Famous Manager

NAME PHILLIP H. gentle Position Chairman of Board of Directors in NIKE, INC The Nike boss wasnt a spacious fan of advertising, but the companys flair for promotion launched an athletic-shoe revolution. Play by the rules. that be ferocious. -Philip H. horse In 1993, the man whom The Sporting News voted the about powerful person in sports wasnt an athlete, a manager or a team owner. He was Philip H. Knight, the dynamic iconoclast who for nearly 30 geezerhood has shod the feet of sports legends and weekend warriors alike.In little than a decade, his marketing savvy and austere competitiveness had transformed the athletic-shoe industry and made Nike one of the most prosperous and widely recognized brand names in the world. Knight prototypal came up with the blueprint for what would become the worlds No. 1 athletic-shoe company era working on his masters degree at Stanford University. Assigned to write a term paper on wizardting a small seam in an area he k revolutionary well , the former University of Oregon track star naturally chose running.He outlined a plan for breaking the stranglehold Adidas had on the running-shoe market by using cheap Japanese labor to invent a cheaper, better-quality running shoe. Shortly subsequently graduating in 1962, Knight resolved to put his plan into action. He flew to Japan to visit Onitsuka tiger Co. , manufacturing business of an Adidas knockoff sold in Japan. Introducing himself as the head of no-account thenar Sports, a company which existed only in his mind, Knight told tiger executives that his hard was the ideal choice to import their situation into the United States.He convinced Tiger to send him nearly samples, promising to place an order after his partners examined them. cover charge in the United States, Knight borrowed money from his father to pay for the samples, and he sent a few pairs to his former University of Oregon coach, Bill Bowerman, who pronto became his partner. Putting up $500 each, Bo werman and Knight officially formed Blue Ribbon Sports and purchased 200 pairs of Tigers, which Knight began selling from his car at spicy school track meets throughout the Pacific Northwest.By the early 1970s, gross gross sales had reached $3 million, and Knight decided it was time for Blue Ribbon to break with Tiger and start designing its own shoes. In 1972, Blue Ribbon launched its Nike line, named after the Greek goddess of victory. Emblazoned with a swoosh logo Knight paid a Portland State art student $35 to design, the shoes featured a unique waffle sole-created by Bowerman-that offered better traction with less weight. Knights marketing strategy was simple.Rather than rely on advertising (which he professedly loathed), he would get top athletes to endorse his shoes, and then let his sales force sell the product. His strategy and the timing of the launch couldnt have been better. That summer, the exceptional track and field trials were held in Eugene, Oregon, with none opposite than Bill Bowerman as coach of the American Olympic team. Knight took full advantage of the opportunity, move Nikes on the feet of several top finishers. When they made national television, so did the shoes they were wearing.One of the most visible runners to wear Nikes was American record-holder Steve Prefontaine. A cocky, anti-establishment type, Prefontaine became the prime(prenominal) of a team of edgy athletes Knight recruited to endorse his shoes. As Knight had planned, athlete endorsements played a major role in boosting Nike sales throughout the 1970s. For instance, after tennis bad boy posterior McEnroe agony his ankle and began wearing Nike three-quarter-top shoes, sales of that style leapt from 10,000 pairs to over 1 million. And the sudden popularity of even outging combined with Nikes canny marketing created a demand where none existed before.No longer would any old pair of shoes do for that jog around the block people wanted to wear what the best in the world were wearing. and that was Nike (as Blue Ribbon was re-christened in 1978). Nike experienced continued winner throughout the early 1980s, thanks mostly to the tremendous sales of its institutionalize Jordan line. Commercials glorifying Michael Jordans high-flying, slam-dunking antics made the gaudy black and red sneakers a hot item, selling more than $100 million worth in the first class alone.By 1986, total sales hit $1 billion, and Nike surpassed Adidas to become the No. 1 shoe counterbalancer worldwide. Amazingly, Knight stumbled only once in his starring(predicate) career. In the late 1980s, Nikes strategy of focusing on hard-edged, hard-core athletes ignore the growing market for aerobics shoes. When British shoe manufacturer Reebok sky their leather shoes as a fashion item for the stylish aerobic workout crowd, they quickly overtook Nike in the top spot. Between 1986 and 1987, Nike sales dropped 18 percent.Knight was forced to face the fact that while Nike techno logy appealed to sports professionals, other consumers might rank appearance over function. In response, Nike came up with Nike Air-a multipurpose shoe with an air cushion in the sole. The commercial produced to unveil the new line featured the Beatles song Revolution. (The rights to which cost Nike $250,000. ) Nike Air may or may not have been a revolution in footwear, but it certainly revived sales. Nike regained the behave from Reebok in 1990 and has remained there ever since.But as Nike has grown into a huge multinational enterprise, it has become a attractor for controversy. In 1990, it came under fire from Jessie capital of Mississippi, who maintained that while African-Americans accounted for a openhanded percentage of Nikes sales, Nike had no black vice presidents or posting members. Jackson launched a boycott that led to the appointment of Nikes first black board member. That same year, stories of teenagers being killed for their Air Jordans sparked outrage at what was perceived as Nikes overzealous promotion of its shoes.More recently, Knight has been accused of exploiting factory workers in Asia, some of whom are paid less than $2 per day by the subcontractors who manufacture Nikes. But despite this negative publicity, Nike sales have remained strong. Philip Knight, now in his late 50s, has come to be viewed as one of the master marketers of the age. When asked by a reporter how he achieved such fame, in a hide reference to the Reebok torpedo that forced him to rethink his marketing strategy, Knight replied, How did John Kennedy become a war hero? They sunk his boat. Retrieved from www. ntrepreneur. com on April 10, 2013 As I can see on this article , we can ostensibly state that Phillip Knight became a good leader or manager. The qualities he have are (1)Perspective he have the vision of what he wanted or desires for the company to be better (2) able to inspires, encourage and touch off other employer to do job proper and positive (3) abl e to authorize with his other co-member to produce more effectively plan (4) able to lead and control the companys operation (5) Good in do effective decisions. Retrieved from www. entrepreneur. com