July 20, 2023 – Phil Knight: Passionate entrepreneur, avid sports enthusiast, lover of cookies.
It turns out that Phil and I agreed about a lot of things, but we bonded over cookies. Seriously.
The founder of Nike is an acolyte of the chocolate chip cookies from Tarheel, one of Nike’s amazing on-campus restaurants. While he and I may have disagreed on that minor point (the lemon cookies are to die for), we both agreed that the cookies are the most important part of the meal.
Phil has a booth in Tarheel that is always reserved for him. He typically sits there after his meal, reading the newspaper (a real one!) with a glass of lemonade and a plate of cookies. As a fellow introvert, I adopted Phil’s habit and used that time in the middle of the day to recharge in a booth while catching up on news.
My first conversation with Phil was about cookies. I urged him to try the lemon cookies but his reply was, “when you find something great, you stick with it.” And even though I spent the next two years trying to persuade him to give the lemon cookies a try, he never wavered (even though I offered to buy).
During my last week at Nike, we snapped this picture together right next to his booth. He even removed his signature sunglasses for the pic which, if you know Phil, was a big deal. After wishing me the best with a goodbye hug, he asked me who he’s going to talk about cookies with (which actually choked me up).
Whenever I think about Phil, probably the thing I admire most is that he created a company that always goes “Above and Beyond.” It’s literally in Nike’s DNA, and it’s why I needed the recharge time each day. When you give your all, every day, feeling exhausted is awesome.
Phil only had one gear – full speed. I re-read his book, Shoe Dog. If you haven’t read it, it’s fantastic and I’d highly recommend it. There are so many valuable stories for business leaders shared within its pages, and it’s nothing short of inspiring for those who are starting a business.
One of our core values at Quantum Leap Insights is inspired by my time at Nike, where delivering top-shelf experiences and outcomes by starting with the end in mind is a cultural norm.
Phil and I may have bonded over cookies, but the ritual of taking some time out to enjoy a simple reward for “Going Above and Beyond” reinforced the value of going all in every day. And I’m pretty sure that’s why the cookies at Tarheel are some of the best anywhere.
While Phil may be in a league of his own when it comes to business, his work ethic and commitment are values worth emulating.