Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
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‘The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike’s Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller’ Warren Buffett
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the boot of his Plymouth, Knight grossed $8000 in his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of start-ups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all start-ups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognisable symbols in the world today.
But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, he tells his story. Candid, humble, wry and gutsy, he begins with his crossroads moment when at 24 he decided to start his own business. He details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream – along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls how his first band of partners and employees soon became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.
A memoir rich with insight, humour and hard-won wisdom, this book is also studded with lessons – about building something from scratch, overcoming adversity, and ultimately leaving your mark on the world.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster UK, 1st edition (3 May 2018) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 400 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1471146723 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1471146725 |
| Dimensions | 13 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm |
by Miss Elle
I had heard of Phil Knight, but I didn’t know about Phil Knight.
Anyone who knows me well will tell you I have an unexplainable attachment to the Adidas brand. In fact, I had to double check in disbelief but I truly don’t own anything from the Nike range in my wardrobe. That is why reading this book initially felt like a disloyalty in a major way. I had bought myself this copy a while back but I kept putting it further down my reading list, until I eventually succumbed to all the good reviews I read about it.
Now I know a book is awesome when I feel the need to take it with me to the toilet seat. This particular one debuted as early as the first chapter. I was engrossed. Reading books by self-made milli or billionaires can sometimes be daunting. Sometimes they get so caught up in the me, me, me moments that it becomes difficult to read through the pages without rolling your eyes and silently thinking to yourself, ‘get over yourself already’. Not this one though. I could relate to this man.
Right from the start, I appreciated how human Phil Knight was. A sell for me is always a book where the author allows themselves to be vulnerable. Phil Knight just laid it all out, from 1962 to 1980, he tells the story of not only the making of the brand, but the making of the man too. He tells you how he succumbed to using the Nike name (suggested by one of his eccentric employees, Jeff Johnson) because they had run out of time and a name had to go on the shoe. If it were up to him that brand would today be knows as Dimension Six. ????????♀️
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory so in a way the name embodied everything that Phil Knight was striving for. In 1972, he begrudgingly accepted the name and told himself it would grow on him. Until this point Phil Knight owned a company known as Blue Ribbon which acted as a distributor for Japanese based Onitsuka Tiger Company (today known as Asics). He had however had a fallout with Mr. Onitsuka and there was an urgent need to rebrand.
Another thing that makes you warm up to Phil Knight in his book is how he seemed mostly in favor of the underdog. His employees were not the typical (or even athletic) type of people you would pick for the kind of dream he had, but they had one thing in common, each one of them was a Shoe Dog.
Phil Knight openly admits to how in his quest to build an empire, he wasn’t the best of dads. He talks about his strained relationship with his son Matt who died while scuba diving in May 2004 and that part just moved me to tears. He talks about fall outs with close friends and partners, espionage, the backlash from competitors, near bankruptcy, he even admits to writing off Magic Johnson and calling him the player with no position that would never make it in the NBA. He talks about the kind or relationship he has with Tiger and why to this day he will hear no ill word spoken of him. He even briefly talks about what became known as the sweatshop controversy.
This could easily have been a fairytale but it is an honest, entertaining memoir that every book lover must read. My only question perhaps is why he makes no mention of his daughter anywhere in his memoir and even the internet seems to have very little detail about her.
At this point I figure I am a little sold to the idea of owning my first pair of Nike shoes. Cortez perhaps?????????????
by phil Buchanan
Fab book wanted to know what it took for Phil Knight to build Nike Brilliant read totally recommend to any one that wants to know what it takes to build a business
by Jaymes Payten
I had downloaded the Audible version of this book first, and after just a few chapters in, I decided it was time to own the actual hard copy. Even though I listened to the entire audiobook, I read it again when my hardback came to my door.
A truly outstanding book and a must-read from anyone who wants to launch their own business, have a family, and be a great human being!
by Nic
An interesting aspect in the book is how different it was trying to get a company off the ground when starting in the 60s. Limited access to capital (and the attitude of banks..), doing business by letters — two name just two; things moved a lot slower. International trade in those times, Japan just after the war — this is more than a book about building a business.
by Onur L.
I’ve always been an Adidas man, who doesn’t love a pair of Stan Smiths right?
This book was recommended to me countless times so I finally picked it up and decided to read it on holiday and am I glad I did.
Undoubtedly one of the most remarkable stories of entrepreneurship to be written. An emotional rollercoaster story of unlikely odds, failures and triumphs. A must-read for any entrepreneur.
by Amz435432
I love this kind of true story.
It’s one of the best books I’ve read.
I haven’t stopped recommending this to friends, family and strangers.
It’s a must read for anyone.
by Baltimix
Best business book I’ve ever read and it’s nothing like a business book. The true story of running / owning a company.
by Adam
Good story, very informative