Micromanagement has plenty of critics. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank isn’t one of them.
Micromanagement is often viewed as a workplace boogeyman, a possible sign of bureaucracy, heavy-handedness, or an unwillingness to delegate. In the age of “founder mode” and in-the-details CEOs, the term’s stigma has arguably diminished.
Plank, who founded Under Armour in 1996, thinks that leadership is about balance. On “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” Plank espoused the 80/20 rule — and the virtues of staying on top of your employees.
“I do believe in micromanagement at certain levels. I think it’s totally underestimated,” he said. “I want to get it right.”
Plank said that being overly focused on “pretense” or “process” is wasteful. “That’s great, but the right answer will save us a lot of time,” he said.
When Plank launched Under Armour in 1996, performance apparel was still a fledgling industry. Nike was hot, but competitors like Adidas were struggling. Popular 2010s brands like Lululemon and Alo had yet to launch.
At the current market pace, Plank said that the company didn’t have time to wait.
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“We need the speed of market,” he said. “We need to be able to get things to market in 12 months, 9 months, 6 months if the product’s ready.”
Plank said that he lives by the 80/20 rule: 80% running at the speed of the market, and 20% room for creativity and openness. Later in the conversation, Plank veered closer to a 90/10 ratio.
“We plan for 80, 85, 90% of our business to be set and structured,” he said. “For this 10%, we plan for these free days. We plan for ourselves just to be able to think a little bit.”
Plank announced that he would step down as CEO in 2019 and officially left the post in 2020. After two CEOs and a prolonged sales slump, Plank returned to the role in 2024.
On the podcast, Plank said that Under Armour had gone from being a brand to a company — and now wants to be a brand once again.
“Nobody’s mad at us, they just haven’t heard from us in a long time,” he said.
