Show Them What “Crazy” Can Do

When I ask leaders how they feel after watching this commercial, I usually hear inspired, uplifted and empowered. All powerful emotions. Here’s the leadership takeaway I see in this, and how you can actually use it.

First, let’s get something clear. Not everyone feels inspired by this video, and that's okay. We all have the right to feel how we feel. I am not here to tell anyone how they should feel.

Me? I have seen it more times than I can count, and it still fires me up in a positive way.

Love it or not, this video makes us feel something. In our workshops at LeedHR, we always end up having great conversations about what Nike is doing that creates that emotional reaction in us.

So how does NIKE do it?

- The narration is calm and confident.

- The storytelling reframes struggle and criticism as resilience and ambition.

- The soundtrack slowly builds tension and momentum.

- And the call to action is legendary: 🔥“Show them what crazy can do.”🔥

That is where the leadership conversation really starts. My constructive challenge to leaders is this:

⭐ How do you want your people to feel after interacting with you?⭐

There's usually a long pause after that question. And honestly, it makes sense. It's not always an easy question to answer.

But once you know how you want your team to feel, you can reverse engineer it. You work backwards and figure out how you need to show up to get there.

Because however you show up will influence how people feel on your team. Want your team to feel hopeful and resilient? What can/should you do to display and communicate hope and resilience?

Here are four questions you can use to start your own reflection. Think about the next team meeting you need to lead and ask yourself:

🟠 What do I want people to feel after? Pick one or two emotions.

🔵 Why do those emotions matter right now? Link them to what is happening in the business. Change, growth, uncertainty.

🟠 What messages or stories could help create those emotions? Maybe a win, a story, a bit of recognition, or a reminder of where you are headed.

🔵 What behaviours should I demonstrate to reinforce these emotions? Think about your tone, your energy, your body language, the words you choose, and the emotions you bring into the room.

Hope this helps move you forward.

Charles Fortier