Baskin Robbins

Who can resist the feel of the soft, creamy and icy feeling of Baskin Robbins in our mouths. The remarkable taste mixed with the pleasure that comes with it just makes spending a small fortune on it totally worth it. As we all know, Baskin Robbins is an ice cream with a class of its own. A reasonable person will not, cannot and know not to compare it with other ice creams like Nestle, Walls and even Magnum for the matter.  To me, reading an article regarding my favourite ice cream is more like a privileged. I get to know how the ice cream originated and the success behind it. This ice cream is just too addictive. So what makes this ice cream so wonderful and addictive till people don’t mind forking out quite a lump sum of money just for this even if u put magnum which is only RM4 next to it?How can two people, Mr Burt Baskin and Mr Irv Robbins come up with such a wonderful creation and spoil everyone.It got me thinking then that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, innovation comes in various ways. Little things that you would never expect to bring a fortune can prove you wrong. Food, is a guilty pleasure for everyone and moreover if it was ice cream. Mr Baskin and Mr Robbins were smart to take it to their advantage and vola! They came up with a burst of flavours from their innovation and now Baskin Robbins is one of the top ranking ice creams in the world.Even typing about it makes me crave for the ice cream right this second. See how two people can manipulate the world and make them addictive to their creation? Well, that is exactly what I would like to do. Create something that would make it irresistible to the society.Since food is my forte, I shall take it to my advantage. This also buries a hidden meaning and that is, “make whatever you are good at to your own advantage, enhance it and make something out of it”.Mr Burt and Mr Robbins really inspired me to do something out of the ordinary. Something that gives guilty pleasure to everyone and is not boring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baskin-Robbins

Steven Spielberg

http://movieretrospect.blogspot.com/2012/09/steven-spielberg-humanist-stylist-and.html

The above article is a story based on an extraordinary man in the world of films. He has ventured into genre of films and has won numerous awards for the Best Director nomination. He is none other than Mr Steven Spielberg.

Why did I choose him to be one of my favourite entrepreneurship? The reason is simply because every person who watches and understands English movies is very much familiar with his name. Everyone only knows him as an award winning director but not many are aware that he is also a famous entrepreneur.

Good movies... Ah! That’s every student’s treat after a stressful week. We look forward for the weekends so that we can catch up with all the latest movies being aired. But, do we actually take a minute and think past the screens? Like for example, how did the direction of the movie take place, how was it like writing the script, how long did it take, were there any controversies behind the movie? Not really right? Well I’m just the same, but after reading this article, it moved me as I finally know that Mr Steven Spielberg did a lot more than mere direction of a movie. Hmm... I wonder how it would be like juggling so many things at once as he even has his own media company Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Skg, he has done a few acting roles, and in 2005 the director signed with Electronic Arts to collaborate on three video games including an action game and an award winning puzzle game for the Wii called Boom Blox (and its 2009 sequel: Boom Blox Bash Party).

Despite being involved in so many areas at once, Steven Spielberg seems to be leading the lifestyle of every guy’s dream. Who wouldn’t want to be around pile load of movies every day and get associated with the Gaming industry. I would definitely want an interesting lifestyle as that, though there would be the occasional bumps every once in a while. For example, when his movie does not achieve the anticipated reviews or his movies does not get into blockbuster and so on. But what intrigues me is that to be a film director and an entrepreneur at the same time, he must be a very creative man. He has to often think out of the box and always exuberate amazing ideas. It’s not easy coming up with good story lines, and at the same time making sure these stories are not similar.

The art of creative thinking definitely helps a person to be a successful entrepreneur. Comparing a business person (who has always been suffocated with business dealings) to a person who has put his feet into different areas, this person is most likely to succeed compared to the businessman. Know why? Because this person is not as rigid as the business man and the knowledge he has would be very wide. A business man only sees what lies in front of him and chooses to avoid risk at all cost but an entrepreneur dives right into the risks. What more if you’re a person like Steven Spielberg with blessed creative thinking skills, you can then not go wrong.

Well, however this is how I perceive things but it may vary from individual to individual. Many would only chose one field to expertise in and feel contended in it, but definitely not me. I love to explore my abilities and strength.

Vera Wang

All this while, I was more drawn into the commercial side of entrepreneurship as in only the business aspects. But, this one article really caught my eyes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Wang

The article exquisitely tells us the story about an amicable lanky Asian woman named Vera Wang. While reading this article, it taught me how important fashion contributes to the world of entrepreneurship. Many people, parents in fact think that indulging one’s self in fashion is just a waste of time. But the cold harsh truth is that, fashion is one industry that will never go down. It blooms with prospect all the time and the society goes insane over it. Reading the story of success on Vera Wang, how from a figure skater she stepped into the world of fashion opens up my eyes that fashion is another main branch to entrepreneurship.

