6453:The Power of Stories with NIKE Alumni

6453 ALUMNI launched as an alumni-founded network of former Nike employees and former Nike-sponsored athletes, and was designed to activate their connections around the world, help alumni access best-practice learning, and amplify a collective desire to do good.

Join us for an engaging discussion with network co-founder Jana Panfilio and fellow Nike alumna Micha Cooper-Edwards, founder and CEO of Soleil Space, who discuss how they use storytelling and alumni spotlights to engage, include and inspire its members as they transition from one stage of their careers to the next - and why everyone has a captivating story (even if you weren't in the NBA).

Five Things We Learned About The Power Of Stories With Nike Alumni

Nike are on a serious mission …
“We live by the enduring Nike mantra: there is no finish line. We're still curious, driven, and cultivating an innovation mindset. We're unleashing the power of the 6453 alumni community to move the world …”
Jana Panfilio

Storytelling is essential …
“Storytelling is central. Everything was grounded in personalized human insight. That was the building block to tell stories, the authenticity and the power of the human potential to move society forward …”
Micha Cooper-Edwards

Keep to your principals …
“We've taken the principles that we've learned from Nike in terms of surprising and delighting our consumers by giving them something they might now have been expecting in a typical alumni organization …” 
Jana Panfilio

Customers initiate storytelling …
“One of Nike's maxims is: the consumer decides. That's where the storytelling aspect comes from ... “
Micha Cooper-Edwards

Your alumni are as important as you …
“You need to build from authenticity and a reputation of trust, and be prepared to learn just as much from your alumni community as they learn from you …”
Jana Panfilio

Bonus! 
And how do you pronounce Nike exactly?
All: “Nike” (as in “spiky”) 

And why is it called the 6453 network?
Emma: “Because that’s the numbers you’d press on your keypad if you were typing in ‘Nike’!”

Q&A

What the inspiration for your alumni network? 
Jana: Working at Nike allowed me to meet some of the most creative and talented people, including world-class athletes around the world. Community becomes part of your DNA and universal feeling. I've always been inspired by my Nike teammates, but I've also been inspired by our untapped collective potential. I made it my mission to formalize the Nike Global Alumni Network. 

How did you get former Nike CEO Phil Knight involved?
Jana: We're an extension of the Nike brand, values and culture. Phil Knight inspired us with his audacious dream to start a sneaker company in service of athletes to improve their performance. We've taken Nike's mission very seriously. That mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete as one of the most recognizable brands in the world. We live by the enduring Nike mantra: there is no finish line. We're still curious, driven and cultivate an innovation mindset. We're unleashing the power of the 6453 alumni community to move the world. 

How have you worked with limited resources?
Jana: We're a start-up. We're self-funded and operate independently of Nike. Amongst other things, Nike taught us resilience. The majority of our funding comes from our members and business sponsors. Our day-to-day operations are the result of passionate army of volunteers. We're playing the long game. It takes time to demonstrate value and create sustainable funding. We're still learning. 

How have you got people to the platform? Have you thought about who you could or should invite? 
Jana: It's taken a while to build awareness. When I was at Nike, it took a long time to get engagements, so we’re using the power of our network, reinforced by ongoing communications and events. The people we're inviting are former Nike employees and former Nike sponsored athletes. 

What does storytelling mean in the context of Nike and its alumni community?
Jana: Storytelling at Nike is at the center of all products and experiences. It's essential to communicating why the product and the experience all matter. Nike is part of our personal journey. We love to celebrate our community members, what they did at Nike, what they're doing now, what's next. It's exciting to see our alumni teammates going on to make an impact on the world. 

Micha: Nike laid my foundation for storytelling. It's central to everything we did at the company. Everything was grounded in personalized human insight. That was the building block to tell stories, the authenticity, and the power of the human potential to move society forward. I was able to build on that foundation and transition to other industries like film and TV, which are storytelling at the highest level. Storytelling is paramount for any successful brand, business and community. 

Have you had interest from athletes? Have they wanted to be part of this too? 
Jana: We've reached out to athletes and we're continuing to pursue athletes joining our community. We currently have about 10 athletes across different sports including a couple of world class Olympians. We've taken the principles that we've learned from Nike in terms of surprising and delighting our consumers by giving them something they might not have been expecting in a typical alumni organization. 

How have you been able to kind of step into storytelling around tougher things like redundancies? 
Jana: It's a difficult situation, but we see ourselves as a landing place for people to connect with community members and alumni and feel they're part of the community, even though they're no longer with the brand. What we've tried to communicate is that no matter when or how you left, you're always a part of the community. Your time at Nike is valued and valuable to others.

How do you tailor communicating to different groups? 
Jana: We've got members who were there in the beginning from 1972, and onwards. The newest members with Nike really missed out on the magic of the brand. We aim to show them what that magic feels like. I don't think we tailor to different groups. Everyone's a part of the community because they worked at Nike, so we all have that shared experience and mindset.

Micha: I left Nike in 2009 when there was still a real magic of the brand. People who stayed saw a change over time, but those who joined later have a different perception, relationship, and connection. One of Nike's maxims is: the consumer decides. That's where the storytelling aspect comes from. Building a community is one thing, but knowing the community, solving problems, addressing the nuances is increasingly important. 

What's been the most important part in establishing and supporting this community?
Jana: Starting with a central digital hub or platform of connection is essential. As was starting with a business partner who shares our passion for member experience. Things like easy-to-manage admin tools and the flexibility to create a customized friction-free experience is really important because we are creating a two-way dialogue. Searching for, reporting, collecting, tracking, and measuring membership data enable us to have a deeper understanding of our community.

What are your hopes for the future of 6453? 
Jana: We have a big dreams and big ideas for 6453. We want to be a thriving global network and community where we can all connect and help each other. We want to empower our members to connect and engage more directly. And we want to establish official hubs in cities around the world, with a non-profit strategy to amplify our collective impact. 

What are the most important things when you're starting off?
Jana: You have to have passion, perseverance, tenacity, the ability to wear a lot of hats and the propensity for action. You have to have the experience to show a working proof of concept and demonstrate a creative output. You need to build from authenticity and a reputation of trust, and be prepared to learn just as much from your alumni community as they learn from you.

Micha: Sometimes you have to start a community from scratch. So the real work is forming the community. How the community works, and solving the problems of that community is another thing. Who are the members? How do you reward them? How do you put them in position to leverage their best strengths? How do you reward them keeping the community engaged? You have to look at all of these things in context.

How do you amplify the stories of the community?
Jana: We're doing a lot of communication through our social channels. We manage two LinkedIn groups - the 6453 Alumni group that's around 7,500 people and the Nike employees networking group that's about 19,000. We have a company page on LinkedIn. We're on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. We're learning every day.

Presenters: 
Jana Panfilio, co-founder and president of 6453 Alumni
Micha Cooper-Edwards, Nike alumna founder and CEO of Soleil Space
Emma Sinclair, CEO EnterpriseAlumni