small business class, very alluring.

Phil Knight worked as a sport correspondent for the Oregonian newspaper, where he
would run seven miles to and from home. It was this initial experience that made him
the star athlete in the state and he has won titles for his running performances.
After he obtained his Master’s degree, he travelled to Japan, where he got the rights to
sell the Tiger-brand running shoes. He then partnered with his former coach and
created NIKE which is  a name that went on to become one of the world’s best known
sporting brands .

Career
What are the chances that if you look around your room right now, you will find a
product branded with that famous “swoosh” symbol? The man responsible for founding
what is arguably the world’s most famous sport brand, Nike is Phil Knight, America’s
finest business magnate. A native Oregonian, he is also known to be a great
philanthropist and a former athlete.
Knight started out his business from a small Plymouth Valiant automobile. A legendary
story, his is the classic American dream of making it big with determination coupled
with hard work and patience.A friend of Knight’s, Jeff Johnson suggested calling his
brand Nike and they created the logo, which is recognized as one of the world’s most
powerful ones, for a mere $35.
After his stupendous success, Phil moved on to obtain Laika Studios, which he
entrusted upon his son, Travis. He turned the fortunes of the company around with the
help of his Nike executives. It was under his leadership that Laika studios went on to
become one of the best short-film animated studios in the world.
Phil Knight’s story is not an overnight success, but that of determination and grit. He
was able to manage a business very passionately, due to which, his legacy will remain
for years to come. His story isn’t one that is all smooth sailing though. He lost his son
Mathew to a scuba diving accident in scuba diving accident back in 2004. He said that
the incident helped him put things in perspective and that family was always the most
important thing. Knight not only created one of the most memorable brands of all time,
but was also able to fend off competition from the likes of European competitors such
as Adidas  and Puma. After retirement, he assumed the role of chairman of the company.
"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 Hampson Phil Knight
Phil Knight is also a well-known entrepreneur and has contributed close to $230 million
to the University of Oregon, where he is also a Hall of Fame member. Apart from this,
he has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to other charitable organizations.
An inspiration, Phil Knight has touched the lives of millions of athletes around the
world with his company and efforts.
Today Nike’s logo of “swoosh” now is considered to be one of the most powerful
logos in the world. As of 2020, Phil Knight’s net worth is $33.5 billion dollars.

Controversy
Knight's contributions to the athletic department at UO have also led to controversy.
In April 2000, student leaders began organizing an anti-sweatshop and fair labor
practices campaign, and called for Dave Frohnmayer, president of the school, to
support the Workers’ (WRC). On April 4, 2000, students began a sit-in at Johnson
Hall, the UO's administrative center. In early April, an open meeting of students
further demanded that the organization Fair Labor Association (FLA) would receive
no consideration from the university, as it was perceived as a group founded, funded
and backed by Nike and other corporations, and had also been criticized by worker
rights advocates as an exercise in dishonest public relations.
University President Dave Frohnmayer subsequently signed a one-year contract with
the WRC; Knight then withdrew a US$30 million commitment toward the Autzen
Stadium expansion project and offered no further donations to the university. In a
public statement, Knight criticized the WRC for having unrealistic provisions and
called it misguided, while praising the FLA for being "balanced" in its approach. In
the face of ongoing conflict with students, Frohnmayer sided with Knight's assertion
that the WRC was providing unbalanced representation, and in October 2000
the Eugene Weekly reported Frohnmayer stating that:
... he would refuse to pay dues to the WRC based on a legal opinion from UO General
Counsel Melinda Grier arguing that to do so would be illegal and open the university
to liability. Grier claimed the WRC had not yet incorporated, had not yet filed as a
non-profit, and served no public purpose justifying a dues payment.
On February 16, 2001, the Oregon University System enacted a mandate that all
institutions within the system choose business partners from a politically neutral
standpoint, barring all universities in Oregon from joining either the WRC or the FLA.
Following the dissolved relationship between the university and the WRC, Knight
reinstated the donation and increased the amount to over US$50 million.
Also controversial was Knight's success in lobbying for former insurance executive
Pat Kilkenny to be named as athletic director at the university. Kilkenny had neither a
college degree nor any prior experience in athletics administration. He attended but
did not graduate from UO, as he left the school with several credit hours still owing.
Prior to his appointment at UO, Kilkenny had been the chairman and chief executive
officer of the San Diego-based Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, and grew the
business into a nationwide organization, with written premiums of nearly US$1 billion
when he sold the company in 2006.