Fashion does more than just teaching people ways to suit up. No, fashion in fact gives people, especially business people passion, desire and excitement. We all need the elements of fashion to survive in this fast pacing world.

While reading this article, it hit me how important fashion is to entrepreneurship and if I were to dwell in this industry, I would definitely make a name for myself as I am also a person who adores brands and is very passionate about it.

Hmm, to emphasize more on my love for fashion, my style inspiration would be Scott Disick, the guy from Keeping up with the Kardashians, the oldest sister, Kourtney’s boyfriend, the one who got Kourtney pregnant the one... Okay I shall just stop there. Hope you guys know who he is. It’s so exciting how mere mention of him together with fashion already excites me. Flashes of Armani suits, Rolex watches, Christian Dior’s neckties and so on comes to my mind. I envisage myself to open up a boutique with my very own brand or even being able to collaborate with these couture houses would be a tremendous achievement. Kishanthan’s House of Couture, or maybe Shan’s Glam Wear, or Kishan’s Dress To Kill, or…I know I know.. I am getting way ahead of myself. But doesn’t the ring to all those names feel good? Well it feels magical to me. And it’s not a crime to dream big and I shall keep telling myself that.

As what I am able to depict from the article, Fashion is a flexible industry where everyone immaterial with designing backgrounds or not can still have a taste of it. Looking back at Vera Wang, she now designs exquisite wedding gowns for people from the higher end of society. She never expected to land there as she was an athlete before this. Two very different paths but somehow it crossed one day because this woman was not afraid to dream big. Her wedding gowns are the most sought after and are always talked about.

Someday, I would come up with something where everyone remembers me of it. Probably my very own designs on jackets. That would be one of my life goal. And knowing what sort of a person I am, I will achieve it with the right woman by my side. =) 

Oprah Winfrey

The Article that truly moved me was one regarding the wonderful Oprah Winfrey.http://www.biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419

After reading this article, hats off to this inspiring woman as she truly moved me in so many ways. As a guy, it amazes me to read about such a terrific woman who was not afraid to conquer the world of entrepreneurship.

The achievements by Oprah are endless. Despite going through such a traumatic background that is out of the ordinary, she still blossomed into a mesmerizing woman.
As her favourite quote goes “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you”

Here, Oprah teaches us how to not surrender everything to faith but to take charge and make a difference in your life. For example, if I wanted to eat chicken chop that very moment, I should not let my laziness of driving all the way kick in and just brush the thought away. No! I should take charge of my thought, drive all the way there, get my chicken chop and make my tummy happy. And then, I should give myself a pat at the back for going the extra length just to get what I want to satisfy myself.
Thus, this will be a practise for me in anything that I set my mind to.

Coming from a distorted background where she was raped and got pregnant, never once she let her nightmares overshadow her dreams. She jumped across hurdles, fought through battles, pushed pass her fears and strived for what she believed in.
And now, she is the top most talked about tv host globally and also the richest woman in the world.

She has hosted and co-hosted many tv shows where she has also done many top notch celebrity interviews. In 1993, she hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson, which became the fourth most watched event in American television history, and then also interviews with Ludacris, Kanye West and etc.

Not only does she do hosting and interviews but she also stepped into the world of filming. In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple as a distraught housewife, Sofia. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. In addition to all that, Winfrey also has co-authored five books and published various magazines to share her inspiring stories.

She is definitely a person with such bold characters and is not afraid to take charge. As also quoted by her “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”
This quote happens to be one of my favourite as it drives me to push myself and not just watch myself give up in something. Failing is not the grave mistake but giving up is.
Therefore, from now on, I have come to my senses that I will keep trying till I reach the top and I cannot expect success overnight as it happens gradually. 

Byung-Chull Lee

On March 1, 1938, founding chairman Byung-Chull Lee started a business in Taegu, Korea with 30,000 won. Unlike other electronic companies Samsung origins were not involving electronics but other products.

In 1938 the Samsung's founder Byung-Chull Lee set up a trade export company in Korea, selling fish, vegetables, and fruit to China. Within a decade Samsung had flour mills and confectionary machines and became a co-operation in 1951. Humble beginnings. At first, Mr Lee's little business was primarily in trade export, selling dried Korean fish, vegetables, and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing. But in just over a decade, SAMSUNG - meaning literally "three stars" in Korean - would have its own flour mills and confectionery machines, its own manufacturing and sales operations, and ultimately become the roots of the modern global corporation that still bears the same name today.

