obsession with sport. Moving forward, we will lead with sport and put the athlete at the center of every decision” said Hill in a recent earnings call. The strategy is called ‘Win Now’ - and it isn’t about reinvention, it’s about recommitment. To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. That’s the lens for the work.
Hill didn’t just talk about clarity, he’s operationalizing it - streamlining inventory, reducing discounting, and forming tactical teams to sharpen Nike’s GTM. And it’s working - as of July 10, 2025, Nike’s stock is up nearly 18% over the past 30 days amid growing confidence in the ‘Win Now’ focus. Internally, the process will likely be - and likely is - painful, so is sport. Teams will change, fans will be lost, doors will close. But anything enduring is bigger than the sum of its parts. The end result is strength, resilience, and ensuring the best days of the brand are ahead of it, not behind it.
That’s the takeaway for any brand. Clarity isn’t something you’ll find on an explore page - it’s an ongoing discipline. It’s a refusal to do everything just because you can. It’s knowing which moments are yours to own - and which to let pass. It’s constantly asking: is this what we’re here to do? If the answer is no, then just don’t. And if there isn’t a bit of tension in your choices, you probably aren’t saying no enough. Clarity is the best constraint.
If you’re a brand or marketer trying to find some level of clarity - maybe start with an athlete first mindset. Not literally, but philosophically. What’s the equivalent of performance in your category? Who or what is the equivalent of the athlete you’re here to serve? Build for them and only them - even when it hurts.
I’m going for a run.