You’ve got to love a company that has a “Chief Storyteller” on its executive team.
Inside Nike, employees across the board know the story of how Nike was founded. And not just the broad overview case study that any MBA graduate can rattle off. Employees know it in all its emotional and dramatic detail, thanks to a two-day orientation that every employee goes through to kick-off their work with the company, and the story of Nike’s heritage is the first item on the agenda.
The low turnover at the company’s headquarters – despite a roller-coaster of public opinion over the past 20 years – attests to the success of this program.
“Every company has a history,” says Dave Pearson, 43, a Nike training manager and storyteller. “But we have a little bit more than a history. We have a heritage, something that’s still relevant today. If we connect people to that, chances are that they won’t view Nike as just another place to work.”
History is just a chain of events; heritage is your powerful internal brand. What is your company’s heritage?
Read more about Nike’s innovative heritage program in this Fast Company article.