1938

  March SAMSUNG founded in Taegu, Korea

1951

  Jan SAMSUNG Moolsan established (Known today as SAMSUNG Corporation)

1966

  May Joong-Ang Development established (Known today as SAMSUNG Everland)

1968

  Nov Koryo General Hospital opened (Renamed Kangbuk SAMSUNG Hospital in 1995)

1969

  Dec SAMSUNG-Sanyo Electronics established (Renamed SAMSUNG Electro-Mechanics in March 1975 and merged with SAMSUNG Electronics in March 1977)
  

Jan SAMSUNG Electronics Manufacturing incorporated (Renamed SAMSUNG Electronics in February 1984)

SAMSUNG's industrial era (1970 ~1979)...

Samsung is a top rated electronic & IT brand. In 2006, Business Week rated Samsung as 20th on the Top 100 global brands and the Number 2 in the electronics industry. Business Week also ranked Samsung as #20 in a ranking of the "Top 100 Most Innovative Companies" in a special report published April 24, 2006. In January 2007, BrandFinance ranked the company as the number 1 global brand in electronics.

The semiconductor division of Samsung Electronics is the world's largest memory chip and second largest semiconductor manufacturer worldwide. In particular this has been the case for DRAM and SRAM for over a decade. From 1999 to 2002, Samsung conspired with Hynix Semiconductor, Infineon Technologies, Elpida Memory (Hitachi and NEC) and Micron Technology to fix the prices of DRAM chips sold to American computer makers. In 2005 Samsung agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $300 million fine, the second-largest criminal antitrust fine in the US history. Samsung, the world's largest LCD manufacturer, plans to begin running its eighth-generation manufacturing line to make 57-inch panels during the second half of the year.

In 2007, Samsung became the world's second largest mobile phone manufacturer, surpassing Motorola, just behind Nokia.

Then they developed smart phones and a phone combined mp3 player towards the end of the 20th century. To this date Samsung are dedicated to the 3G industry. Making video,camera phones at a speed to keep up with consumer demand. Samsung has made steady growth in the mobile industry and are currently second but competitor Nokia is ahead with more than 100% increase in shares.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J)

One of America's most admired companies, Johnson & Johnson (J & J) is one of the largest healthcare firms in the world and one of the most diversified. J & J generates about half of its revenues outside the United States, through its network of 190 operating companies in 51 countries and its marketing organization that sells in more than 175 countries.

1886

Three brothers, Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson, found Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.

1888

The Company publishes "Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment," which quickly becomes one of the standard teaching texts for antiseptic surgery. It helps spread the practice of sterile surgery in the U.S. and around the world. Johnson & Johnson pioneers the first commercial first aid kits. The initial kits are designed to help railroad workers, but soon become the standard in treating injuries.

1894

Johnson & Johnson launches maternity kits to make childbirth safer for mothers and babies. JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder goes on the market. Its success leads to the Company's heritage Baby business.

1896-1897

Employees manufacture the first mass-produced sanitary protection products for women, a huge step forward in women's health.

1898

The Company is the first to mass produce dental floss to make it affordable so that people can take better care of their teeth. The floss is originally made from leftover suture silk.

1900

The tradition of providing disaster relief begins when the Company donates products and money to help the citizens of Galveston, Texas, in the aftermath of a hurricane.

1901

As part of its commitment to first aid, Johnson & Johnson publishes the first First Aid Manuals, using proven best practices from leading physicians. The manuals are packaged with the Company's First Aid Kits.

1906

Within hours of the San Francisco Earthquake, Johnson & Johnson donates products and money to help the citizens of San Francisco, the largest amount of help from any organization.

1910

James Wood Johnson takes over the leadership of Johnson & Johnson until 1932.

 1921

BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, invented by employee Earle Dickson in 1920, go on the market. They are the first commercial dressings for small wounds that consumers can apply themselves.

1924

Their first overseas operating company opens in the United Kingdom.

1930-1931

The Company expands to Mexico and South Africa (1930) and to Australia (1931).

1931

A Johnson & Johnson operating company pioneers family planning products with ORTHO-GYNOL®, the first prescription contraceptive gel. This was based on the need for trusted family planning products.

1932

Robert Wood Johnson II, son of the Company founder by the same name, begins leadership of Johnson & Johnson. Known as General Johnson, he transforms the Company into a global decentralized Family of Companies.

1937

The Company expands to Argentina and Brazil. Ortho Research Laboratories, Inc. is established in Linden, New Jersey, to make women's health products.

1943

General Robert Wood Johnson writes Our Credo, which remains the guiding philosophy of Johnson & Johnson.

1944

Dr. Philip Levine, the discoverer of the human rH factor, joins Ortho Research Laboratories, creating the beginnings of the worldwide diagnostics business. Johnson & Johnson goes public, with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

1949

Ethicon, Inc. is formed from the Company's heritage suture business.

1954

JOHNSON'S® Baby Shampoo with NO MORE TEARS® formula enters the market as the first mild and soap-free shampoo designed to be gentle enough to clean babies' hair but not irritate their eyes.

1957

The first Johnson & Johnson operating company opens in India.

