Shoe Dog

It may seem surprising that a review of a “sports book” would appear on my site, where book reviews are essentially reserved for the domain of politics and economics. But that surprise would stem from a gigantic misunderstanding, for Shoedog is no “sports book.” Rather, it is a virtual economics textbook. And one every business student in America should read. Indeed, it is one a certain White House occupant should read as well. For those interested in sports, as I am, history, as I am, and business, as I am, this book was a tremendous synthesis of the three, in the particular context of describing the birth of one of the greatest brands in American history – indeed, in world history … I doubt the story of a company’s founding and rise to greatness has ever ended a couple decades before the company’s peak, but that is the genius of Shoedog. Nike founder, Phil Knight, begins the story of this iconic brand at the most embryonic of stages, and ends the story in 1980, at their public offering, despite two and a half decades of utter domination that commenced subsequently. The story of Nike to us mere mortals is Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and “Just Do It.” But as readers of this fine book will discover, the real story of Nike took place in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s, as the formative challenges that make a business took place. And if any company would become rightful heir to “Just Do It” — it was Nike. Nike has employed hundreds of thousands of people over the decades, and has created untold amounts of wealth by giving consumers something they wanted: Initially, a high quality running shoe; eventually, a brand — a belief — an affiliation. But the genius of finding future basketball, track, and golf stars to endorse the brand was a small part of the story of this company’s ascension. The genius that created Nike is the genius of this book: It focused on personnel management, on global cost synergies, on harnessing an international supply chain the likes of which the world had never seen, on overcoming legal adversity, and above all else, managing the challenges of liquidity and capital that nearly any company faces in the early innings of their existence. This is an economics book. It is a tribute to the miracle of free trade which has created more wealth than any other phenomena in the history of civilization. It is a rebuke of the evils of crony capitalism and those rent-seeking piranhas who would attempt to use government alliances to strangle healthy competition. We are living in an era when forces on the right and the left are capitulating to a childish view of globalization — one seeking to make it a bogeyman for anything and everything — and ignoring the absolutely indisputable evidence for the enhancement of quality of life globalization has created. Few companies better illustrate what matching willing buyers and sellers around the world can mean for consumers, for producers, for shareholders, for employees, and for indeed all stakeholders in a given organization than Nike. While countless others do, for it is a universal lesson, Nike is the story of a young man and his track coach creating $100 billion of wealth that has circulated across a vast, vast ecosystem, by understanding the miracles of global trade. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough for one looking for a biographical narrative version of an economics lesson, versus the academic attempts that often prove too dry. The story of Shoedog was anything but dry, and the message of Shoedog is anything but trite.

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!

