Why I Enjoyed ‘Air’ More than I Thought I Would

I haven’t been to a movie theater in over a year, with all of the on-demand video platforms and streaming services at our fingertips, I typically wait for movies from the theater to make their way to these platforms. That changed yesterday, I went with some folks from work to go see the new Air movie, the story about how Nike was struggling to differentiate themselves from the likes of Adidas and Converse. In the basketball industry, Nike was the little brother that nobody took seriously, and for good reason.

Their product was inferior to the other brands and esthetically speaking, they were not very attractive. Nike, with limited budget to spend on endorsements for current NBA players, there seemed to be a lack of direction for the basketball division and a feeling of helplessness. It took one individual’s confidence and belief in a gut feeling that a difficult decision needed to be made if Nike would ever see the success they believed was possible.

They decided to allocate their entire budget to go after an athlete that had already expressed no interest in signing with Nike, Michael Jordan.

You may be wondering why I’m even writing about this, is this a grab to get you to try and go watch the film? No. I felt compelled to write this because as I was watching, I personally felt connected to Matt Damon’s character, Sonny Vaccaro. Sonny had a gut feeling that Nike needed to endorse Michael Jordan, he chased that gut instinct and applied unconventional business tactics that ultimately led to Nike signing Jordan. That same gut instinct that Sonny had when he realized what Nike needed to do is something that has helped me in my life, both in my professional life as well as personal. I believe instinct to be one of the most powerful human traits. Anytime friends or family ask me for advice, I tell them to listen to their gut, chase the instinct. I challenge you to do the same.