#11 - Lessons in Leadership from Reggie Fils-Aimé
The former president and COO of Nintendo of America offers advice on business success in his 2022 memoir.
Nintendo of America’s former president and chief operating officer, Reggie Fils-Aimé (often known as simply “Reggie”), remains one of the most iconic faces of the video game industry even after his 2019 retirement. He oversaw periods of unprecedented success and growth at the company with the release of the iconic Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo Switch consoles, but he also navigated his share of down times during the lackluster Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo 3DS era in the early 2010s.
In his 2022 memoir, Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo, Reggie divulges many captivating anecdotes from his time at Nintendo of America, but he also sprinkles in timeless lessons and advice on business leadership relevant to everyone—not just video game fans or business school undergrads.
Here are just a few of my favorite key takeaways from the book:
Disrupt Yourself
Reggie implores readers to adopt his mantra of “disruptive thinking.” In an early chapter of the book, when describing his family’s experience in Haiti under a reviled dictator before resettling in the Bronx, he extols the virtues of hard work and determination to make the most of your circumstances and to challenge the status quo of your surroundings. In Reggie’s words: “I learned early that opportunity is not simply handed out […] Life is hard and so you must dig deep. Persevere. Demonstrate grit. You take your life experiences and either toughen up or wither away.”
As Reggie recounts his college days at Cornell University and the first steps of his business career, he more often than not decided against pursuing the safe, traditional path and instead challenged himself to achieve more. Before settling for the bulk of his career at Nintendo, he held marketing positions at Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, Panda Express, Guinness, Derby Cycle Corporation, and VH1. While it can be tempting to settle in one place, Reggie disrupted his own status quo, took on new challenges, made what he calls “courageous decisions,” identified strategic opportunities to elevate his career, and made transitions on his own terms.
My lesson from his experience is not necessarily to shake things up arbitrarily. After all, Reggie did land at Nintendo for 15 years. However, everyone could benefit by regularly taking stock of their situations, evaluating what’s working, identifying pain points and where there’s room for improvement, and formulating a plan on how to keep moving forward.
Build Effective Teams
My favorite anecdote in the book is when Reggie describes his onboarding experience at Nintendo of America. He needed to quickly learn the ins-and-outs of the company’s operations. For Reggie, that started with the people.
Reggie implemented subtle techniques to gain the trust of his new colleagues and direct reports. For instance, when he first gathered other department heads for an initial meeting, Reggie intentionally decided to present last, signaling that he put his employees first and was sincerely interested in hearing their perspectives.
At its best, forging enduring relationships with colleagues can promote collaboration across teams and help the organization be more effective. Even if you don’t make lifelong BFFs in the workplace, understanding the goals and priorities of those around you allows you to calibrate your own work accordingly.
Absorb, Refine, Implement
I believe in the value of being a good listener. As outlined above, Reggie climbed through several different organizations—many in completely different business sectors—before reaching the pinnacle of Nintendo of America.
In his “The So What” asides throughout the book, Reggie often refers back to lessons learned from earlier moments in his career at firms like P&G and VH1. In Reggie’s words: “I would take good ideas, add my own twist or unique element, and apply it to my own business.”
Reggie also reminds readers that it is not always necessary to completely throw out the playbook when stepping into a new role or organization; there’s no shame in “executing the hell out of existing ideas” and learning from the success of those who came before you.
After reading Disrupting the Game, I know I’m going to make an effort to step out of my comfort zone a little more and continue growing into the best version of my professional self. For more great advice on work and leadership, check out Reggie’s full book and stay tuned to this blog!