Bill Bowerman: Nike’s Mad Scientist & Knight’s Partner

Bill Bowerman: Nike’s Mad Scientist & Knight’s Partner

One of Phil Knight’s key partners at Nike was Bill Bowerman, a star Olympic track coach and Phil’s former running coach from college. Bowerman was the mad scientist of the group, experimenting with new shoe designs and rubber formulations to produce a better running shoe. In one landmark experiment, he squeezed rubber in his wife’s waffle iron, producing the waffle sole. Learn more about Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman’s partnership here, with an excerpted summary of Phil Knight’s autobiography, Shoe Dog.

4 Lessons on Power from Otto von Bismarck

4 Lessons on Power from Otto von Bismarck

Who was Otto von Bismarck? How did he keep his power in a rapidly-changing Europe? What can he teach us about maintaining power? Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian diplomat and politician who controlled German foreign affairs for 30 years in the mid- to late-1800s. We’ll cover what made Otto von Bismarck so powerful and how you can apply those lessons to your relationships and careers.

Jeff Johnson and Nike: A Key Early Employee

Jeff Johnson and Nike: A Key Early Employee

In 1965, Nike founder Phil Knight hires his first full-time employee, a fellow Stanford runner named Jeff Johnson who will sell shoes in Los Angeles. Jeff Johnson has a messianic view on running—believing running done right is akin to enlightenment—and Phil hasn’t met anyone with his passion for running. This is the story of Jeff Johnson and Nike, from Phil Knight’s book Shoe Dog.

The Talleyrand-Napoleon Alliance: 7 Lessons for Keeping Power

The Talleyrand-Napoleon Alliance: 7 Lessons for Keeping Power

Who was Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord? And how did the aristocrat manage to remain a powerful French diplomat and politician after the French Revolution brought down the monarchy? In particular, what can we learn by analyzing the Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship? The Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship was a complex one. Napoleon didn’t trust Talleyrand, but Talleyrand was too good an aide to give up. We’ll cover the 7 lessons about maintaining power we can learn from analyzing the Talleyrand-Napoleon relationship and Talleyrand’s canny diplomacy strategies.

Victor Lustig: 3 Lessons from the World’s Best Conman

Victor Lustig: 3 Lessons from the World’s Best Conman

Who was Victor Lustig? What made him one of the greatest conmen in history? What can we learn from him? Victor Lustig was a stylish swindler who successfully scammed people throughout Europe and the United States in the early 1900s. Although he ended his life in prison, Victor Lustig was a powerful force at his peak. We’ll cover the three primary lessons about power we can learn from Victor Lustig.