Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Non-Fiction
Autobigraphy
Brand Story of Nike and its Creators
If Phil Knight wanted me to get one thing from his largest contribution to the world, NIKE it would be in his book Shoe Dog an autobiography of Nike’s early days. Being too young to know the start of the company with out help, and too old to think that everything works out if you wish for it, I walked away from the book Shoe Dog with a restored sense of FATE, and a replenishment in faith.
Coincidentally, I started the book around the time that I received a pair of Cortez sneakers, a style that Phil talks about in the book, detailing its origin and significance to the NIKE story.
However, Phil Knight also cemented the style’s significance in my story. My mother’s nostalgic thought of having a pair of these same sneakers growing up, prompted me to make the small purchase. However, like mother like daughter at the time that I bought the shoes and waited for them to come in the mail, I did not know that my mother purchased them when NIKE’s future was a little more than uncertain. Reading this in Shoe Dog I chuckled and wondered if Phil ever thought that he would be writing the story of NIKE and the reader would’ve just purchased shoes that her mother wore when she was the same age. The entire book was filled this these ironic teeters.
He successfully proves through out the book that he is not the quintessential CEO/founder. He is not the over confident college drop out with a large injection of cash that float his business almost immediately. No! Phil is a CEO that sometimes lacks confidence, seemingly even now. He rarely knew what he was doing from month to month with NIKE let alone year to year, and he failed…miserably…a lot of the time. He is brilliant.
He has a believable amount of self belief, he is logical, and he is filled to the brim with work ethic. That is why I loved this book, because Phil didn’t stop working right away when things at Nike seemed to be doing okay. In fact, he had no qualms about picking up a job if need be. There were times that he got sidetracked, and more importantly, there were times when he straight up and down LOST. It is these instances that showed me, the reader, that fate is fate and if it destined for you to complete you will. Failure will not stop you, and neither will your own success.
See what I mean and grab the book by clicking the link below. I promise you, you won’t regret it.