I have to say I only picked up Shoe Dog, Nike's Phil Knight's autobiography (or *memoir*? What's the difference?), because of it's mention on Gates Notes, Bill Gates' blog, where the Microsoft founder publishes an yearly holiday book list based on what were his top reads of the year (in this case, 2016). Here's what Gates had to say about the book: >[the] memoir, by the co-founder of Nike, is a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like: messy, precarious, and riddled with mistakes. I’ve met Knight a few times over the years. He’s super nice, but he’s also quiet and difficult to get to know. Here Knight opens up in a way few CEOs are willing to do. I don’t think Knight sets out to teach the reader anything. Instead, he accomplishes something better. He tells his story as honestly as he can. It’s an amazing tale. I tend to trust book suggestions by people whose reading habits I admire. It's the case of Bill Gates. My trusting bias is leveraged by the facts that he's a very successful entrepreneur (maybe the most) and a very avid reader. These two traits lead me to believe that his suggestions will most likely be useful for other entrepreneurs and aspiring CEOs like me (since he's damn good at it) and well written (since he's very well read). Shoe Dog proved my assumptions right. The book has earned its place among a handful of other reads I consider powerful aides on my journey to build a long-lasting successful company. Made in America (by Sam Walton), The Hard Thing about Hard Things (by Ben Horowitz), Gringing it Out (Ray Kroc), Pour Your Heart Into It (by Howard Schultz) and now Shoe Dog, all have something in common: they discuss the hardships, sacrifices and joys involved in building such a legacy in a way that feels like these guys are your mentors meeting you for weekly 1-on-1s over coffee. Knight's book teaches us a lot about resilience ("don't ever stop"). Nike's cofounder fought a number of life-threatening fires during his journey, and maybe that's really a big part of building such a successful company: remaining in the game. He lost credit lines when his business depended on them; he repeatedly almost lost his partnership with Onitsuka (I didn't know Nike had started selling Jap shoes) when distributing them in the U.S. was the only business he had; he was fined for more than a year's revenue by the Government. But he lived to fight another day, meditating, counting backwards, running, doing "whatever it took to hold it together". I can relate to that. Another recurring theme in the book is Knight's reluctance in going public. Founding a company that's built to last is a commitment that's best measured in decades, and so an IPO was very far from his goal, a vision unlike Silicon Valley's. We all see many startups going public with founders holding less than 10% of the equity, and quickly stepping down to start other companies and do it all over again. Building a huge company takes a very long time, and the really great founders behind the really great companies do everything in their power to remain in control (see Google, Facebook and Amazon). So knowing he'd be around for decades running Nike was a huge factor in Knight's holding up an IPO as far as he could, so that he wouldn't abide too much equity, and I think he was right. I, too, want to build Qulture.Rocks for the long long run. He says "the cowards never started, and the weak died along the way." He might as well have said "the cowards never started, and the weak died - or sold out - along the way". Of course, that really stems from the fact that he wasn't really chasing money, but the amazing road that's building a company for the long-term. Reflecting on his 30-plus years with Nike, he looks back and reflects on the journey being the end goal, "because, honestly, I wished I could do it all over again". That helps a lot to put my path in perspective... Remembering all the sacrifices and hardships I've been going through are actually the thing I'll miss when all is conquered and set. Not that everybody thinks, or even should think, this way: that's the privilege of a small part of entrepreneurs, who do it for the love for their products and the excitement of building something bigger than themselves. Another thing I could relate was Knight's view of the importance of money in building Nike, not as the endgame, but as a means to build greater things: "For us, business was no more about making money than being human is about making blood". I can also relate to that. I'd love to be selling ten times what I'm selling right now so I could hire more talent, build a great office and pay top dollar to our amazing team. And that's what money's for. That's enough. If your a founder trying to build a great company, read it.

Shoe Dog is one of the best business memoirs I have read, and Phil Knight makes it nearly impossible to put down. What makes it work is that Knight doesn’t sanitize anything. This isn’t a highlight reel — it’s a genuine account of a company that nearly went bankrupt multiple times, held together by a scrappy band of misfits who believed in something before anyone else did. The early years of Nike read less like a corporate origin story and more like a heist film where everyone is improvising and somehow it keeps working. Knight’s voice is self-deprecating and surprisingly literary. He admits his own awkwardness, his failures as a communicator, his obsessive relationship with shoes and Japan and the open road. There’s real vulnerability here, which is rare from someone who built a $30 billion empire. Bottom line: whether you’re an entrepreneur, a runner, or just someone who loves a great underdog story, Shoe Dog delivers. It’s the rare business book that reads like literature.

