Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Since Shoe Dog’s release in 2016 it’s been one of the most popular books, so popular that it was slowly verging on corny the way I’ve seen it displayed on social media. But I was wrong in my negative view, it is worth the promotion and I’m glad I read it. Sometimes popular books are good books and not just books written for the masses or to capitalise on trends.
Most of you reading this will know what Shoe Dog is about, it’s about the origins of the ubiquitous brand that is Nike, told by it’s founder Phil Knight. It’s fascinating to learn about the start of one of the world’s greatest brands, a brand many (including myself) love. It’s interesting to see where some things which are still present today came from e.g. The Cortez name and the iconic orange shoe box.
Whilst reading this, two other books (Outliers and Zero to One) I’ve recently read kept coming to mind.
I thought of Outliers when observing the amount of luck and privilege that went into creating something as successful as Nike. Phil had many lucky moments in getting Nike off the ground, he also had a father who was wealthy enough to give him the initial capital to start. There is a passage in Outliers on Bill Gates and how he was born at the perfect time to capitalise on the internet age. I think the same can be applied to Nike, there wasn’t a global American sports brand before Nike, there would eventually have to be one and Nike was in place to capitalise. I can’t imagine the USA allowing a German sports brand like Adidas to be number 1 in a country full of avid sports fans.
This is not to downplay any of Phil Knight’s achievements, you have to do with what you have and he definitely did that and more. You should never beat yourself up for being born in a better position than someone else. Plus it wasn’t all roses, Nike received it’s fair share of bad luck , people tried to screw them over. But with perseverance and building contingency plans they were able to overcome this. Two things I took away from this, always persevering and always having second plans.
There was a critical moment in Nike’s early history where the bank froze their assets and they couldn’t pay their workers. They were bankrupt and were accused of fraud by their bank who then called the FBI. It looked like it was all over, but with perseverance and some luck they pulled through. This shows how fine the line between amazing success and disastrous failure can be.
Phil had an amazing team, especially one individual at the start named Jeff Johnson who would go to the end of the world and back even if Phil didn’t want him to. His team had that cult belief in Nike, they all wanted to be part of it, this is the cult belief Peter Thiel speaks of in Zero to One when he talks about the importance of having a solid team. A team that’s like a cult, where individuals observing from the outside may think you’re crazy but you understand the importance of what you’re working on and by the time they realise it’s too late.
I’ve learnt some important lessons from this book. For example Phil Knight thinks that work should be about play. Life is a game and the joy of working on that one thing you love that takes up all your time is next to none. A joy most solemn get to have. We either haven’t found what we truly love or we need security, both of which Phil Knight had. It’s made me try and think about more ways to make my life about doing the things I enjoy, even if it is classed as work.
I’ve also started to think about whether my views on business have been misconstrued. Growing up I assumed that you could be honest in business, but the more I read the more I’m starting to think it’s less like that. There were instances where Phil Knight had to be dishonest in the name of saving his company, sometimes he had to break the rules to get what he wanted. I don’t believe that’s the right way to do things, but can that sometimes be the only way?
This also begs the question of whether business can really be ethical? Not ethical in the sense of making sure workers are adequately compensated etc. More in terms of just being honest, not having to lie to achieve a goal. Which then begs the question of how rules work, do they work differently for different classes of people. Would someone from my background who looks like me be able to get away with the things Phil Knight did? Probably not.
The final lesson from this book is that you can have everything and still not have everything, you have to be willing to accept that some things will be sacrificed for others. Phil did not have a good relationship with his sons who resented anything sports related because of his intense focus on Nike, something he regrets and may always do.
Shoe Dog has made a lasting impact on me, If any book was to motivate you to start a company with a group of people that are on the same wavelength as you (e.g. your friends) then it would be this. But as with most stories it has to be taken with a pinch of salt, every journey written sounds sweeter than it actually is. I also don’t read biographies so every biography may leave me feeling inspired. Why would you write an autobiography if you didn’t believe it would inspire?
Phil Knight wrote this to inspire others and I am definitely inspired. What did you think?
