Tags
Ad Age, athletes, brain, brain mush, Business Communications, communications, company culture, humble, hungry, Kevin Plank, Marketer of the Year, marketing, Marketing to women, Misty Copeland, Nike, perseverance, success, Under Armour, women, writing
It’s been one of those weeks – a lot to do without enough hours. Finalizing a strategic marketing plan. Prepping class sessions. Teaching students how to summarize. Writing blog posts. Writing articles. Editing my book. Attending meetings. Fitting in the laundry, cooking, errands, etc. On and on, blah blah blah.
My brain feels like mush. It’s telling me to pull out a blanket, settle on the couch, turn on the TV and watch mindless hours of programming so it can shut down and decompress. It’s tempting, believe me it’s so tempting, but …
Nay, nay, I tell my brain. Now is not the time to shut down but push through, riding on the energy of good work already completed.
Kevin Plank, the founder of Under Armour, knows what it means to push through to success. In 1995, he started a small company introducing a new category of clothing apparel – because as a player on the University of Maryland’s football team, he was tired of changing his sweat-soaked t-shirt. Today, he runs a $3 billion (yes that’s billion with a B) company that is the second largest sports company in the world, after Nike.
Achieving success requires a certain mindset, and it seems Plank and his team know how to bring it to the company culture. The cafeteria at Under Armour HQ is named the Humble & Hunger Café so team members don’t forget to be proud of what they’ve achieved but continually look to do better work. 
This type of motivation, along with the innovative products and community goodwill the company creates, helps customers and athletes achieve success, while propelling the company on to global success. In 2014, Ad Age named Under Armour its Marketer of the Year — a significant award due mostly to the company’s smart marketing efforts targeted to women (finally!).
It’s good to learn a thing or two from Kevin Plank who started Under Armour in his grandmother’s basement and now reports sales in the billions. I’m going to put on one of my Under Armour shirts, push through my projects through to success, and with a firm tone say Nay Nay to brain mush.
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/misty-copeland
