A curious fact of when A _Regie Fils-Aimé _ was recruited to be president of _ Nintendo _ in _ America _ , is that the businessman requested to have a direct conversation with the Japanese CEO of that time, _ SATORU IWATA _ . Petition somewhat strange, but which he finally agreed, this led him to have a videoconference with the company’s head.
When the call was established, Reggie hoped Mr. Iwata was accompanied by a translator. But it did not happen, since the interview included only Iwata himself. Who right there asked him to call him, obtaining as a response simply “reggie.”
After discussing the progress of the reggie company, he accepted the work, which took him to Kyoto for a meeting with Iwata, along with _ Shigeru Miyamoto _ . It was then that Reggie saw for the first time a prototype of _ Nintendo ds _ , an innovation that Iwata hinted during his previous conversation.
During his visit, Iwata invited him to have something that did not happen with the high command of _ Nintendo _ , although they chose to continue working while they ate. Then Iwata and Reggie went to a dinner in which they shared stories about childhood, they learned about the passions of the other. This led Iwata to comment that he and Reggie were quite similar, since both were outsiders who made their way into the company.
That was how time passed and they became more close. And it was so that the day of the announcement of cancer arrived that hit Mr. Iwata, taking the world very surprise, and especially reggie. For that reason, he insisted on visiting him. Requests rejected by CEO, because they are “unusual norms in work relationships.” However, Reggie wrote the following:
With due respect, Mr. Iwata, I want to visit him not as president of Nintendo of America, but as a friend.
Perhaps this statement was what finally changed Iwata’s opinion, allowing the businessman to visit the hospital. This even led to other employees to see how the executive was. Shortly after, Iwata received a certificate of good health and resumed most of his normal work tasks.
After his recovery, Iwata asked Reggie a visit to Kyoto’s facilities to talk about a private matter, what he thought would be to talk about the incursion into recent mobile markets. However, he was only to tell him that cancer had returned, this time not to leave. We all know the subsequent story.
Here the words that _ reggie _ left to _ satoru iwata _ in his book _ disrupting the game _ :
The friendship we had Mr. Iwata and I was deep. Mr. Iwata was not just my boss. He was not just someone who valued me for my vision for business. He was a friend, and that friendship made a difference, not only in my success in Nintendo, but also in my life.
Editor’s note : Without a doubt, this type of stories moves, since many of us grew up seeing these entrepreneurs as Nintendo’s friendly face towards us, consumers. For that same reason, reading Reggie’s words will cause a lot of nostalgia to more than one.
