Shoes and a Knight
A candid review of Shoe Dog- an autobiography of Phil Knight
When you start reading a book like Shoe Dog, you honestly don’t know what to expect. A friend recommended the book and I almost turned it down. Now I am exceedingly glad I did not.
Calling Phil Knight the ‘founder’ of Nike doesn’t feel like enough. ‘Driver’, ‘Father’, ‘Enforcer’, ‘absolute crazy dude who would do anything for Nike progress’ are amongst some of the other descriptions I would bestow on him. The book was such a nugget of wisdom that I am extremely and exceedingly glad I started off the first month of the year with it.
The book is essentially a memoir about Phil Knight- a brilliant mind with the craziest idea that became the gigantic company it is now. Phil introduces himself as an Oregon kid, he shows the same thirst we all feel at that age of 24 fresh out of school or wherever… it’s the age to want to prove yourself…to want to know where you figure in this road of life.
To seek his answer at the ripe age of 24, he decides to go on a trip with a friend. This trip was not just a visit one place and come back kind of trip. It was a complete trip with an itinerary of places to visit and activities to take part in. I fairly drooled reading about Phil’s experience on the Himalayas. Everything he described there, I so wanted it for myself… I still want it. I can barely wait for the day I can do all that was listed in the book and much more. This trip also had a very important stop for Phil. Japan. That was the singular purpose. Phil had a theory that the Japanese shoes would take over the American market and would be cheaper to boot!
What interests me the most about Phil was his personality. He struck me as an introvert who grabbed the opportunity to make all the ideas swimming in his head come to life. As a fellow introvert, I totally understand that. Another thing I found fascinating was the relationships he cultivated. From his family, friends, colleagues and even his ‘enemies’, there was just always something more than met the eye. Something you couldn’t quite put your finger on.
I associated a lot with Phil’s conviction in not being an exact replica of his father who was the epitome of respectability. For years, I had heard how similar I was to my father- who is not a bad person in the sense of the word, and would most likely follow in his footsteps. His character, values and beliefs are not just what I want to emulate. A number of people I know call my father their role model but I do not. He taught me a lot growing up both consciously and unconsciously but I would not want to emulate any part of his life….okay maybe our mutual love for books is a part I wouldn’t mind emulating at all.
I really like how he keeps reinforcing his parents supports throughout the book…his father was a bit hesitant in giving his support at first but something makes me believe he did so still because his son was doing something he had never done or didn’t have the opportunity to do. Meanwhile, his mother was his true mascot, supporter, cheerleader.
His meeting with Sarah (Sarah is a romantic interest meets at the beginning of the Himalayas trail) is all steps romantic. I so wouldn’t mind finding a partner that way. Alas, my ever practical side would riot if I met some stranger and decide there and then to invite them over to my place when they’re flying over…
After his trip, Phil started his company- Blue Ribbon and then worked as an auditor at PWC which was more or less a gold mine. He essentially learned all he needed to know to make his business grow …maybe not all he needed but most.
His first ever employee was a man named Johnson. I like Johnson… yet I feel frustrated at his antics of writing a dozen letters an event to Phil. Phil was definitely more forgiving or should I say lenient and patient. That patience did pay off because Johnson got more immersed in his role and came up with more and more experiments that in fact drove the company forward in leaps.
I like men like Bowerman and Onitsuka (the origin story behind Onitsuka). I wonder truly if there are any such men anymore.
Woodell is my favourite character. He could have stopped. he could have allowed his accident to define him, but he did not. His steadfast and unwavering dedication to Blue Ribbon and later Nike is something I can relate with because those are the very same characteristics I admire in myself. I am in no way comparing myself to him, I am more or less looking at what and who I could be and I am loving it.
Few ever get to enjoy the camaraderie Phil shared with his friend Woodell. It was a true friendship. Kitami is a character in the book I am not certain where to place him…is he for or against Blue Ribbon? By all indications, he is only for himself.
At a point in the book, I felt my heartbeat irregularly for anxiety at what would happen to Blue Ribbon. Also also, the idea of being a $3.1 million dollar company and not having money is mind-boggling. How?? I could barely wait to get to the part where Blue Ribbon becomes Nike…but then I knew something had to happen to Blue Ribbon to make it Nike… what it was- good or bad, I did not know yet but something did happen.
After every chapter, I genuinely wondered why? Why did Phil choose to go through all that? It was just one never-ending roller coaster! Maybe it’s because I like happy endings and it just seemed like it was never going to come. More importantly, I wondered what exactly was driving Phil forward? Any other human would have folded and no one would blame him. Just what kept him going I wonder…
The last pages of the book came over me with a feeling of genuine happiness and peace… that it was over. well not necessarily over, but something like that.
His story is unique just like anyone else’s would be if one decided to actually go ahead with a crazy idea.
Phil was blessed with not only a dogged resilience and stubbornness but with a group of people that were nothing but magical. They were the amazing dream team. In the last few pages, he mentions the doubt of calling it all coincidences and I sort of agree. It’s almost like the universe came together to align all the events to ensure the birth and survival of Nike. Blue Ribbon and Onitsuka betrayal, the bank shutting them off, Nike and the American Selling Price… so many things could have shut them down and off, but the very heavens was rooting for them and they encountered what is nothing short of a series of miracles.
Phil Knight is truly a veteran of shoes and a crazy idea revolutionist!
If I am asked the singular lesson I learned from this book I’d say this book taught me the sheer backbreaking effort it takes to go after what you believe in with everything in you. It taught me the power of being surrounded by the right people. So many times and ways Nike would have gone bust if Phil didn’t have the people he had with him. His resilience in the face of some pretty insurmountable odds and his Network of right people came to support his belief time and time again. And that is what I take away from this book.
And a bunch of other quotes by other people.
And my favourite quote from the book:
