Adi and Rudi Dassler made sports activities footwear collectively – till a feud erupted between them. They arrange competing corporations, Adidas and Puma, and their bitter rivalry divided the sporting world, their household and even the inhabitants of their dwelling city.
The Dassler clan turned bickering into an artwork type – even drawing the likes of soccer legend Pele into their dispute. However did the sensible fires of hatred produce two world-class corporations, or was it a pointless distraction from the Dasslers’ love for his or her craft?
Additional studying
We discovered concerning the historical past of Puma and Adidas from the books Sneaker Wars, by Barbara Smit, and The Puma Story by Rolf-Herbert Peters. Further particulars on the feud between the brothers and their corporations, and on life in Herzogenaurach, got here from articles in shops corresponding to Enterprise Insider, DW, The Guardian, CNBC, Worldcrunch and The Wall Avenue Journal.
For a overview of the proof linking objective and productiveness at work, see Igniting particular person objective in instances of disaster, printed in McKinsey Quarterly. The survey of employees together with the stonemason is detailed in What Makes Work Significant — Or Meaningless, printed within the MIT Sloan Administration Assessment.