1959

Johnson & Johnson acquires McNeil Laboratories in the U.S. and Cilag Chemie, AG in Europe, giving the Company a significant presence in the growing field of pharmaceutical medicines. One McNeil product, TYLENOL® (acetaminophen) elixir for children, is the first prescription aspirin-free pain reliever. A year later, it becomes available without a prescription and earns status as the pain reliever doctors and pediatricians recommend most.

1961

Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. in Belgium joins the Family of Companies. Its founder, Dr. Paul Janssen, is recognized as one of the most innovative and prolific pharmaceutical researchers of the 20th century.

1963-1973

Under Chairman and CEO Philip B. Hofmann's leadership, operating companies launch new treatments for schizophrenia, family planning and personal care. Also, 1963 marks the last year that JOHNSON'S® Baby Powder is sold in tins.

1978

Johnson & Johnson announces plans to build our new World Headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and forms a public-private partnership to revitalize the city.

1976-1989

During James E. Burke's tenure as Chairman and CEO, the Company enters new areas of health, such as vision care, mechanical wound closure and diabetes management, and opens the first operating companies in China and Egypt.

1987

Johnson & Johnson is a founding partner in Safe Kids Worldwide, the first national and then global campaign to reduce accidental childhood injury. By 2008, the campaign helps reduce the death rate for unintentional injury in children ages 14 and under in the U.S. by 45 percent.

1987

The vision care business introduces ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses, the first disposable contact lenses that can be worn for up to a week, thrown away and replaced with a fresh pair. The lenses eliminate the need for cleaning, disinfecting solutions and storage. Later, 1-DAY ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses become the first daily disposable contact lens.

1989-2002

Under Ralph S. Larsen's leadership as Chairman and CEO, Neutrogena Corporation, Kodak's Clinical Diagnostics business, Cordis Corporation and Centocor join the Family of Companies; Expansion continues into Russia and Eastern Europe.

1990s

Ethicon Endo-Surgery pioneers minimally invasive surgery, which uses very small incisions and helps patients recover faster than with traditional surgery.

1994

The PALMAZ-SCHATZ® stent, the first coronary stent, revolutionizes cardiology. Coronary stents keep vessels open so blood can flow to the heart. Later, Cordis Corporation introduces the first drug-eluting stent, which helps prevent the arteries from re-clogging.

2002

William C. Weldon becomes Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, only the eighth person to lead the Company since its founding. Under his leadership, the Company enters new therapeutic areas such as HIV/AIDS, and health and wellness. Johnson & Johnson acquires Tibotec-Virco BVBA to help address the vast unmet needs of patients with HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.

2006

Johnson & Johnson acquires Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, which brings in heritage consumer brands such as LISTERINE® Antiseptic (first formulated in 1879), BENGAY®, BENADRYL® and more.

2010

The Company supports the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to improve the health of mothers and children in developing countries. As a founding sponsor, Johnson & Johnson helps launch the United States’ first free mobile health service, providing health information via text messages for pregnant women and new mothers.

2011

Johnson & Johnson celebrates 125 years of caring and looks to the next 125 years of transforming care for patients, consumers and communities around the world.

[[ Reference to article : http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/johnson-johnson-history/ ]]

Larry Page & Sergey Brin

"Basically, our goal is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful."--Larry Page 

As Google’s chief executive officer, Larry is responsible for Google’s day-to-day-operations, as well as leading the company’s product development and technology strategy. He co-founded Google with Sergey Brin in 1998 while pursuing a Ph.D. at Stanford University, and was the first CEO until 2001—growing the company to more than 200 employees and profitability. From 2001 to 2011, Larry was president of products.

Larry holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University. He is a member of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) of the University of Michigan College of Engineering, and together with co-founder Sergey Brin, Larry was honored with the Marconi Prize in 2004. He is a trustee on the board of the X PRIZE, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004.

"To me, this is about preserving history and making it available to everyone"--Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin co-founded Google Inc. in 1998. Today, he directs special projects. From 2001 to 2011, Sergey served as president of technology, where he shared responsibility for the company’s day-to-day operations with Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.

Sergey received a bachelor’s degree with honors in mathematics and computer science from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is currently on leave from the Ph.D. program in computer science at Stanford University, where he received his master’s degree. Sergey is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship.

He has published more than a dozen academic papers, including Extracting Patterns and Relations from the World Wide Web; Dynamic Data Mining: A New Architecture for Data with High Dimensionality, which he published with Larry Page; Scalable Techniques for Mining Casual Structures; Dynamic Itemset Counting and Implication Rules for Market Basket Data; and Beyond Market Baskets: Generalizing Association Rules to Correlations.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page invented Google as a special project when they were students of Ph. D. at Stanford University in January 1996. The primary function of the search engine was to develop an efficient digital library for the students of the university. The project was funded and supported by the Graduate Fellowship of the National Science Foundation. To create the search engine, Page and Brin developed a very useful computer language known as the PageRank algorithm. Sergey Brin and Larry Page co-founded Google in 1998, and redefined the way people use the web. Now two of the world's richest people, they still play an active role in the company, encouraging fresh approaches to Google's unique culture and its expanding suite of services.

