Top 53 Quotes & Sayings by Phil Knight

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American businessman Phil Knight.

Last updated on December 21, 2024.

Philip Hampson Knight is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of July 23, 2020, Knight was ranked by Forbes as the 24th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$54.5 billion. He is also the owner of the stop motion film production company Laika. Knight is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He ran track under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, with whom he would co-found Nike.

American - Businessman | Born: February 24, 1938

Source: Wikipedia

Sports is like rock 'n' roll. Both are dominant cultural forces, both speak an international language, and both are all about emotions.

Phil Knight

No parent should have their child die before he or she does.

Phil Knight

Up until the time I was 14 years old, I was sure that I was going to be a big-league baseball player. But that dream came to a rude awakening when I got cut from my high school baseball team.

Phil Knight

I think everyone born in Oregon is an environmentalist by birth.

Phil Knight

I've said many times that I might as well have webs between my toes.

Phil Knight

There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.

Phil Knight

I think I'm not a natural-born salesman, for sure, but If I have a product I really believe in, I can overcome some of the shyness and get through the things that aren't natural to me.

Phil Knight

We knew we could fail; we just didn't think we would.

Phil Knight

A shoe dog is somebody that really loves shoes, and that was me. I was a runner... that became important to me, and it's been with me ever since.

Phil Knight

In running, the only equipment that really matters - at least the mentality was in those days - were the pair of shoes that you wore.

Phil Knight

We wanted Nike to be the world's best sports and fitness company. Once you say that, you have a focus. You don't end up making wing tips or sponsoring the next Rolling Stones world tour.

Phil Knight

Running is a basic ingredient for your health, just as much as eating and sleeping, but going out for a run by yourself and taking a moment to think also creates a certain peace.

Phil Knight

Meeting sports athletes that are the best in the world is a thrill to this day.

Phil Knight

Any entrepreneur has to prepare for a lot of dark days, and they've got to really like what they are doing, and they have to have a reason for it to succeed.

Phil Knight

If there was no Bill Bowerman, there would have been no me. He had about as much of an impact on my life as any one person could have. He taught me about competition and ingrained it in me. He taught me not to praise ordinary performances.

Phil Knight

I'm Phil Knight, and I don't believe in advertising.

Phil Knight

I think a businessman can be an artist just as much as a writer or a sculptor, so I'm real proud of what the company has become.

Phil Knight

We took advantage of the running boom, which became the jogging boom, which became the fitness boom... and we've benefited from all of that.

Phil Knight

If there's one thing, I've been pretty good at evaluating people.

Phil Knight

We could see that he was a charismatic guy who jumps over the moon and is very competitive, but nobody could have predicted what he would become to our culture.

Phil Knight

When I took the entrepreneurship class at Stanford, the first lecture was about an entrepreneur and his personality. They described it as being different than a businessman, who is an overall scientific manager.

Phil Knight

Every businessman, or every person who has a passion for his work, is torn for the time spent at work and the time spent with your family.

Phil Knight

You can't explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don't have to. It's that simple.

Phil Knight

I've been fortunate to be around good people.

Phil Knight

I do believe that international trade agreements benefit both nations, always.

Phil Knight

The thing that got us going early was the running boom. And then, I think, we rode the Jordan bit, which then kind of crossed us over into the pop culture.

Phil Knight

When you really understand who you are, it enables you to fight and believe.

Phil Knight

If you're trying to get into the sports business, you really have to find a niche.

Phil Knight

There is no drama like the drama on the athletic field.

Phil Knight

I don't consider myself enigmatic, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my public persona.

Phil Knight

I know when the Berlin wall went down and I walked into what was East Berlin and saw two big Nike banners - that gave me a chill.

Phil Knight

The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few.

Phil Knight

I didn't say I'm walking away. I said I was stepping down as chairman. I won't walk away. I'll be carried away.

Phil Knight

Obviously, the bulk of my Nike shares have been set up in a trust.

Phil Knight

I still get real nervous when I go in front of more than two people.

Phil Knight

When we changed from Tiger to Nike, we had to have a design for the shoe. And where do you go to? There's no 'dial 9-1-1' for design.

Phil Knight

At first, we couldn't be establishment, because we didn't have any money. We were guerrilla marketers, and we still are, a little bit. But, as we became No. 1 in our industry, we've had to modify our culture and become a bit more planned.

Phil Knight

It doesn't matter how many people you offend, as long as you're getting your message to your consumers. I say to those people who do not want to offend anybody: You are going to have a very, very difficult time having meaningful advertising.

Phil Knight

I truly believe the American consumer doesn’t want to buy products made under abusive conditions.

Phil Knight

Now we understand that the most important thing we do is market the product. We've come around to saying that Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool.

Phil Knight

Nike is a marketing-oriented company, and the product is our most important marketing tool.

Phil Knight

Dream audaciously. Have the courage to fail forward. Act with urgency.

Phil Knight

It is possible to tell a customer "no", and have the customer thank you for doing it

Phil Knight

Perception can be changed

Phil Knight

It's alright to be Goliath but always act like David.

Phil Knight

Play by the rules, but be ferocious.

Phil Knight

There comes a time in every life when the past recedes and the future opens. It's that moment when you turn to face the unknown. Some will turn back to what they already know. Some will walk straight ahead into uncertainty. I can't tell you which one is right. But I can tell you which one is more fun.

Phil Knight

A brand is something that has a clear-cut identity among consumers, which a company creates by sending out a clear, consistent message over a period of years until it achieves a critical mass of marketing.

Phil Knight

Make history or be a part of it.

Phil Knight

Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are really part of a very big advertising program, and the fact that they make so much money is because the markets have dictated that they get that money, and the fact that they endorse our products allows us to sell more products and create more jobs.

Phil Knight

Dare to take chances, lest you leave your talent buried in the ground.

Phil Knight

We used to think that everything started in the lab. Now we realize that everything spins off the consumer.

Phil Knight

My job is to listen to ideas, maybe cook up a few of my own, and make decisions based on what's good for the shareholders and for the company.

Phil Knight