The Career Advice you haven’t heard… Unless you’ve worked for Under Armour
To everyone that knows me personally, you’ve heard a lot about my internship with Under Armour this summer. In fact, you are probably getting sick of hearing about it. Though I’m holding out hope that you’re not… because I still have more to share.
To those of you that don’t know me personally, you are now aware of my summer internship and that I’ve (really, really) enjoyed it. I’ve shared my experience through our Rookie Blog Series on Linked-In, and now, as I wrap up the final days of my internship, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way.
I’m sure you are already aware that when it comes to employee engagement, companies love their quotes. But at Under Armour… they really, really love their quotes. Maybe it stems from the athlete-driven roots, and motivational game-day speeches. Either way, a motivational quote is not hard to come by here. They like to call them “Under-Armour-Isms.” Of the dozens, there are three that really resonated with me. I think these are the ones that have stuck with me simply because they are so applicable. I saw them being carried out by all of my teammates, and I know I will carry them with me as I move forward.
1. “I Will” → “We Will”
Recently, Under Armour has transitioned their famous catchphrase from “I Will” to “We Will”. And how incredibly fitting that is. If you asked me to give you one big takeaway from my experience, I would tell you “The people.” Seriously — “the people” covers so many things. The friendships I’ve made. The mentors I’ve gained. The teamwork I’ve seen in action, every day. But mostly, seeing how people are truly what drive a business forward. Not money. Not fancy technology, or status symbols. It’s the people who truly love what they do and who they do it with. I realize this is something we’ve all heard before — “company culture is so important!” and I realize I’m not telling you anything new — but I can tell you how I have seen it in action.
I’ve seen people come together to accomplish their goals and take products from an idea to reality. I’ve seen collaboration from all ends of the spectrum — designers working with tech designers, product managers, sourcing analysts, finance specialists, marketing managers — all coming together to turn a vision into reality. I’ve even experienced the teamwork first hand, with co-workers reaching out to help me grow as an intern. Not just asking if I need help, but really following through, scheduling meetings to give me software tutorials, giving up their valuable time to watch me practice my presentation, offering up genuine advice along the way, checking in to see how I’m doing. It’s one thing to say you’ll act like a teammate, and another to really follow through and lend your teammates a hand when they need it. Thank you, Under Armour, for showing me firsthand what that teammate mentality really means.
2. “What you do in the dark puts you in the light.”
This little phrase comes from one of Under Armour’s marketing campaigns, and if you haven’t heard it before, I’m sure you’ve at least heard some variation. Perhaps the most common variation is “Hard work pays off.” But I like this one better. Because oftentimes, hard work goes unnoticed. It’s in the dark. And while you’re in the dark, putting in all that hard work, it’s so easy to become frustrated and lose sight of the ultimate goal. It’s easy to feel trapped, like you’re working so hard, and for what? We need to remind each other, when we feel this way, that the light is coming. Our work ethic will pay off. We can think of this phrase in terms of athletics, but also as a business. Not every day at a company is going to be sunshine and rainbows. There will be times of growth, times of success, and ultimately times of failure, but in the end we have to keep working hard. We have to remember that what we do in the dark is what will — eventually — put us in the light.
3. “We have not yet made our defining product.”
“Walk with a Purpose.” “Stay humble and hungry.” “Dictate the Tempo.” “Get it done, done, done.” “Lean forward.” “We are young, aggressive, fearless.” “Progress over perfection.” “The only thing that will get you fired is saying, ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it.’”
I think this is one of Under Armour’s lesser-known quotes, but it’s painted on one of the walls I often walk by, and I’ve thought about it a lot. I think at first, it took me aback. I didn’t get it. How is that possible? Under Armour has easily made a defining product — I mean they have literally defined compression shirts. We don’t say to each other, “Hey I’m going to wear my compression turtleneck under my clothes to stay warm” — we say, “Hey it’s cold out, make sure you wear some Under Armour,” and everyone knows what we’re referring to — right?! So how could a company with such a well-known, iconic product live by the phrase “we have not yet made our defining product”? It’s amazing, really. It says a lot about the mindset here. I mean, this company has big dreams. They have created an iconic product, but it will never be their defining product. In fact, they are saying they will never have a defining product. There will always be something yet to come, something not yet created. This is the type of mentality we should all strive to be a part of. Not just from the standpoint of the company as a whole, but even in our own personal paths to greatness. You have not yet defined yourself. No matter where you are at in life, no matter what successes you’ve already had, you can never limit yourself. Don’t let anything be your “peak”. Continue to climb your own mountains, continue to find excitement in the unknown, and revel in having no end to your potential.
So there you have it. These are my favorites. My “Career Advice” and “Lessons Learned”, Under Armour-style. But I just don’t think it would be fair to leave it at that. Here are a few more Under Armour-isms (many of them, courtesy of founder and CEO, Kevin Plank) that I just couldn’t leave out. I won’t bore you with any more of my long interpretations, but I hope you put your own thoughts into them, and leave this article feeling just as inspired as I do.
Thanks for reading. And thank you, Under Armour, for lessons I’ll never forget.
- Erin McDonald
By Erin McDonald — UA 2017 Summer Rookie
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on August 18, 2017.
