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In a University assignment about starting up a small business Phil Knight came up with the idea for Blue Ribbon Sports. As an accomplished runner he drafted a plan to break the stranglehold Adidas had on the running shoe market by a$)$ using cheap Japanese labour and b$)$ manufacturing cheaper, better quality shoes. Later this assignment was realised and went on to become one of the world$$s mega brands $-$ Nike. In a cheeky gambit, Knight secured a deal with Onitsuka Tiger; then funded by his father and his athletic coach, Bill Bowerman he sold his shoes from his car at High School track meetings.

Although his initial vision statement was reputedly $$ Crush Addidas,$$ in his memoir $$Shoe Dog$,$ Knight outlined his full vision $$ he wanted to create shoes that would help those who had not yet discovered the joy of running to experience his passion for the sport and for sport in general and what it could do for people. Throughout his career he never lost sight of this vision. He ensured these big picture goals were embraced by his employees.

His marketing strategy was simple. He did not rely on advertising, instead he got top athletes to endorse his shoes. $($It helped that Bowerman coached the American Olympic team$).$ People started to want to wear what the best sports people were wearing.

The culture that he fostered was not very corporate. Executive conferences were referred to as $$buttface meetings$,$ and people were encouraged to be confrontational. As tattoos had become popular many employees had the Nike swoosh emblazoned on their bodies. One employee said, $$it was like a holy mission to take over the world$$ and commented on how much staff adored Knight.

But Nike eventually became a magnet for controversy. In the $90$s it came under fire for lack of diversity in the senior management team and for scandals around worker exploitation and child labour.

Nike$$s business model had been to find the lowest labour costs, moving from Japan to Indonesia to China and Pakistan. If workers complained or tried to demand rights Nike would close the location and move their business elsewhere.

Initially Knight denied all claims of responsibility for malpractice, and it was only under threat of a global boycott after pictures of a little boy called Tariq sewing Nike labels onto a football were published, that he committed to root out child labour and improve working conditions.

Subsequently Nike has become a leader in CSR and sustainability and have managed to change the public perception of the brand.

Knight shared a number of lessons outlining what he believes it takes to develop, drive and lead a growing company:

Hire the right people. Throughout his career he actively sought people who shared his vision, drive and passion for the company. He hired people he could trust and who were prepared to go the extra mile.

Understand the necessary day to day tasks of running your business. Knight worked as an accountant and in sales before starting Nike and was involved in multiple functions across the business including innovation, legal systems and supply chain. Moving laterally and working in many different areas gave him a great understanding of how the different elements of the company moved and fitted together.

Be prepared to take risks. His partnership with Tiger was audacious His first waffle soled show proved successful. Unfortunately, his air bubble laden shoe faced total recall, but the failure provided him with a lesson he could take into the future.

If you are going to fail, then fail fast, so you can embed the lessons you learn.

Learn from other great leaders. Knight was never too proud to listen to others. He believed that you can$$t expect a leader to be good at leading unless they have the perspective of those being led.

Change is a catalyst for growth. In business there is a constant need to find new opportunities and to innovate.

Perfect results over perfect process Knight valued outcome over how to but believed it is good to challenge established norms to achieve desire outcomes.

The path to success is not always pretty therefore resilience and a fighting spirit are key to success and survival.

Q$1.$ Goldberg identified the Big $5$ personality traits $($also known as O$.$C$.$E$.$A$.$N$.).$ What are they? Does Knight displays any of these traits and if so how? $(15$ marks$)$