Full disclosure up front that I'm not a big Nike guy. I heard this book received good reviews though, and after reading the first few pages at Barnes and Noble I realized I would like this book.
Shoe Dog chronicles the first 15 years of Nike, which actually started as Blue Ribbon Sports. Phil Knight took an entrepreneurship class in college and presented on a "crazy idea". He went on a worldwide trip after college in the early 1960s and decided to stop in Japan to pitch his "crazy idea". This idea was to sell Japanese running shoes in America. It's amazing how the business slowly grew, doubling sales every year, yet still struggling with cash flow problems that many small businesses face. Eventually, he decided to launch his own brand, which at the last minute was named Nike, with a swoosh logo designed for $30. There were many challenges along the way, from getting kicked out of two banks, to being sued in court after branching off to launch the Nike brand, to being sued by the government for import taxes. The book concludes with Nike becoming a publicly traded company.
Usually I'm skeptical when a well-known person attaches his or her name to a book because I feel they usually do that to sell more books and someone else actually does most of the writing. In this case, Phil Knight has pretty much retired from Nike and wrote this book as part of his retirement. The writing is oddly funny, mainly because of the first few employees and Knight's insights. One guy was in a wheelchair, one guy sent him a letter every day, and one ended up being his wife.
The author also reflected on everything. His biggest regret seems to be the time he spent away from his family, something that everyone faces when trying to run their own business or climb the corporate ladder. The ending is great, as he reflects on his relationships with Nike's start athletes Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. You don't realize the highs and lows they've gone through together, from Jordan and Tiger both losing their fathers to Phil losing one of his sons. He also commented on the Nike factory controversy, saying he regretted some of the things he said at the time, but now realizing that they were a scapegoat for an entire industry and that in the end Nike is much better off and viewed as a leader.
Shoe Dog is a really motivating story for any entrepreneur. Anybody who likes Nike will appreciate the book as well. In the end you realize it's all about the journey. The final destination is the cherry on top.
My rating for Shoe Dog: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!
P.S. Somehow, someway, this is my 100th post on this blog! Pretty neat to think about. Hopefully I make it another 100 posts!
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