Philip Knight- "The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few."
That class was an “aha!” moment. First, Shallenberger defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur – and I realized he was talking to me. I remember after writing that paper, saying to myself: “This is really what I would like to do.”
Philip Knight
At this stage in my life, the creative process is of great interest to me.
Philip Knight
We had no master plan. It was totally seat of the pants.
Philip Knight
The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few.
Philip Knight
At first, we couldn’t be establishment, because we didn’t have any money. We were guerrilla marketers, and we still are, a little bit. But, as we became No. 1 in our industry, we’ve had to modify our culture and become a bit more planned.
Philip Knight
A few years ago there was a poll in China to name the greatest man ever. The winner was Mao, but there was a tie for second between Zhou Enlai and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Red Oxen!
Philip Knight
Our job is to wake up the consumers. If we become predictable, that’s not waking them up.
Philip Knight
Good campaigns define who you are. We have to get consumers’ attention. We don’t have six months to check with focus groups.
Philip Knight
My job is to listen to ideas, maybe cook up a few of my own, and make decisions based on what’s good for the shareholders and for the company.
Philip Knight
Ultimately, we wanted Nike to be the world’s best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don’t end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.
Philip Knight
Sports is at the heart of American culture. You can’t explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don’t have to. It’s that simple.
Philip Knight
I was very aware of shoes when I was running track. The American shoes were offshoots of tire companies. Shoes cost $5, and you would come back from a five-mile run with your feet bleeding. Then the German companies came in with $30 shoes, which were more comfortable. He believed that shaving an ounce off a pair of shoes for a guy running a mile could make a big difference. So Bowerman began making shoes himself, and since I wasn’t the best guy on the team, I was the logical one to test the shoes.
Philip Knight
But you better not spend much time doing that, because every six months is a new lifetime, and you’ve got to worry about what’s coming up to stay ahead of the curve. If you want to spend time saying ‘this is cool’, you’re going to get your ass kicked.
Philip Knight
Our business practices are no different than those of our competitors. But we are bigger, and thus more visible, so we get more flack.
Philip Knight
If you fly across the state of Oregon on Saturday morning, every field is filled with kids playing soccer. Someday, they’re going to grow up.
Philip Knight
It was like a Super Bowl in another venue. It was an electric atmosphere, very intense. The intellect in the room was huge.
Philip Knight
They have done great things within what you would call established American sports. Freddy has the potential to bring soccer almost for the first time into the public’s consciousness. Soccer in the United States isn’t really part of the culture. What it needs, I think, is a superhero, and he clearly could be it. Now, that’s putting a lot of pressure on him, but the kid’s got all the potential to do that.
Philip Knight
Sports is like rock ‘n’ roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions.
Philip Knight
There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.
Philip Knight
Sports is natural, instinctive, competitive, and, in the end, rewarding. All of us at Nike get to earn a living in that world – a world that is easy to believe in.
Philip Knight
Everybody wants a certain amount of stress. Most people have too much, but I didn’t want too little, either.
Philip Knight
I hope we sign him. If not, I hope he goes to medical school.
Philip Knight
We’re not in the fashion business, as the Wall Street Journal wrote the other day. We’re in the sports business, and there’s a big difference.
Philip Knight