Shoe Dog is an excellent story! Undoubtedly, Phil Knight has done a swooshing job of baring his soul while sharing his journey with the sole, and the rest of the shoe of course! This book unravels a thrilling business story of Nike company. It is laced up with crafty writing which helps the readers visualize the nail biting, adrenaline pumping and some back-breaking moments that are embedded in the history of Nike, like the lace holes (eyelets) in a shoe.
Author: Phil Knight
Why should you read Shoe Dog?
This book showcases the struggles, resilience and triumphs of an entrepreneurial journey which are inspiring and humbling. There are several learnings that a reader can take away. I am highlighting a few, rather a very few of those learnings here for reference:
- Hard Work and Persistence: This book is a reminder that hard-work and persistence is like the sole of the shoe called success. There is no success (shoe) and without hard work and persistence (sole).
- Taking Bold Risks: Building a business entails several unknowns and it needs a certain sort of boldness. Phil didn’t even have a company when he proposed himself as a distributor of Japanese shoes. Bill Gates had done something similar with when he was building windows.
- Managing Tough/Hostile stakeholders: I feel amazed by the way Phil Knight managed his over zealous banks, careless suppliers and vendors who produced Nike shoes.
- Building a Team: How to build a great team? There are tremendous lessons in the way Nike’s core team was built and glued together in the face of existential challenges.
- Surviving body blows from competition: There are at least 2-3 instances when the company was just one bad move or a strand of lace away from bellying-up. Yet, it found a way to survive and thrive.
Content Summary
383 pages of neatly structured content barely present a dull moment. 18 years of Nike (1962-80) which started as ‘Blue Ribbon company’ jog before your eyes, like the author’s habitual jogging sessions! The language is simple yet sublime and the reader can pace through with ease.
The first part of the book covers Phil’s amazing journey around the world and it sets the tone for the rest of the book. You get an up and close view of Nike’s early days (Blue ribbon at the time) time as a distributor of Onitsuka Tiger shoes before it raced ahead to become a self-sustaining shoe company.
The chapters organized as years highlight significant milestones: the famous story of Nike’s name and logo, controversy around its factories, it’s competition with Adidas and Converse, its battle with American tax authorities, the superior design thanks to its shoe dog co-founder Bill Bowerman and many other iconic moments in the company’s history and Phil’s personal life, including the tragic and untimely death of his son!
Alas, it doesn’t cover the epic behind the scenes saga of signing Michael Jordan! In fact, that story is worth another book. Don’t trust me? It’s worth a movie already – Air, available on Amazon Prime.
Recommendation
There are so many take-aways you can get from this book. To top it all, it’s also a great lesson in writing, presenting ideas and stories. Albeit, even a great story takes a sharp and refined story telling to immerse the reader. Shoe Dog certainly made me feel immersed as a reader!
I recommend Shoe Dog to anyone who is looking for a dose of inspiration or just wants to read an engaging tale of exciting events that laced up together make the shoe, rather the Shoe Dog. Happy Reading, Cheers!
You can buy this book here on Amazon.
Like reading Book Reviews, Poetry and Travel Stories? Versatilistaqua is your space for interesting content in these areas of your interest. Follow VersatilistAqua on Instagram here.
For more book reviews of interesting top sellers, check out this section here.
One thought on “Book Review: Shoe Dog (Nike), Phil Knight”