Craig Williams
While Nike saw a dip during the pandemic, its Jordan division – led by Williams – achieved double-digit growth. Here’s the playbook the 52-year-old uses to keep things fresh
5.30am Morning Mindfulness
Though Williams sets his alarm for 6am, he usually wakes up about half an hour earlier. On waking, he focuses on the gratitude he feels simply for getting up another day. His first steps out of bed become his meditation. ‘I try to focus on what each step feels like – toes hitting the ground, legs moving, knees still working.’
7.30am Set Your Goals
Williams considers the time before his first meeting his most creative. ‘I figure out the things I want to accomplish that day to call it a success,’ he says. ‘I try not to call the day finished until I get those things done.’ Among them is making sure he’s putting the needs of his team first. ‘I work for everybody else. It makes my job the easiest job in the world, but it also keeps me humble.’
12.30pm Take A Real Break
Williams takes a physical and mental break: a light lunch and an easy walk for some fresh air. A huge work-fromhome perk is being able to have lunch with his wife. ‘Having conversations [with her] about anything other than work gives me an opportunity to have some diversity in my thinking,’ he says. ‘It stretches my mind in a different way.’
2.30pm Get Out, Dress Down
‘By afternoon, I need every trick in the book to maintain high energy so I can be of the most help to people I’m meeting with, whether it’s designers, marketers or athletes,’ he says. A classic: taking his one-on-one meetings outside. Thanks to the Nike dress code, he can take a Zoom call in joggers.
6pm Dinner And A Show
Nike may be a round-theclock business, but Williams still makes evenings family time. After he has dinner with his wife, the two make a habit of watching a game show such as Family Feud, igniting his lighthearted yet competitive spirit. ‘You just can’t be uptight watching Steve Harvey,’ he says.
9.30pm Strategise Then Sleep
Williams is an early-to-bed, early-to-rise guy, so this is when wind-down time officially starts. It can include reading a book, watching a TV show or spending time with his wife. But first, ‘I try to understand what tomorrow looks like, and I make a list of the priorities that I have,’ he says. After that, his phone is out of the room. ‘That way, I sleep soundly and don’t worry about it at two in the morning.
It’s a better opportunity to be present and really embrace the wind-down period.’