1) You read about an entrepreneur: Phil Knight, Shoe Dog
- What surprised you the most? I was surprised the most just to hear the real story that Knight has because honestly until he started appearing in sports media because of the Oregon Football Team a few years ago I had no idea who was behind Nike.
- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admire that he built this worldwide multi-billion dollar company the right way, he stayed good to himself and everyone else.
- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? That he didn't come forward a lot in the spotlight before stepping down as chairman. I don't blame him because he has his reasons and it is honorable, but he could've been a great influence in our world concerning many issues.
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? He absolutely did, Phil Knight was told he wouldn't make it. The way they viewed it was that they knew they could fail, but they didn't think they would.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? He did a great job of keeping his team working together. They all believed in each other and they loved working with each other. He also wouldn't tell people how to do things, but rather let them do their thing to figure it out, and look where it got him.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I was a little confused as to why Phil would trust that his employees would just figure things out. His vision is what got things started and successful, but he was fine with giving up control.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
Did you ever consider whether you could manufacturer your shoes over in the states? Did money or connections prove more useful for you in terms of power to get what you wanted done?
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?I feel that Phil Knight values hard work and it is important to success, your hard work and your teams, but luck plays a role in your final outcome.
I couldn't agree more with this. Hard work can get you far, but you will need some luck along the way to meet your goals.
Hi, Brody. This is a great post. I definitely learned a lot about who Phil Knight was and I certainly did not know he was behind Nike. I think learning more about this entrepreneur while help keep you in a mindset of who has come before and what they accomplished is important to know when becoming an entrepreneur yourself. Also, I think knowing that Knight failed before he succeeded is always important to keep in mind, because even the most successful people will fail before they succeed.
ReplyDeleteHey Brody,
ReplyDeleteAll this time I used Nike products and I have no idea Phil Knight was the founder even though I heard his name before. It's pretty cool to see how one of the biggest entrepreneurs that provides product all over the world managed to stay behind the spotlight for so long. Great job with the information provided in the article.