Book | Disrupting the Game (2022)

What is it? Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo by Reggie Fils-Aimé is an autobiography in which Fils-Aimé describes how he became the COO of Nintendo and the lessons he learned during his journey.  

​Why bother? Fils-Aimé is an iconic business leader in the gaming industry. The book candidly talks about his mistakes and lesson learned. It is an inspiring story. 

Key Ideas  In the book, File-Aime talks about his career and life lessons:

• Plan, Hard work, and Opportunity: Fils-Aimé joined Cornell to study financial analysis. He plans to join the banking industry after graduation as a financial analyst. However, the opportunity from the P&G executive training program changed his life trajectory when hard work got him the teacher's recommendation for the interview. Fils-Aimé's story tells a lesson: plans are good to have – but we should be stuck on them. Be prepared for any opportunity that is yet to come. Work hard and stay open. 
• Inviting others to your ideas: Fils-Aimé failed to persuade his upper manager to understand his idea on the Cristo branding campaign. As a result, he was over budget and did not hit the profit target. He learned that inviting other people into ideas or gaining support is essential to execute a plan. 
• Have a long-term vision: Fils-Aimé's Big Foot Pizza campaign lowered the quality to compete. The revenue grew, but the brand was damaged. The program is eventually abandoned because of this. The story tells that the immediate gain may not work long-term. We have to recognize it and make corrections as soon as we can. 
• Learning from mistakes: Fils-Aimé talked about his life experience, especially his mistakes at P&G and Pepsi. Fils-Aimé's experience shows that mistakes are not the end of the world. Continuing learning and improving can lead to a great place in the end. 
• Move-on in career: Fils-Aimé keeps searching for opportunities, a boss who believes in him, and a team where he can fit in. He moved on quickly if they were not. Fils-Aimé's experience gives a great lesson to whoever is stuck in his/her career for growth. Stop blaming or accepting where we are. Move on and move quickly to pursue our dreams. ​