Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE Paperback – May 2, 2018

Wow. I loved this book. Having worked with Nike on a few jobs, I had a lot of gaps of its history. This book isn't so much about shoes as it is about the epic journey of entrepreneurship, friendship, and self-discovery. Knight writes with such honesty and humility at times, it's hard to believe that this is the man worth billions that created the most iconic sports apparel brand in the world.What I like most is Knight's mindset. He had determination and fire in his belly. His belief in his brand was relentless despite some major setbacks. And in this book, he talks about a lot of them. The only part that got sluggish for me was the end with all the US government negotiations stuff. Other than that, it was a very interesting read.It's a bonus that it was written from an Oregonian because I'm a Native Oregonian--and never have I been so proud to be one. His talk about the Men of Oregon echoes the kind of things pioneers and founding fathers sound like. You can tell that Knight wanted to leave a legacy in he could be proud. He was grateful for his roots. They way Knight talks about Steve Prefontaine is so endearing. It was interesting to hear an insider's version of this amazing track athlete. In fact, because I knew so little about Pre, I started to feel like a bad Oregonian (in my defense, he did die before I was born). Now I know why everything that Nike stands for can be traced in the spirit of Pre. He was a charismatic rebel with a cause. (If you go to the Nike HQ museum, they still loop his Olympic run on an old television.)Through it all, you get a sense of what loyalty and friendship meant to Knight: it's literally the glue that held his business together. Since I'm friends with many Nike directors and executives, it's clear now why most of them have worked there for over thirty years (I think their campus badges are black). That's practically unheard of.I'm biased because I've done work with Nike and grew up in Portland. But I'm unbiased in that I'm a loyal fan of Asics running shoes. Ironically, that's how Knight built his empire so I don't feel all that bad. Still, I do have lots of Nike gear and now I look at it a whole lot differently. The swoosh is much brighter than before.Part of my neutrality with Nike was all the talk about the sweat shops in the late 1990's. Knight clearly gives his two cents on that towards the end of the book which still leaves room to interpret the whole issue. But now I see both sides of the coin. Since they changed their tune, put more money into philanthropies (hundreds of millions), and are the model for corporate sustainable development, ultimately I think they're a good force in the universe.Reading this book I soon realized that no matter what Knight was talking about--Nike's flaws or Nike's triumphs--he was a great storyteller. Just as he mentions embedding his sons into historical events in their nightly bedtime story, Knight mindfully embeds the reader into the history of Oregon, America, and the shoe industry. Somehow he made it all sound exciting.I was worried that the book would not be complete. It doesn't have a table of contents so until you get it, you don't know that it's the history of Nike from 1962-1980. Each year is a chapter, and then he sums up the last twenty years of Nike in a chapter at the end. But it all makes sense: Knight ends the book in the year he took his company public. I'm sure he had more adventures to tell, but he got out the main story of all of his hard-fought battles with competitors, athletes, governments, and ultimately himself.Since I've been to the HQ (which employees call the campus), I know there are dozens of more stories. They're all bigger than life. Each building has a history of its own and every time I'm out there, they're building another cluster of buildings. (I was told they stopped naming buildings after people who are alive because of the Lance Armstrong debacle.) Pretty soon they'll buy the whole town of Beaverton and just call it Nike Town. There are stories like Tiger Woods breaking a glass window that houses the lap pool--an entire football field away.That's what you get with Nike: incredible story after incredible story. Guess what the call the marketing department? Nike Story. It makes perfect sense. It's where they articulate the soul of Nike to the world. If there ever was a company with soul, Nike is it. (No pun intended: sole/soul.) This book really captures the amazing story of a businessman and his vision. Anyone interested in entrepreneurship, teamwork, leadership, track, shoes, or Oregon should pick it up for sure. You won't regret it!

The memoir offers an incredible, behind-the-scenes look at the creation and growth of Nike, one of the most iconic brands in the world. Phil Knight recounts his personal and professional journey from the early days of selling shoes out of the trunk of his car to building a global empire. His storytelling is engaging, and the book provides fascinating insights into the challenges, risks, and lessons learned along the way.What I found particularly compelling was Knight’s honesty about the struggles and setbacks he faced in building Nike. It’s a candid and inspiring account of perseverance, vision, and the drive to succeed against all odds.Shoe Dog is a must-read for entrepreneurs, business enthusiasts, or anyone interested in the story behind one of the most successful brands in history.

Phenomenal book about the importance of having a passion and chasing it. Phil Knight is passionate and he is authentic. His authenticity comes through in, “Shoe Dog,” as he candidly tells of the incredible story of building upon his passion for running by starting a shoe company and building it into something bigger than anyone imagined. The book is candid telling the good and bad in Knight’s professional and personal life from his school days, to starting a business and eventually bringing it public in the early 1980s. It is an entertaining story that goes much deeper than simply being CEO of Nike. Knight’s story is inspiring and fascinating. It is a must read for any entrepreneur.

It has been quite humbling to trace the origins of the Nike brand through words of the founder himself.Comparing this to other biographies I’ve read, there’s definitely plenty of room for improvement to the author’s writing. At times I found the storytelling quite rushed and disconnected. There was much effort on humor, but many a times I fell short of spotting it out at first read.Narration aside, the book is still a wonderful read. As with most accounts of successful people, the principles and habits remain consistent. In the world where people like to credit single-person -heroics, Phil Knight was able to rightly credit much of Nike’s success to the founding team, his family and friends.It was quite enlightening to read about the founding team. Guys like Bill Bowerman, Phil’s old track coach at Oregon, who was instrumental in some of the first shoe designs. Jeff Johnson, the first full time employee of Nike who actually coined the company’s name. Del Hayes, the overweight, meticulous, numbers guy with a healthy appetite for booze. Bob Woodell who showed one can still do the best work of his life from a wheelchair. Rob Strasser, Nike’s first in-house lawyer who was instrumental in signing Michael Jordan for the Jordan brand.It was also quite humbling to read about people like Bob Woodell’s parents who gave Phil a loan out of their hard-earned life savings because they believed in Nike’s vision which was shared by their son. Also noteworthy is Nissho company who also took a chance on Nike when local banks denied him of credit. From Nissho: Sumeragi, Ito and Masaru Hayami were instrumental in Nike’s success, particularly Hayami who continued advising Phil much later in his life. Steve “Pre” Prefontaine, who inspired the 1970s running boom and the first chief evangelist of Nike’s running shoes.Phil has managed to highlight the biggest reason why Nike has been successful in the global shoe industry: they ensured the shoes business was about the athletes and the people and less to do with the shoes. This spirit stemmed from the core group that founded the company and later passed on to many athletes that they were able to endorse. Negotiations aside, this explains why Nike has been successful to recruit big names such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.Phil closes the book on a sombre note, questioning the purpose of everything it took to get there. Weighing out the some of the trade-offs that come with chasing success, particularly losing time on family. But he appears to take solace in seeing the spirit of Nike continuing to live through the staff, and most importantly, the athletes.I recommend this book to upcoming entrepreneurs and others who find inspiration from biographies.Notable quotes:“Business is war without bullets.” – Anonymous“No brilliant idea was ever born in a conference room, but a lot of silly ideas have died there.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald.“Somebody may beat me, but they’re going to have to bleed to do it.” – Steve “Pre” Prefontaine.