5 leadership lessons from Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight

Apple and Nike entered the market in December of 1980. While they started off on the same day, three decades later Apple dwarfs Nike in many ways. Yet Nike was an example to the late Steve Jobs. Nike’s approach inspired Jobs (and many others) to build his global brand.

Now let’s get into the five most important leadership lessons from Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight.

1. Don’t believe everything you read in conventional management books

Conventional wisdom says managers should be available. They should be there to help their employees. To be in service of their teams. They should praise people often. Not so with Knight. In the early days of Blue Ribbon Sports, things went down quite differently. Knight had a few part-time sales representatives working for him across the country. One of them, Jeff Johnson, kept sending letters about all sorts of matters. Knight carefully read every letter, but hardly ever replied.

“Something about the sheer volume of his correspondence stopped me. Something about his neediness made me not want to encourage him.”

Knight certainly understands human psychology. As we just saw in the example of the unanswered letters, he applies Robert Greene’s 4th Law of Power: “always say less than necessary.”

“My management style wouldn’t have worked for people who wanted to be guided, every step, but this group found it liberating, empowering. I let them be, let them do, let them make their own mistakes, because that’s how I’d always liked people to treat me.”

2. Branding and advertising don’t have to come before selling

Nike is considered one of the greatest brands of our times. Yet founder Phil Knight is not an advertising man. In fact, he was an accountant for most of the early years of Nike. That’s right. He did Nike as a side-job before going “all-in.” Knight ran the business on a simple premise: a relentless focus on sales.

“I drove all over the Pacific Northwest, to various track meets. Between races I’d chat up the coaches, the runners, the fans, and show them my wares. The response was always the same. I couldn’t write orders fast enough.”

It doesn’t mean you should ignore brand strategy or advertising. And of course, times are different now. Still, Nike is an excellent example of a real product/market fit, where the market pulled the product out of the company, not the other way around.

There was no pre-conceived idea by an advertising agency to create Nike. Strong market demand and a relentless focus on sales came first. Those efforts laid the foundation for one of the greatest brands of all time.

3. Hardship and sacrifice build great companies

Well into his thirties, and after years of hard work, Knight still had a maxed out credit card and couldn’t pay even a small bill on a trip with a friend. And it’s not just being broke personally. The levels of debt entrepreneurs have to live with in the face of constant uncertainty can be hard to deal with. Knight is no exception.

“I’ve spent a fair portion of my life in debt. As a young entrepreneur I became distressingly familiar with that feeling of going to sleep each night, waking up each day, owing many people a sum far greater than I could repay.”

Hardship and sacrifice build great companies. It doesn’t come easy. There will be shame, guilt, and sorrow along the way, plenty of it.

4. There is no belief like founder’s belief

“I’d been unable to sell encyclopedias, and I’d despised it to boot. I’d been slightly better at selling mutual funds, but I’d felt dead inside. … I believed in running. I believed that if people got out and ran a few miles every day, the world would be a better place, and I believed these shoes were better to run in. People, sensing my belief, wanted some of that belief for themselves.”

A great brand stands for something. It expresses a passionate reason for the existence of the company that connects with a belief on the side of the consumer. At its best, the brand (through its products) allows the consumer to express that belief to the world, while simultaneously solving a real problem or need.

Nike achieves both. Even if you’re not familiar with Knight’s story, you know what Nike stands for. A passion for sports and athletes, for winning, for extraordinary performance. The founder of a company is usually best at expressing this belief, this driving purpose. He or she understands the original reason for starting the company. It’s a burning desire to solve a meaningful problem, a motivation that often has nothing to do with making money.

5. Never stop chasing your dream

Knight’s philosophy echoes that most often heard advice: never give up.

“Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where ‘there’ is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.”

“Never give up” is the advice we hear from successful people all the time. It’s on its way to becoming a cliche. Yet Knight adds some nuance.

“And those who urge entrepreneurs to never give up? Charlatans. Sometimes you have to give up. Sometimes knowing when to give up, when to try something else, is genius. Giving up doesn’t mean stopping. Don’t ever stop.”

He seems to be saying: never stop, but sometimes give up. Sometimes you need to give up on an endeavor, but not on your big dream. Quit on a project, but not on your ambition.

Source: pagely.com