Nike Inc.
Immediately after graduating from the University of Oregon, Knight enlisted in the
Army and served one year on active duty and seven years in the Army Reserve. He
next enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where, for his small business
class, Knight produced a paper, "Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports
Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?", that essentially foretold his
eventual foray into selling running shoes. His ambition was to import high-quality and
low-cost running shoes from Japan into the American market. He graduated with a
master's degree in business administration from Stanford in 1962.
Knight set out on a trip around the world after graduation, during which he made a
stop in Kobe, Japan, in November 1962. It was there that he discovered Tiger
brand running shoes, manufactured in Kobe by the Onitsuka Co., now known
as Asics. Impressed by the quality and low cost of the shoes, Knight called Mr.
Onitsuka, who agreed to meet with him. By the end of the meeting, Knight had
secured Tiger distribution rights for the western United States.
The first Tiger samples would take more than a year to be shipped to Knight; during
that time he found a job as an accountant in Portland. When Knight finally received
the shoe samples, he mailed two pairs to Bowerman at the University of Oregon,
hoping to gain both a sale and an influential endorsement. To Knight's surprise,
Bowerman not only ordered the Tiger shoes, but also offered to become a partner with
Knight and provide product design ideas. The two men agreed to a partnership by
handshake on January 25, 1964, the birth date of Blue Ribbon Sports, the company
that would later become Nike.
Knight's first sales, were made out of a now storied green Plymouth
Valiant automobile at track meets across the Pacific Northwest. By 1969, these early
sales allowed Knight to leave his accountant job and work full-time for Blue Ribbon
Sports.
Jeff Johnson, Nike's first employee, suggested calling the firm "Nike," named after the
Greek winged goddess of victory, and Blue Ribbon Sports was subsequently renamed
Nike in 1971.
Nike's "swoosh" logo, now considered one of the most valuable logos in the world,
was commissioned for $35 from graphic design student Carolyn Davidson in
1971. According to Nike's website, Knight said at the time: "I don't love it, but it will
grow on me." In September 1983, Davidson was given an undisclosed amount of Nike
stock for her contribution to the company's brand. On the Oprah television program in
April 2011, Knight claimed he gave Davidson "a few hundred shares" when the
company went public.
Part of Nike’s success is owed to endorsements by such athletes as Michael
Jordan, Mia Hamm, Roger Federer, and Tiger Woods. The Nike Town chain stores,
the first of which opened in 1990, pay tribute to these and other company
spokespersons while offering consumers a full range of Nike products. In the 1990s
the company’s image briefly suffered from revelations about poor working conditions
in its overseas factories.

NIKE & Michael Jordan – the collaboration that gave NIKE a boost to global
success and brand awareness

In 1983, Adidas was a billion-dollar company with a multinational operation leading

the athletic footwear industry. Nike was already a strong competitor, gnawing at the
company’s lead and looking for a way to overtake it.
In 1984, Michael Jordan was the undisputed star of basketball. He wanted to sign
with Adidas, but Nike made him a better offer namely $ 500,000 a year for five
years and the opportunity to design his line of shoes.
Listening to his parents’ advice, Michael Jordan said yes to Nike’s offer. The next
year, Nike launched the first pair of Air Jordans onto the market.
The new shoe was insanely successful. The company sold $126 million worth of Air
Jordans in the first year of the deal. A new edition of the shoe dropped every year of
Jordan’s playing career.
Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the Greatest Of All Time in the history of
the NBA made $1.3 billion from his thirty-six-year partnership with Nike.

His long-time collaboration with Nike helped the brand become the leading athletic
shoe manufacturer in the world.

The company maintained its celebrity design collaborations as part of its business
strategy. Over the years, the brand has collaborated with rapper and record
producer Kanye West, singer and songwriter Drake, fashion house Dior, jewellery
brand Swarovski, Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh and founder and head
designer of cult Japanese label Undercover Jun Takahashi.

NIKE today

Today Nike operates a total of 1,096 retail stores throughout the entire world.
The fifty-six-year-old company is the world’s largest athletic shoe
manufacturer with an estimated market share of  28% and EURO 35 billion in
revenue for 2019, followed by Adidas with EURO24 billion (Statista). 
One of the brand’s core values is supporting and giving back to the community. To
achieve this goal, Nike has created various funds:

Nike Community Impact Fund supports grassroots organizations in communities

within the United States and Europe.
Nike School Innovation Fun partners with school leaders in Oregon to increase the
number of students who graduate and to prepare students for college and careers.
Nike N7 creates positive change for the next generation of Native American and
Aboriginal youth by getting kids active.
Through Nike Community Ambassadors more than 5,700 employees make a
positive impact in communities around the world by providing quality coaching for
kids in sports and play.
The brand isn’t afraid of creating controversy while standing up for its beliefs. After
the 2018 Dream Crazy ad was launched, some people set their Nike sneakers on fire
while others praised the brand for doing the right thing.
Combining innovation, great online and offline customer experiences, community
engagement and fresh designs, Nike is one of the world’s forward-thinking brands that
will stand the test of time.

ENTREPRENEURIAL LESSONS LEARNT FROM HIM

Now that you know all about the Phil Knight net worth, and how they achieved
success. So, let’s have at some of the leadership lessons we can learn from them:

1. Advertising Do Not Have To Come Before Selling

As we saw in the introduction, Nike is considered as one of the great brands of our
times. Yet founder Phil Knight is not a branding and advertising man. Moreover, he
was an accountant for most of the early years of Nike. That is right; he did Nike as a
side job before going all in.

2. Don’t just believe in Everything You Read In Conventional Management

Books

Another area where Knight sheds modern best practices is in management.

Conventional wisdom says managers should be available. They should be there to
help their employees. To be in service of their teams. They should also praise people
often and so on.

3. Inspiration = Leadership

Leadership is always about inspiring others. Without inspiration, there are no

followers. Without followers, there is no leader. But great leaders go beyond that and
encourage others to become leaders themselves.