Like all good genius start-up stories, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. in a friend's garage in Menlo Park, Calif. Since its incorporation on September 4, 1998, the company has grown to nearly 20,000 full-time employees worldwide, and with a steady stream of new product developments, acquisitions, and partnerships, has extended its reach far beyond its modest beginnings as a web search engine. Perhaps even more impressive is Google's image as the pinnacle of cool, with a reputation for being hip, innovative and wildly successful--all without compromising its "Don't be evil" philosophy.

Larry Page's interest in technology began when his father, the late Carl Page--Michigan State professor and pioneer in the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence--gave him a computer at the age of six. Page graduated with honors from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in engineering and concentration in computer engineering. He achieved his undergraduate claim to fame by building an inkjet printer out of Lego blocks.

Page worked for a few years in the technology industry before deciding, at the age of 24, to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University. It was there, as a prospective student, that he met Sergey Brin, who was assigned to show him around the campus. Brin, originally from Moscow, moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 6 years old. He received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and computer science, with honors, from the University of Maryland, where his father taught mathematics. At Stanford, he was studying ways to extract patterns and relationships from large amounts of data.

Google's own website implies that the two disagreed "about most everything" during this first meeting.

But their friendship was given the chance to blossom in 1996, when Brin joined Page in his BackRub research project, exploring backlinks--links on other websites that refer back to a given webpage--as a way to measure the relative importance of a particular site. The pair then developed the PageRank algorithm (named after Page), hypothesizing that using this tool, they could produce better results than existing search engines, which returned rankings based on the number of times a search term appeared.

They tested the BackRub search engine later that year on Stanford's servers. Without a web developer, they kept the search page simple, but were challenged to find enough computing power to handle queries as the search engine become increasingly popular.

"At Stanford we'd stand on the loading dock and try to snag computers as they came in," Page said in an interview with Technology Review in 2000. "We would see who got 20 computers and ask them if they could spare one."

Page and Brin eventually renamed the search engine Google, as a play on the word "googol," a mathematical term represented by the numeral one followed by 100 zeros--a reflection of their mission to organize the seemingly infinite amount of information on the internet.

Reluctant to leave their studies, the duo ran the operation out of their dorm rooms. But by mid-1998, Google was getting 10,000 searches a day; so, finally convinced, they maxed out $15,000 worth of credit cards to purchase a terabyte of disk space and drafted a business plan.

Things have gone well since then. In August 2004, Google went public with an IPO that raised $1.67 billion, and in typical Google fashion, became the first and only company to allocate its stocks using computers rather than Wall Street bankers. For the quarter ending June 30, 2008, the company reported revenues of $5.37 billion, an increase of 39 percent compared to the second quarter of 2007.

The famous Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., is also something to boast about. Known for its relaxed atmosphere and envy-inducing employee perks like subsidized massages, on-site stylists, and three free gourmet meals a day, the campus currently spans 2 million square feet of office space, and a recent acquisition will soon add another 1 million square feet.

Google's "Milestones" page reads more like a novel than a series of highlights, but there's still more to come. In a 2005 interview with Financial Times, Brin stated, "There's a lot of room for improvement, there's no inherent ceiling we're hitting up on." And so far, that's been the case, from the $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube down to the continued development of the ubiquitously popular Google Maps and Picasa photo applications.

To say that Google has had a tremendous impact on the internet is the definition of understatement. After all, the company has already found its way into the vernacular--as a verb, no less. In 2006, the word "google" was added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary as, "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the World Wide Web."

Page and Brin are both on leave from Stanford, but success has kept them busy. They are still involved in daily operations at Google as president of products and president of technology, respectively.

NIKE INC

1950 – 1959

Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS), was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in January 1964. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tiger (now ASICS), making most sales at track meets out of Knight's automobile

Bill Bowerman was a nationally respected track and field coach at the University of Oregon, who was constantly seeking ways to give his athletes a competitive advantage. He experimented with different track surfaces, re-hydration drinks and – most importantly – innovations in running shoes. But the established footwear manufacturers of the 1950s ignored the ideas he tried to offer them, so Bowerman began cobbling shoes for his runners.

Phil Knight was a talented middle-distance runner from Portland, who enrolled at Oregon in the fall of 1955 and competed for Bowerman’s track program. Upon graduating from Oregon, Knight earned his MBA in finance from Stanford University, where he wrote a paper that proposed quality running shoes could be manufactured in Japan that would compete with more established German brands. But his letters to manufacturers in Japan and Asia went unanswered, so Knight took a chance.

