1) You read about an entrepreneur:
- What surprised you the most?
- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
I found many elements of the life of Phil Knight to be surprising - I guess the main thing I was surprised about was how long it took to get Nike off the ground. Nearly 8 years into trying to launch his shoe company, and he was still struggling to keep it afloat. I absolutely admire his willingness to succeed and how he never viewed giving up as an option. Even as he sat in a room full of people who were telling him to give up, he'd take that as fuel and try harder. What I didn't exactly admire is how he put his family on the back burner but he had a lot on his plate with trying to grow Nike, though I don't agree with him leaving his wife in the hospital to go to a track race. I also didn't like how he wouldn't respond to people, especially Johnson. Phil Knight absolutely encountered failure.. time, and time again he was told no. He was told that what he was doing wasn't going to work. From his very first quest of traveling the world, he was faced with challenge that never caused him to back down. Every time an obstacle was thrown his way, he never crumbled - he would automatically take the task head on and come out okay on the other side. He always fought and believed in himself and what he was saying, from the very beginning, from when he was selling shoes out of the trunk of his car to when he was fighting for the financial security of his business when the US government wanted to bill them $25 million dollars.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
He exhibited the ability of consistency, intelligence, and the determination to succeed. He found a solution to every problem, and stated that when you have a calling and you're working towards something you believe in - the failures hurt a little less. The bad days are a little less daunting, because what you're doing holds meaning. He had multiple degrees and was a skilled accountant, he balanced this career with starting his company until he could branch out on his own.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I wouldn't say anything necessarily confused me other than why he wouldn't respond or congratulate his employees who were just trying to help him. Johnson is a BIG contributor to Nike in the early days in pushing sales and Knight never really ever gave him any recognition.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
1.) Do you think things would be different if you didn't come from a family with money? Since your dad was able to give you a couple thousand to start off with - a lot of people don't have that source of money in the beginning. I would ask this because I think it causes a big difference. Especially back then in the early days, a thousand+ dollars was serious money.
2.) What ever happened to your friend when you left Hawaii? Did he continue to sell encyclopedias? Did he marry the Hawaiian girl? I ask this because I'm curious. It was kind of a side plot that was never explained. He wrote a letter to him but he never got back to Knight in the book.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I think Knight's opinion of hard work is pouring every blood, sweat, tear, and time into what your calling is. Long hours, long nights, long flights - travel. Finding yourself and finding a belief to manifest into a lifestyle of entrepreneurship. You must work hard for what you believe is right and never back down. Lots of knowledge through books and traveling, always learning more. Creating a solid team of trusted people around you to carry that work load, being able to delegate tasks between who you believe is right for whatever ask. Never letting an obstacle scare you externally even if it's killing you internally. Hard work is resilience, consistency, and just doing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment