#286: John Donahoe, Former CEO of Nike, Director of Athletics at Stanford – Create strategy from the outside in episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 9, 2026 · 1H 23M

#286: John Donahoe, Former CEO of Nike, Director of Athletics at Stanford – Create strategy from the outside in

from How Leaders Lead with David Novak · host David Novak

Most organizations look inward when they build strategy. How did we do last year? Can we do 10% better this year? But that internal focus makes you miss the big changes happening in your market.  When it comes to disruptive change, John Donahoe has seen it all — as the CEO of Nike, eBay, and ServiceNow. Today, he’s navigating the seismic changes in college sports as Athletic Director at Stanford. In this conversation, he’ll unpack how to navigate big changes with smart strategy and servant-minded leadership. Plus, he gets vulnerable about the mistakes he made at Nike and the 10-minute ritual he starts every morning with. You’ll also learn:  How to create strategy from the outside in A powerful way to reframe AI (hint: it’s not about AI) The mindset shift that helps you see adversity as opportunity The leadership lessons he learned from Colin Powell and Coach K Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

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#286: John Donahoe, Former CEO of Nike, Director of Athletics at Stanford – Create strategy from the outside in

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