He made a cold-call on the Onitsuka Co. in Kobe, Japan, and persuaded the manufacturer of Tiger shoes to make Knight a distributor of Tiger running shoes in the United States. When the first set of sample shoes arrived, Knight sent several pairs to Bowerman, hoping to make a sale. Instead, Bowerman stunned Knight by offering to become his partner, and to provide his footwear design ideas to Tiger.

1960 - 1969

They shook hands to form Blue Ribbon Sports, pledged $500 each and placed their first order of 300 pairs of shoes in January 1964. Knight sold the shoes out of the trunk of his green Plymouth Valiant, while Bowerman began ripping apart Tiger shoes to see how he could make them lighter and better, and enlisted his University of Oregon runners to wear-test his creations. In essence, the foundation for what would become Nike had been established.
But Bowerman and Knight each had full-time jobs - Bowerman at Oregon and Knight at a Portland accounting firm - so they needed someone to manage the growing requirements of Blue Ribbon Sports. Enter Jeff Johnson, whom Knight had met at Stanford. A runner himself, Johnson became the first full-time employee of Blue Ribbon Sports in 1965, and quickly became an invaluable utility man for the start-up company.

1970 - 1979

He created the first product brochures, print ads and marketing materials, and even shot the photographs for the company’s catalogues. Johnson established a mail-order system, opened the first BRS retail store (located in Santa Monica, Calif.) and managed shipping/receiving. He also designed several early Nike shoes, and even conjured up the name Nike in 1971.
Around this same time, the relationship between BRS and Onitsuka was falling apart. Knight and Bowerman were ready to make the jump from being a footwear distributor to designing and manufacturing their own brand of athletic shoes.
 They selected a brand mark today known internationally as the “Swoosh,” which was created by a graphic design student at Portland State University named Carolyn Davidson. The new Nike line of footwear debuted in 1972, in time for the U.S. Track & Field Trials, which were held in Eugene, Ore.

One particular pair of shoes made a very different impression – literally – on the dozen or so runners who tried them. They featured a new innovation that Bowerman drew from his wife’s waffle iron – an outsole that had waffle-type nubs for traction but were lighter than traditional training shoes.

With a new logo, a new name and a new design innovation, what BRS now needed was an athlete to endorse and elevate the new Nike line. Fittingly for the company founded by Oregonians, they found such a young man from the small coastal town of Coos Bay, Ore.  His name: Steve Prefontaine.

Prefontaine electrified the packed stands of Oregon’s Hayward Field during his college career from 1969 to 1973. He never lost any race at his home track over the one-mile distance, and quickly gained national exposure thanks to cover stories on magazines like Sports Illustrated and his fourth-place finish in 1972 in the 5,000m in Munich.
Pre challenged Bowerman, Johnson and BRS in general to stretch their creative talents. In turn, he became a powerful ambassador for BRS and Nike after he graduated from Oregon, making numerous appearances on behalf of BRS and sending pairs of Nike shoes to prospective runners along with personal notes of encouragement.

His tragic death at age 24 in 1975 cut short what many believed would have been an unparalleled career in track – at the time of his death, he held American records in seven distances from 2,000m to 10,000m.  But Prefontaine’s fiery spirit lives on within Nike; Knight has often said that Pre is the “soul of Nike.”

1980 - 1989

Nike entered the 1980s on a roll, thanks to the successful launch of Nike Air technology in the Tailwind running shoe in 1979. By the end of 1980, Nike completed its IPO and became a publicly traded company. This began a period of transition, where several of Nike’s early pioneers decided to move on to other pursuits. Even Phil Knight stepped down as president for more than a year in 1983-1984, although he remained the chairman of the board and CEO.

By the mid-1980s, Nike had slipped from its position as the industry leader, in part because the company had badly miscalculated on the aerobics boom, giving upstart competitors an almost completely open field to develop the business. Fortunately, the debut of a new signature shoe for an NBA rookie by the name of Michael Jordan in 1985 helped bolster Nike’s bottom line.
In 1987, Nike readied a major product and marketing campaign designed to regain the industry lead and differentiate Nike from its competitors. The focal point was the Air Max, the first Nike footwear to feature Nike Air bags that were visible. The campaign was supported by a memorable TV ad whose soundtrack was the original Beatles’ recording of ‘Revolution.’

A year later, Nike built on its momentum from the ‘Revolution’ campaign by launching a broad yet empowering series of ads with the tagline “Just do it.” The series included three ads with a young two-sport athlete named Bo Jackson, who espoused the benefits of a new cross-training shoe.

In 1989, Nike’s cross-training business exploded, thanks in part to the incredibly popular “Bo Knows” ad campaign. By the end of the decade, Nike had regained its position as the industry leader, the first and only time a company in the athletic footwear/apparel industry has accomplished such a feat. Nike has never relinquished that position again.

