Phil Knight
If you're trying to get into the sports business, you really have to find a niche.Collection: Business
Meeting sports athletes that are the best in the world is a thrill to this day.Collection: Sports
Running is a basic ingredient for your health, just as much as eating and sleeping, but going out for a run by yourself and taking a moment to think also creates a certain peace.Collection: Health
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.Collection: Business
Sports is like rock 'n' roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions.Collection: Sports
We took advantage of the running boom, which became the jogging boom, which became the fitness boom... and we've benefited from all of that.Collection: Fitness
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.Collection: Fitness
I do believe that international trade agreements benefit both nations, always.
If there was no Bill Bowerman, there would have been no me. He had about as much of an impact on my life as any one person could have. He taught me about competition and ingrained it in me. He taught me not to praise ordinary performances.
Any entrepreneur has to prepare for a lot of dark days, and they've got to really like what they are doing, and they have to have a reason for it to succeed.
We knew we could fail; we just didn't think we would.
I've been fortunate to be around good people.
When you really understand who you are, it enables you to fight and believe.
The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few.
When I took the entrepreneurship class at Stanford, the first lecture was about an entrepreneur and his personality. They described it as being different than a businessman, who is an overall scientific manager.
I think everyone born in Oregon is an environmentalist by birth.
A shoe dog is somebody that really loves shoes, and that was me. I was a runner... that became important to me, and it's been with me ever since.
I didn't say I'm walking away. I said I was stepping down as chairman. I won't walk away. I'll be carried away.
I think I'm not a natural-born salesman, for sure, but If I have a product I really believe in, I can overcome some of the shyness and get through the things that aren't natural to me.
No parent should have their child die before he or she does.
I've said many times that I might as well have webs between my toes.
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.
Every businessman, or every person who has a passion for his work, is torn for the time spent at work and the time spent with your family.
I still get real nervous when I go in front of more than two people.
I'm Phil Knight, and I don't believe in advertising.
The thing that got us going early was the running boom. And then, I think, we rode the Jordan bit, which then kind of crossed us over into the pop culture.
We could see that he was a charismatic guy who jumps over the moon and is very competitive, but nobody could have predicted what he would become to our culture.
You can't explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don't have to. It's that simple.
I don't consider myself enigmatic, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my public persona.
Up until the time I was 14 years old, I was sure that I was going to be a big-league baseball player. But that dream came to a rude awakening when I got cut from my high school baseball team.
Obviously, the bulk of my Nike shares have been set up in a trust.
If there's one thing, I've been pretty good at evaluating people.
When we changed from Tiger to Nike, we had to have a design for the shoe. And where do you go to? There's no 'dial 9-1-1' for design.
In running, the only equipment that really matters - at least the mentality was in those days - were the pair of shoes that you wore.
I think a businessman can be an artist just as much as a writer or a sculptor, so I'm real proud of what the company has become.
I know when the Berlin wall went down and I walked into what was East Berlin and saw two big Nike banners - that gave me a chill.
There is no drama like the drama on the athletic field.
Dream audaciously. Have the courage to fail forward. Act with urgency.Collection: Dream
There comes a time in every life when the past recedes and the future opens. It's that moment when you turn to face the unknown. Some will turn back to what they already know. Some will walk straight ahead into uncertainty. I can't tell you which one is right. But I can tell you which one is more fun.Collection: Fun
Play by the rules, but be ferocious.Collection: Knights
Dare to take chances, lest you leave your talent buried in the ground.Collection: Chance
Make history or be a part of it.Collection: Action
It's alright to be Goliath but always act like David.Collection: Leadership
A brand is something that has a clear-cut identity among consumers, which a company creates by sending out a clear, consistent message over a period of years until it achieves a critical mass of marketing.Collection: Cutting
Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool.Collection: Nike
We used to think that everything started in the lab. Now we realize that everything spins off the consumer.Collection: Thinking
Perception can be changedCollection: Perception
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.Collection: Jobs
It is possible to tell a customer "no", and have the customer thank you for doing itCollection: Customers
It doesn't matter how many people you offend, as long as you're getting your message to your consumers. I say to those people who do not want to offend anybody: You are going to have a very, very difficult time having meaningful advertising.Collection: Meaningful