Top 40 Mark Parker Quotes

I’m not a micromanager. I don’t believe in that.

When you work in a culture that thrives on innovation and is constantly moving into unchartered territory, you’re going to hit dead ends. But to be successful over the long term, remember what you’ve learned and move on from it quickly.

I was a pretty independent kid. I thought maybe I’d be a veterinarian or an environmental lawyer.

I’m a relentless sketcher. It goes back to how you process the world around you – the whole left-brain, right-brain thing. Some people are data-driven. I’ve always been more visual.

I don’t think you need a certificate to truly legitimize you or authenticate you as a designer. I think real innovation and creativity can come from everywhere.

As a company, I’m proud that Nike takes a stand on issues that impact all of us, our athletes, and society as a whole. And I am proud that Nike stands against discrimination in any form. We stand against bigotry. We stand for racial justice. We firmly believe the world can improve.

One of the challenges of innovation is challenging a set model. A traditional way to manufacture footwear existed for hundreds of years. Now we have a whole new way.

I tend to gravitate toward people who are a bit more eccentric and creative and artistic in some ways. And I like bringing disparate kinds of creative people together to create some great work, even to share points of view on a new direction.

The psychology of performance in athletic footwear and apparel is very real. Most athletes do not say, ‘Just give me what works the best – I don’t care what it looks like.’ They’re very concerned with what it looks like and how it makes them feel.

No one works harder at inspiring athletes all over the world than our team at Nike. Creating those experiences requires an amazing amount of energy, a steady flow of big ideas to excite and surprise people, and a constant dialogue that connects us on a personal level.

I don’t like when I say ‘honestly’ – not to imply that I’m otherwise not honest.

Nike is at its best when we focus on the future. Sport is in a constant state of progression. Athletes are expanding their potential every day – and so must we.

Design is an iterative process. One idea often builds on another.

Observing is really the fuel to innovating, ultimately.

I have sketched since a young age, so there’s always been an artistic side, a visual side to my personality.

I always carry a sketchbook around with me, and I sketch whenever I can… I might be in a financial review and be sketching because I find that I actually listen better when I sketch. Truth be told, there are probably more sketches in my books than there are written notes.

One of my biggest sources of angst is having people so comfortable with a formula that works that they are not challenging themselves or their ideas.

In difficult times, it’s important to speak up. We cannot change the past, but we can impact the future.

I think overdesigning comes from a lack of editing. The strongest, most compelling, and most useful things in life are irreducible – love, truth, faith, honor.

Let’s start with the athlete, Nike’s original and most important collaborator. To us, everything starts with the insight. That’s why we work with the deepest roster of athletes, to gain the most profound understanding of what’s needed to perform.

My wife will go, ‘You know, you’re drawing a shoe right now.’ I do that all the time.

Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination… Now, more than ever, let’s stand up for our values and remain open and inclusive as a brand and as a company.

Collaboration among individuals, brands, and industries will only continue to accelerate as technology facilitates and enables greater connection in real time from anywhere in the world. It’s why we’re experiencing such an unprecedented pace of innovation in every aspect of our lives.

I’m inspired by visual stimulation.

Regardless of whether or how you worship, where you come from or who you love, everyone’s individual experience is what makes us stronger as a whole.

I’ve gotten lots of great advice from lots of people that I admire, but the person who influenced me more than anyone in my life was my grandmother.

One way a collaboration can go wrong is if your connection is inauthentic or overly prescriptive.

I ran over 10 years without missing a day, averaging close to 15 miles. I loved being able to run a long distance and get that feeling of strength and exhilaration from being in good shape. There was a meditative quality about it. Almost effortlessness. That’s a special feeling.

I think a really great creative person is almost by nature incredibly curious and digging deeply into cultures and technologies and getting all this input and using it to make things better – basically, creating better solutions.

There is always an underlying spirit of invention at Nike – we love to create something that has never before existed. And not just new for the sake of new – it has to be better.

When I travel, I connect with creative people in all different fields and disciplines. It’s sort of just to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on. I think that’s important.

You don’t always have to start over to create an emotional reaction to your product. It’s always powerful to deliver a breakthrough, but there’s also a true art to making something great even better.

At a big company, often size turns into constipation; it fogs the lens about what’s really happening. Sometimes with size and success comes the notion that since we’ve done things to be successful, we have the formula and can institutionalize it. That can be death.

I love working with athletes. They’re all very demanding.

Nike believes in a world where everyone celebrates the power of diversity.

The biggest sources of opportunity are collaboration and partnership. And today, with digital communication, there is more of that everywhere. We need to expose ourselves to that as a matter of doing business.

Our brands – Nike, Converse, Jordan Brand and Hurley – are loved by customers all over the world. But we never take that for granted; we know that every day we have to earn their trust – by serving them completely and adding real value to their lives through products and experiences.

Eventually, I developed compartment syndrome in my calf and had to get surgery. I run three to five days a week now, mixed in with walking and other things. I want to run just because I enjoy it.

We need policies that will allow U.S. companies to invest in their business, innovate for the future, and create U.S. jobs.

Curiosity is life. Assumption is death.