1990 - 1999

Buoyed by a series of successful product launches and marketing campaigns, Nike entered the 1990s by christening its beautiful world headquarters in suburban Portland, Oregon. In November of 1990, Portland became the first home to a new retail-as-theatre experience called Niketown, which would earn numerous architectural design and retail awards and spawn more than a dozen other Niketown locations around the USA and internationally.

While Nike had designed footwear and apparel for golf and soccer for a number of years, the mid-1990s signalled a deepening commitment to truly excel in these sports. In 1994, Nike signed several individual players from what would be the World Cup-winning Brazilian National Team. In 1995, Nike signed the entire team, and began designing the team’s distinctive uniform. Nike also signed the US men’s and women’s national soccer teams, as well as dozens of national teams around the world.

In 1996, Nike Golf landed a vastly talented but as-yet-unproven young golfer named Eldrick “Tiger” Woods for a reported $5 million per year. Competitors laughed and critics howled at Nike’s ‘folly,’ until Tiger won the 1997 Masters by a record 12 strokes. No one is laughing now.

Nike also began investing in the sport of cycling, including a promising young cyclist who appeared to be on his way to success until he was diagnosed with cancer. He lost most of his sponsors, but Nike elected to stay with him. In 1999, Lance Armstrong’s incredible comeback resulted in the first of what would be seven consecutive Tour de France titles.

 2000-present

Nike rang in the new millennium with a new footwear cushioning system called Nike Shox, which debuted during Sydney in 2000. The development of Nike Shox culminated more than 15 years of perseverance and dedication, as Nike designers stuck with their idea until technology could catch up. The result was a cushioning and stability system worthy of joining Nike Air as the industry’s gold standard.

Just as Nike’s products have evolved, so has Nike’s approach to marketing. The 2002 “Secret Tournament” campaign was Nike’s first truly integrated, global marketing effort. Departing from the traditional “big athlete, big ad, big product” formula, Nike created a multi-faceted consumer experience in support of the World Cup.
“Secret Tournament” incorporated advertising, the Internet, public relations, retail and consumer events to create excitement for Nike’s soccer products and athletes in a way no single ad could ever achieve. This new integrated approach has become the cornerstone for Nike marketing and communications.

Today, Nike continues to seek new and innovative ways to develop superior athletic products, and creative methods to communicate directly with our consumers. The company has continued to expand in new ways, including strong growth in China and a deal to become the official sponsor of the National Football League (NFL) beginning in 2012.

At an investor meeting at its world headquarters in June 2011, NIKE, Inc. announced an increase to its fiscal 2015 revenue target to a new range of $28-30 billion, up from its previous target of $27 billion announced in May 2010. The company also increased its fiscal 2015 revenue target for the NIKE Brand to $24-25 billion, up from its previous target of $23 billion.
President and CEO Mark Parker said: “At NIKE, Inc. we run a complete offense, and it’s based on a core commitment to innovation. That’s how we stay opportunistic, serve the athlete, reward our shareholders, and continue to lead our industry.”

Henry Ford

Ford was an ordinary man who found an extraordinary way of doing business. He learned from his mistakes, rose above his obstacles and ignored the critics to follow his dreams and become one of the most successful businessmen of the 20th century. And, he never stopped dreaming. When asked in his later years to reflect on his company’s success, Ford said, “The progress has been wonderful enough – but when we compare what we have done with what there is to do, then our past accomplishments are as nothing.”

1899: Founded Detroit Automobile Company.

1903: Founded Henry Ford Company and Ford Motor Company.

“I will build a motor car for the great multitude.. It will be so low in price that no man will be unable to own one” –Henry Ford

At the time, “horseless carriages” were expensive toys available only to a wealthy few. Yet in just four decades, Ford’s innovative vision of mass production would not only produce the first reliable, affordable “automobile for the masses,” but would also spark a modern industrial revolution. “Paying attention to simple little things that most men neglect makes a few men rich,” said Ford. By focusing on producing cars in the most economically efficient way possible, Ford was not only successful in creating a low-cost car that the masses could afford, but he also revolutionized the entire manufacturing industry by introducing the moving assembly line. Whether it was his early days on the farm or his time at the top of the auto industry, Ford never stopped looking for ways to improve efficiency.

1909: Introduced Model T automobile.

 Ford reasoned that if each worker remained in one assigned place and performed one specific task, they could build automobiles more quickly and efficiently. In concocting his vision of the perfect team, Ford decided to make all his employees equal by removing titles on his workshop floors. Instead, he both encouraged workers to be responsible and accountable and supported innovation at the individual level. Ford ignored the controversy, hiring workers regardless of their pasts and refusing to hire so-called experts, whom he believed would actually slow the innovation process down. “I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say definitely what is and what is not possible,” he said. Ford also created a new high-wage of pay, which he believed would not only create a loyal workforce but would contribute to the nation’s prosperity.

