Phil Knight, the founder of Nike – one of the world's largest sports brands – was 24 years old when he and his running coach founded Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964.
This shoe company was originally a distributor for the Japanese shoemaker Onitsuka Tiger, but Knight soon noticed that the demand for running shoes continued to grow and therefore decided to start manufacturing shoes himself.
Thus, unknowingly, the foundation stone was laid for the Nike empire we know today.
Market value: a staggering 90 billion dollars. In his autobiography “Shoe Dog,” Knight passionately recounts the highs and lows of founding a shoe brand like Nike.
Of the many lessons Knight cites and presents in this book, we will examine just two key leadership lessons.
Leadership lessons and find your passion
It was no coincidence that Knight started importing shoes from Japan together with his running coach Bill Bowerman. After all, both men shared an enormous passion for sports.
As a coach at the University of Oregon, Bowerman tried to get the most out of his athletes and the equipment.
Whenever new running shoes arrived from Japan, Bowerman immediately took the shoes apart to investigate what could be improved to improve the running performance of his students.
Knight, on the other hand, tried to sell running shoes at a time when running was not even practiced as a recreational sport. Yet he managed to sell every import.
This passion, this obsession was the driving force behind Blue Ribbon Sports and was an important safety net in times when things were not going so well.
Hire the right people
The lesson we can learn from Knight is simply you to pursue passion. Passion provides an inexhaustible source of energy, converting your intrinsic motivations into actions.
Contrary to what you might think, Knight is not the mastermind behind the iconic swoosh (the logo), the innovative “waffle soles,” or the name Nike itself. In fact, Knight even proposed continuing under the company name “Dimension Six.”
This name has a slightly different ring to it, so it was not surprising that everyone in the company was against it.
It was also a sign that coming up with a company name was not Knight's strongest point. Where Knight did excel was in assembling a team. Take, for example, Nike's first employee: Jeff Johnson.
Like Knight, Johnson was a professional runner, and notably a competitor of Knight's at university. But competitor or not, one thing was certain: Johnson had a tremendous passion for running.
Johnson's appointment turned out to be a masterstroke, as Johnson was a fanatic about selling running shoes and it was he who came up with the name Nike.
But not only with Johnson, the same applied to the hiring of other future employees: everyone had an interest in sports and was a true team player. This fit Nike's culture and was also necessary given Knight's strong vision.
The second lesson is not to hire someone based solely on qualifications, check whether someone also agrees with the company's objectives and vision.
For more insight into how Phil Knight built the Nike empire, read his book Shoe Dog!
From transaction to relationship
The best salespeople think not in terms of transactions, but in terms of relationships. They know that the value of a customer lies not in the first order, but in the years that follow. That is why they invest in trust, deliver more than agreed, and are there even when there is no immediate sales opportunity.
In practice, this means that you don't disappear after a sale, but rather remain visible. Make a call without a sales agenda, share a relevant article, or invite your customer to a knowledge event.
That personal attention builds a bond that is much stronger than any discount. Customers who trust you become your best ambassadors.
Curious how to put this into practice? Our training Expert in Sales Basics Kenneth Smit gives you the tools to get started immediately.