Very good story, well written

Riveting until the end. The third act felt a bit rushed, with lots of time skips and generalization, but the beginning and the middle were well-paced, well-written. I loved the humor, the wit, the unexpected analogies. (My favorites were the Fortress of Solitude and Stretch vs. the Crab!) Characters: Believable, intriguing, multi-faceted. The story intrigued me enough to look up some of them, from Jeff Johnson to Jaqua to Sarah to Strasser. Some of them really hit home as real people, struggling with loss as well as rejection. Their struggles came to life, punctuated by big moments and difficult conversations. Scenes: Again, the writer chose some impactful scenes and dramatized their events well. The meetings with the Japanese, the court cross-examinations, and the Olympic events all drew me in and provided enough conflict to drive change, story. Themes: For a non-fiction memoir, the book does a good job of delivering theme and message, which spoke to me as an entrepreneur. Buck's Nike-is-personal motivations resonated with me, and his resiliency and strategic planning inspired me to dig deeper, ask many difficult questions. In particular, the constant desire for growth, and the lack of cash -- leading to struggles with the bank and other bean counters -- were a common theme that always had me asking how they'd get out of it. If I could level any criticism at the story, it's the subtraction of in-depth problem-solving, i.e. what were the specific arguments and moments that ultimately solved or postponed their cash woes. It seems like the writer would always detail the struggles well, and put Blue Ribbon in a bind, but the solutions received less detailed treatment. How did they improve the factories, and what were their correspondences like with those factories after the Sole Jr. fiasco? How did they possibly write the ASP $9-million settlement check mere chapters after struggling to cobble together payroll in the wake of the $1-million check to Nissho? What happened to Onitsuka and Kitami, and how did their struggle continue when they became Asics? Did Buck ever engage them after their falling apart & court battle? How did Iwano, the boy that accompanied Kitami on his visit, come back to Nike, and why did Buck mention their communication in his list of regrets? The story characterized the problem and participants so well I often felt like the dénouements - the solutions - deserved better treatment. But that's nitpicking. Overall, the book inspired me and enlightened me about how Nike grew, and more importantly, how Buck grew. These were the key moments of Blue Ribbon's growth, and, more importantly, the key moments of a man's life, and the fact that they were so closely interwoven made it speak all that much more powerfully to someone whose life has always been work, and vice versa, because what is life without that struggle, challenge, and the creation of something bigger than oneself? It's a lesson so few business & life memoirs get right, in their insistence to separate the two, but Shoe Dog does it right.

One can’t argue with success and I can’t think of a more successful person than Phil Knight. His autobiography, “Shoe Dog,” reveals secrets of his accomplishments in the development of his mega firm, Nike. I know Phil Knight’s secret of success. He uses people. He captures them with his acuity at perceiving dedication and a sense of responsibly. Then he ignores them as they attend to their job. If they stumble, despite his abhorrence of micromanaging, he demonstrates strong guidance because poor performance invariably brings a personal visit from him. He also has an aversion to most standard business practices. He makes bankers nervous with his edge of the chasm financial condition. He will saw the legs off a perceived competitor. He is unfazed by seeking money from any source that might have it. He gets in the face of employees, suppliers, sales reps, or anyone else who lets him down. In short, he knows which pile of crap that, when stirred, brings the sweet smell of success. If you think I’m being critical of Knight or his methods, you are wrong. I believe that he is incredibly intelligent, moral, and astute in his business practices. The people who may have been used should have no complaints. They have become immensely successful and prosperous as Nike has become the bellwether for success under Knight’s leadership. There are many milestones in Knight’s book. The Japanese company that originally produced his Blue Ribbon shoes gets its comeuppance for poor performance; Knight gets new, more innovative financing. The first shipment of Nike shoes, manufactured in Mexico, arrive just in time for a big show but have a crappy finish and crooked swooshes; he makes do. Bill Bowerman’s innovative waffle sole, described in Patent #284,736 as “having integral polygon shaped studs…of square, rectangular or triple cross section…[and] a plurality of flat sides which…give greatly improved traction,” provide a great boon for the fledgling company. The signing of Nike’s first professional sports star, tennis player Ilie Nastase, is the start of lucrative endorsements by universally recognized athletes. These are a few examples of the hurdles Knight sails over. He writes about his voyage with clarity, using marvelous language, as he recounts riveting personal triumphs (along with some flops). His steely-eyed pursuit of his goals is truly inspirational. I learned a great deal about him, including his respect and inspirational relationship with his father. It’s apparent that this love has much to do with his successful life’s story. It carries over to the essence and success of his team. “Shoe Dog” is an entrancing read from an icon in the business world. Yet it’s not another self-indulgent recital of personal greatness and achievement. It’s immensely personable and readable, allowing the essence of the man to shine through. It’s inspiring. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES

At first, I thought I wouldn't finish this book. The first twenty-one pages had ink stains from whomever in production put the pages together. Though the ink blotches were a distraction, the writing, the words used and his story is compelling - until about page sixty, when I kept asking myself, "Was he a great businessman at the expense of his marriage, and his children?" Because he addressed this just when I paused to consider if I would finish this book, I kept reading. I was curious about his story, because I remember watching between the 70's and certainly more recently, many hurtles this company went through. I'm a runner, mostly as a result of having been in the army, and because running at o'dark thirty sets the pace for my day. With Colin Kaepernick taking a knee, and the white army soldier having encouraged him to take that knee, I wondered why Nikie is taking this position. What's the back story? Throughout this memoir, Mr. Knight and his "Buttface" leadership team, as they call themselves, describe in great detail how they turned the adversity of their individual lives, and the lives of others into "... taking a chance on people." One example in which Nike took a chance with the underdog was when they had experienced their first law suit. They took a risk with an attorney fresh out of law school, on a contingency basis. This attorney also didn't look like athletic. He was obese. But when this new attorney read the summary of the case, he described the case as a "holy crusade." And they won with honesty on their part, with blatant dishonesty on the plaintiff's part. Nike had come to represent a symbol of rebellion and iconoclasm. The leadership team embrace, among other things how the public loves to watch the athlete put total effort into what he or she is doing, even if the athlete is risking death. Because this memoir is so well written, I actually felt like I was watching a movie, or, even been their, every step of the way. My vocabulary, business ideas, running technique, and awareness of power plays exponentially expanded as I read this memoir. It was interesting to notice the parallels between how he ignored letters from his first employee and the fact that he struggled with feeling respected and approved of by his father. It is also great how he described what it is like to be at the mercy of bankers, competitors, unscrupulous business partners, and being sued - until he and the team got indignant with themselves, and rose to the opportunity. I still have some questions, having read this book: 1. Will Mr. Knight write a book about sons feeling like they are growing up in the shadow of their fathers? 2. On page 186 of this memoir, it says, "The average person takes seventy-five hundred steps a day, 274 million steps over the course of a life, the equivalent of six times around the globe ..." How many miles is this? 3. Why did this book share very little about Michael Jordan, until the last few pages? 4. Three years have passed since this memoir was published, and since this became something on your bucket list. What's on your bucket list now? He truly is a "gifted storyteller," as Warren Buffett describes Phil Knight.

This book is a perfectly cohesive narrative telling the story of the origins, rise, perils, and ultimate success of Nike. The author portrays himself as extremely human and uncertain, and as flawed as Amy other character in the book. And yet his and his colleagues’ exceptional mature is shown repeatedly in their actions during harrowing misadventures and competitive disruptions.

This is by far the best book I have ever read about entrepreneurship and never giving up. I have read a lot of books about people who have created successful businesses, but this is by far the best one I have ever read. Captivating from start to finish. I can’t wait to read it again.

This book is definitely a must read for all entrepreneurs. Very well written, easy to read, it describes the Nike empire birth and the personality of Phil Knight. This guy deserves Respect. For some people, I heard he was/is the most hated CEO in US because of his raise, but I invite you all to read and know what the guy had been through, and how well he manage it. What I also like, this book has no boring part, goes straight to the point, no blabla to make extra pages such as many authors is this field. 5 stars for me !

Me encantó este libro, Phil Knight es un grán narrador, cada uno de los capítulos te envuelve en la historia de Nike que es en paralelo su historia personal, está tremendamente bien escrito y en verdad es de los pocos libros que he leído este año que disfruté tanto que no quería que terminara, en más de una noche me desvelé de lo picado que estaba en la historia. Lo he reomendado por todos lados a mis conocidos, algo que me llamó la atención es que leer la historia desde la óptica de P.K. me cambió mucho mi prespectiva de Nike y ahora veo con otros ojos la marca, es un perfecto ejemplo de persistencia, emprendedurismo, esfuerzo e ingenio. Recomiendo mucho este libro para personas de negocios, en particular marketeros así como emprendedores que quieran tener una fuente de inspiración sobre cómo es posible crear una empresa de cero hasta hacerla una de las más grandes referencias mundiales en su industria.

Now this was bloody awesome. It evokes more emotions than just make you think. The writing style is amazing