 At peak efficiency, the old system had spit out a finished Model T in 12 and a half working hours. The new system cut that time by more than half. Ford refined and perfected the system, and within a year it took just 93 minutes to make a car.

1918: Named son Edsel Ford as president of Ford Motor Company.

1919: Built River Rouge automobile plant.

1927: Stopped production of Model T.

In May 1927, Ford laid off thousands of workers while he figured out a way to get back into the marketplace. At the age of 64 he was starting over. 

1928: Introduced Model A automobile.

With the release of a brand new Model A, Ford came roaring back to life. When the stock market crashed in October 1929, Ford Motor Co. was better off than most of its competitors. Thanks to the success of the new Model A, the company rode out the first two years of the Depression relatively untouched. Henry Ford even raised his workers’ wages while dropping the price of his automobile. But he could only hold out for so long.

1943: Became president of Ford Motor Company again after Edsel’s death. 

In May 1943, 50-year-old Edsel Ford died. So at the age of 80, in spite of his clearly diminished capacities, Henry Ford once again took up the reigns of Ford Motor Co. I n August 1943, the Navy sent Ford’s 26-year-old grandson home in hopes that Henry Ford II could bring order to the chaos that Ford had become. For months Clara Ford tried to convince Henry to step down and let their grandson take over. But Ford held out. Finally, Edsel’s widow, Eleanor, threatened to sell her considerable holdings in the company if her son wasn’t immediately named president

1945: Retired from Ford Motor Company.

Finally, Edsel’s widow, Eleanor, threatened to sell her considerable holdings in the company if her son wasn’t immediately named president. Henry Ford relented, and in September 1945 the crown was passed to Henry Ford II.

After stepping down as president, Ford went into seclusion, appearing only occasionally at company events. The raging fire that him driven him for more than eight decades had died out. 

1947: Died.

On an April evening in 1947, Ford laid his head on his wife’s shoulder and died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 84. Tens of thousands of people lined up to view Henry Ford’s body as it lay in state. Some factories closed, while others shut down for a moment of silence. In all, it’s estimated that several million workers were involved in some kind of demonstration of sympathy for the man who had irrevocably changed their lives and taught America to drive.

For Ford, money was the pleasant by-product of a life dedicated to service. His goal was to bring a high quality, affordable car to the masses in order to improve their standards of living and he believed that only by doing so would he achieve success. He believed that no business was worthwhile nor would it achieve prosperity if it were not devoted to a useful service, one that would contribute to the wealth of society in general.

Tony Fernandes

We all need someone to look up to motivate ourselves in life. The people who you choose as heroes,mentors or idol or anyone is a reflection of who you are or who you want to be.When I was young my heroes were the firemen, nowadays they are people who have succeeded inspite of difficulties. Someone who have become successful like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Donald Trump and many more.But one true hero who is close to my heart after reading the article above is none other then Dato Anthony Francis Fernandes.

-  He worked briefly in Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently the Financial Controller of Richard Branson’s Virgin Records. He is a Fellow Member of ACCA.

- At the age of 28, he became the youngest Managing Director of Warner Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

- In 2011, he started the Air Asia with RM1 to purchase a highly indebted (RM40 million worth of debts) malaysian government-linked airline.

Everyone thought he was crazy and expected him to fail yet just in 1 year on his takeover,AirAsia have cleared all its debts and even made a huge profit.

He was recently named one of the 100 most creative business people in 2011 by New York-based business megazine Fast Company (June 2011 Edition). In addition, the online version of the megazine also named Tony as one of the 10 most creative in Twitter.

In 2010, he was named Forbes Asia Businessman of the Year 2010.

In 2009, he was named the Airline CEO of the Year 2009 by Jane’s Transport Finance Megazine in London.

and many more awards… 

Factors that make him so special are:
1. His Air Asia Slogan “Now Everyone Can Fly”
2. He mission of serving the underserved
3. His personal belief to ”Dream the Impossible, Believe the Unbelievable, and Never take No for an Answer”
4. He believe to provide opportunities for talent to flourish, for meritocracy to reign and for people to realise their dreams.
5. He is determined to bring afforadbility in our other aspect of our life (such as Tune Hotel, Tune Talk and Tune Money, Tune Studio, Tune Tones & Epsom College of Malaysia)

I found all these great leader criteria in him:

• 1. He is visionary and a great business designer
• 2. Bold, brave and courages
• 3. Creative & innovative
• 4. Fast & decisive
• 5. Open and willing to empower his people
• 6. Smart in using technology to in operation, marketing and customer services
• 7. A busy man who knows how to build and have fun