Scott MacEachern is an executive who thinks differently and loves to challenge the status quo. At Nike for 16 years, his work influenced the global sports and fitness brand of it's potential in becoming relevant and building businesses in areas previously unimaginable. By bringing non-traditional thinking to the traditional sports company, he helped Nike enter into the world of "alternative sports" and demonstrated how corporate/philanthropic partnerships can not only "do good", but can be good business at the same time.
Widely known for signing a young Lance Armstrong in 1996 and shortly thereafter assuring Lance when he was diagnosed with cancer that he and Nike would stick by him. It is through this particular promise that began a well-documented friendship and partnership that ultimately inspired the world by encouraging us all to LiveSTRONG.
Over the years, Scott's responsibilities at Nike evolved from sports marketing to global marketing to business creation and general management. In 2001, after Lance's second Tour win, Scott began exploring the power of yellow and Lance's unique inspirational effect on people across all walks of life. The result of Scott's efforts culminated in the creation of the yellow wristbands in 2004.
The unprecedented success of the wristbands catapulted the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) into the global consciousness and philanthropic history. Over 85 million wristbands have been sold to date and countless charities have been able to benefit by mimicking the idea. Following the wristbands, Scott founded the Nike
LiveSTRONG footwear and apparel collection that continues to give back to the movement. From 2004 through today, the wristbands and the Nike LiveSTRONG collection together have generated over $130 million dollars for the LAF and solidified a new global brand.
Scott's personal story encourages us to find the things we care about in our work, to take personal responsibility for the things we see that others don't and challenges us to not give up on moving ideas to the forefront. He will leave audiences "enlightened, surprised and inspired".
BUSINESS PROGRAMS
Keywords: Ideas, Innovation, Inspiration, Branding, Creativity, and/or Empowerment
How do you get individuals to turn great ideas into action? How do you encourage managers to be open to new ideas and ensure your culture is one where ideas are embraced and executed effectively?
In our daily work lives it's easy to settle into old comfortable routines. It's common to accept the general perceptions of roles and how one fits into the larger organization. Having direct deposit can lead to playing it safe and ultimately create complacency. Today's rapidly changing world is requiring each of us to think and behave differently. "Innovate or die" has become less of a static poster on a wall and more of an absolute requirement for success.
Every person has a unique contribution to make. One does not have to look to some far away place or to the typical "anointed" innovators to find the next idea that could change the way you do business. At a time of entrenched thinking around stick and ball sports, where the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Lebron James dominated the sports landscape, Scott MacEachern was told by Nike executives, "we don't do diseases, we don't do cycling" when he approached the company to begin using Lance Armstrong in a bigger way. Scott's personal story around the creation of the iconic yellow wristbands, his contribution to the building of the LiveSTRONG brand and the creation of the Nike LiveSTRONG product collection, demonstrate that the most innovative and successful ideas can come from the most unexpected places, against the odds.
Nike eventually did do diseases and cycling. Through Scott's shared experiences around getting others to see his vision, his story is one that instructs and inspires all of us to take personal responsibility for the things you see that others miss.
HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS
Keywords: LiveSTRONG, Cancer, Hope, Inspiration, and/or Philanthropy
"I instantly became close friends with Scott MacEachern, the Nike representative assigned to cycling, and so it was no accident that he was one of the first people I told about my cancer. In my conversation with Scott that night after returning home from Dr. Reeves' office, all the horrible emotions I had suppressed broke loose. I started crying as I told Scott the whole story, about the pain in my groin, and the shock of the chest X-ray. After a while, I stopped crying. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and then Scott spoke calmly, almost casually.
"Well, don't worry about us," he said. "We're with you."
It was a tiny hopeful seed of feeling; maybe I wasn't totally ruined and alone. Scott was true to his word; Nike didn't desert me." (excerpt from Lance Armstrong's book: "It's Not About the Bike")
Eleven months prior to this fateful phone call, Scott lost his own mother to the disease. If it had not been for the personal experience of his loss, he might not have known what to say to a young and scared athlete afraid for his life at a very critical moment in time.
This engaging and heartfelt talk takes you uniquely inside one of the greatest personal stories of hope and inspiration of our time, in a way only Scott MacEachern can tell. Scott's journey takes you through his own personal loss, to the initial signing of a young promising cycling athlete and sticking by him when others left. You will learn about Lance's recovery and his unlikely comeback with Seven Tour de France victories, the creation of the ubiquitous yellow wristbands, the building of the LiveSTRONG brand and development of the Nike LiveSTRONG product collection. All of which have inspired a global movement, raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and encouraged all of us to LiveSTRONG.
Be enlightened and inspired as Scott presents the story behind "the story", and the powerful lessons learned.
Themes Available for Customization
• The power of ideas and the notion that good ideas can come from anywhere
• How stories can inspire innovation and new thinking
• Challenging employees/individuals to take personal responsibility for ideas and turning ideas into action
• Cultivating, embracing and executing new ideas in corporate America Today
• Overcoming personal and corporate adversity turning no into yes
• Turning personal passion into corporate relevance
• Hope, inspiration and empowerment
• Sports, Nike and LiveSTRONG
Suggested Titles
• What do you see that others miss? (and what are you doing about it?)
• Insight into ideas: Ideas into action
• Human connection, human potential
• Ideas and intrepreneurship : LiveSTRONG and Nike
• The history of the yellow bands and LiveSTRONG : The story behind the story
• Passion/Fear = Courage
No additional materials are available for this speaker.
