Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo

Reggie is a pretty fascinating person. While I quickly realized that this book wasn’t going to apply to me since I’m not going to be going into any business management, I made myself stick through it. I think it was really worth it in the end.

There was a lot to learn here about leadership. I’ve always struggled with taking a leadership role directly. I’ve wanted to be a follower all of my life. But I know that I’m going to need to change that sometime. And who else to help me learn that then one of my favorite contemporary leaders: Reggie Fils-Aimé!

Reggie was very business minded here, but the reason a lot of the advice stuck with me is because he was always personal about it. Reggie understood good sales and business, but a lot of his add campaigns worked because he understood people.

Nintendo of America from the Wii to the early Nintendo Switch was objectively more personal. The company leaders were public, interacted with fans, and overall just cared. And that’s something you don’t see anymore in advertising.

I’ll miss people like Reggie. I’ve considered going into advertising, so this book might help a lot if I go into that. Thanks, Reggie!

(The only real issue I had with the book was that I wish he went more into his time at Nintendo. I would have loved a chapter or two explaining why him and Iwata and Miyamoto became quasi-mascots for the company and why that personal nature went away after the Switch era)