The Greatest Operators in History #3
We have had two of the big US industrialists of old, so I think it is probably time for a great operator that we at least might remember being around and know of their business. Our third greatest operator in history is the Shoe Dog himself, Phil Knight.
#3: Phil Knight
Until recently and the publication of his autobiography, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what Phil was famous for (ignorance or lack of interest in running/track, you can decide). It is quite possibly one of the biggest brands around today, Nike. There is no doubting that to build Nike from scratch would have taken some considerable operational nous. However, what is apparent from his laid bare autobiography is the bloody mindedness and ruthless determination it took. With many a bad day or terrible piece of news filtering in, a good operator will know that it is all about perception and positivity. Crisis to one person is opportunity to the next and the story of how he turned potentially fatal news into the start of Nike is phenomenal. For those that haven’t read the book, in the early days Nike didn’t design or make their own trainers; they were solely the distributor for a Japanese company.
It seemed like the end of times. Everyone in the room had already been worrying about how they were going to make the rent, pay the light bill. Now this
“We’ve come, folks, to a crossroads. Yesterday, our main supplier cut us off.”
I let that sink in. I watched everyone’s jaw drop. I cleared my throat.
“So… In other words… What I’m trying to say is… We’ve got them right where we want them.”
Everyone around the table lifted their eyes. They sat up straighter.
“This is – the moment,” I said. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Our moment. No more selling someone else’s brand. No more working for someone else… If we’re going to succeed, or fail, we should do so on our own terms, with our own ideas – our own brand. Let’s look at this as our liberation. As our Independence Day… Yes, it’s going to be rough. I won’t lie to you. We’re definitely going to war, people. But we know the terrain. We know our way around. And that’s one reason I feel in my heart that this is a war we can win. And if we win it, when we win it, I see great things for us on the other side of victory. We are still alive, people. We are still. Alive.”
This is a speech almost straight out of Any Given Sunday, which, if you look at all those players feet, you will undoubtably see the Nike swoosh. However, we will leave aside the obviously fantastic rallying call and focus on the way Phil has used what could be a company ending issue as the starting point of a new opportunity - here, manufacturing their own shoe, being able to create a new brand and, ultimately, begin the real Nike journey.
LESSON: there are always opportunities in crisis, in fact this is the best time to search for them and implement, however it takes an open and positive mind to see them.