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

by Reggie Fils-Aimé

Overview

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

LESSONS FROM A BOSS-LEVEL DISRUPTOR AND GAMING LEGEND

Reggie Fils-Aimé, retired President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America Inc., shares leadership lessons and inspiring stories from his unlikely rise to the top.

Although he’s best known as Nintendo's iconic President of the Americas-immortalized for opening Nintendo’s 2004 E3 presentation with, “My name is Reggie, I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games”-Reggie Fils-Aimé’s story is the ultimate gameplan for anyone looking to beat the odds and achieve success.

Learn from Reggie how to leverage disruptive thinking to pinpoint the life choices that will make you truly happy, conquer negative perceptions from those who underestimate or outright dismiss you, and master the grit, perseverance, and resilience it takes to dominate in the business world and to reach your professional dreams.

As close to sitting one-on-one with the gaming legend as it gets, you will learn:

• About the challenges Reggie faced throughout his life and career-from his humble childhood as the son of Haitian immigrants, to becoming one of the most powerful names in the history of the gaming industry.
• What it takes to reach the top of your own industry, including being brave enough to stand up for your ideas, while also being open to alternative paths to success.
• How to create vibrant and believable visions for your team and company.
• How to maintain relentless curiosity and know when to ask questions to shatter the status quo.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400226672
Publisher:	HarperCollins Leadership
Publication date:	05/03/2022
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	126,226
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Reggie Fils- Aimé is an award-winning innovator and disrupter who has helped bring the Nintendo DS, the Wii, the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and the Nintendo Switch to the global marketplace. He joined Nintendo of America Inc. in December 2003 as Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In May 2006, he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. He was inducted into the International Videogame Hall of Fame in October 2019 and received the annual Legend Award from the New York Video Game Critics Circle in January 2020.

Prior to joining Nintendo, Reggie was Senior Vice President of Marketing at VH1. During his tenure at VH1, he engineered the channel’s redirection to young viewers that resulted in an overall 30 percent rating growth, and he created and executed the marketing plans for The Concert for New York City, which raised more than $35 million for disaster relief in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Since retiring, he has focused his energy on developing the next generation of business leaders. In August 2019, he was named Cornell University’s Dyson Undergraduate Business School Leader in Residence. He also founded Brentwood Growth Partners to help emerging companies scale and enable leaders to create world-class cultures.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 Farewell to My Friend 1

2 Dictators, Delinquents, and Blood 13

3 Getting Above Cayuga's Waters 19

4 A Brand-New Manager 29

5 Almost Killing a Brand 43

6 Being Too Positive 53

7 Behind the Music 71

8 Nintendo Comes Calling 85

9 Kyoto Craftsmanship 95

10 Kicking Ass and Taking Names 107

11 Driving a Vision 121

12 Internal Disruption 127

13 Courageous Decisions 145

14 Pivoting to a Solution 159

15 Switching Things Up 171

16 The Next Generation 179

Epilogue 191

Acknowledgments 199

Index 203

About the Author 211

Editorial Reviews

03/28/2022

Fils-Aimé, the former president and COO of Nintendo of America, debut with a no-frills account of his life and business successes. His story begins with his parents’ migration from Haiti to the Bronx in 1958; until Fils-Aimé was eight years old, they lived a precarious economic existence in a Bronx tenement. The author’s narrative is one of a self-made man: he secured funding for his education at Cornell, scored his first position in brand management at Proctor & Gamble after graduating, then achieved success at VH1, where he “was responsible for driving consumers to watch the first few minutes of our programming,” before Nintendo called in 2003 looking for a head of sales and marketing. In each chapter, the author distills life lessons into leadership directives (“Life is hard and so you must dig deep”; “We never learn without making mistakes”), presented in boxes labeled “The So What.” Fils-Aimé also champions clear and effective communication, which he describes as having helped him win over skeptical team members, and “the power of personal relationships,” which he posits aids in business dynamics. Crisply written and devoid of bombast, these business lessons are worth checking out for leaders of all stripes. (May)

Publishers Weekly

This is a beautifully told story of how a fearless young marketing executive with no gaming experience stepped into a stagnant industry and helped to build Nintendo and the entire video game industry into a cultural juggernaut.

John Sykes

'... a fascinating look inside a personality that shaped the last few decades of games development and games business.'

PC Gamer’s Holiday Gift Guide

'...a must-read for any Nintendo fans... one part autobiography... one part business book... and one part self-help book as Fils-Aimé's advice easily translates to life too.'

Game Rant’s Holiday Gift Guide

'For the gamer and businessperson in your life...'

Forbes Best Gifts for Gamers

…a fascinating peek behind the curtain of Fils-Aimé’s career.

INVERSE magazine

…any Nintendo and Reggie fan should read this book.

Video Game Book Club

There is a saying in advertising that clients get the work they deserve. In over a decade working with Reggie, the work he got, and deserved, was groundbreaking, disruptive, and literally changed the game. Reggie’s leadership inspired our team, and me personally, to reach for new heights. Get ready to get your game on!

CEO Publicis Creative Andrew Swinand

Disrupting the Game is a powerful memoir that teaches you about leadership. The reader is taken on a journey about personal, team, and organizational disruption and is provided with a perspective for why it is important, how it can be done, and the so what. Through vicarious and experiential learning, you will be inspired to challenge the status quo and embrace continuous innovation as an essential leadership practice.

President Simmons University Lynn Perry Wooten

This is the inside story of how the son of Haitian immigrants beat the odds, rose to the top of the gaming industry, and breathed new life into Nintendo. Reggie Fils-Aimé offers inspiration and insight for aspiring leaders, innovators, and anyone who’s ever been doubted.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Agai Adam Grant

"Powerful, universal insight into leadership and life from one of the video game industry's most important champions. Reggie's book delivers real lessons to anyone looking to grow a business, or a career."

Geoff Keighley

This is the inside story of how the son of Haitian immigrants beat the odds, rose to the top of the gaming industry, and breathed new life into Nintendo. Reggie Fils-Aimé offers inspiration and insight for aspiring leaders, innovators, and anyone who’s ever been doubted.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife - Adam Grant

There is a saying in advertising that clients get the work they deserve. In over a decade working with Reggie, the work he got, and deserved, was groundbreaking, disruptive, and literally changed the game. Reggie’s leadership inspired our team, and me personally, to reach for new heights. Get ready to get your game on!

CEO Publicis Creative - Andrew Swinand

Disrupting the Game is a powerful memoir that teaches you about leadership. The reader is taken on a journey about personal, team, and organizational disruption and is provided with a perspective for why it is important, how it can be done, and the so what. Through vicarious and experiential learning, you will be inspired to challenge the status quo and embrace continuous innovation as an essential leadership practice.

President Simmons University - Lynn Perry Wooten