13A Reading Reflection No. 1
a. What surprised me the most about Phil Knight was his persistence. Nike faced many issues that could have led to its demise, but Phil would do whatever it took to ensure his company’s survival. For instance, many individuals would not be able to handle the stress associated with a supplier attempting to undermine your business or an enormous competitor like Adidas nearly breaking up the company.
b. What I most admire about Phil was his passion and personal connection with his business. Phil’s love for running drove him to start a company that would create running shoes. Phil truly cared for his customers since running was just as important to him as it was to them.
c. What I least admired about Phil is very hard to say. Many of the issues I had with Phil he would eventually solve himself. For instance, I did question some of Phil’s decisions at time. Such as his lack of communication with one of his employees or his hesitation to trust in their decisions. However, Phil seemed to pick up on some of these flaws and respond to them accordingly.
d. Phil encountered adversity and failure regularly. Like all of us, Phil did get overwhelmed at times but would go to any means necessary to resolve the issue. He would not sit back and allow his company to dissolve without a rigorous attempt to ensure its survival. He also surrounded himself with capable associates and a fantastic mentor in Bill. He would not hesitate to solicit their advice and expertise in times that would require it.
2. Passion, persistence, risk-taken, leadership, and teamwork are a couple that stand out to me. Phil led by action and was always on the frontlines when it came to dealing with problems. His sense of passion brought out the best in his employees. While his risk-taken manner is what led to him starting the company in the first place. Had he not taken that trip around the world and especially Japan, Nike probably would not even exist.
3. One part of the reading that was confusing to me or maybe left me in awe was Phil’s realization of his accumulation of wealth following Nike’s IPO. It was interesting how Phil stated that between today and yesterday nothing had changed yet he was now worth millions of dollars. It was a very fascinating part of the book that really made me think.
4. What do you think are necessary skills to achieve success? What is your morning routine? I would ask these questions because I believe they would be of most use to me. They would provide me insight on how to get to a position like his.
5. I believe Phil’s opinion of hard work would be to attempt everything with a passionate attitude and maximizing value by using all the tools at your disposal. I share this opinion because I do believe that if you are doing something you love than you will never work a day in your life.
Hi Bryson. Great post! I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc and I find a lot of connections with Phil Knight’s story after reading your post. Both Kroc and Knight had persistence. Kroc used to work two jobs when he was young and founded McDonald’s when he was in his 50s. When Kroc first pitched the idea to expand McDonald’s to a chain, the owners resisted but he ultimately succeeded.
ReplyDelete