Reading Reflection 13A

SHOE DOG By Phil Knight
This was truly a fascinating and very well written book. When I first bought the book, I was surprised to see how long it was and was not sure if I could even finish it for class. However, once I started reading, I was hooked and really enjoyed the book.
1. I was most surprised at the level of risk and recklessness that Knight displayed throughout his process of creating Nike. He often was days away from losing the company entirely and would somehow find a way to keep it afloat until the next bills were due. I greatly admired his willingness to just act and do something without having a full developed plan or product. He essentially pitched a Japanese manufacturing firm a company that he had not even developed or started. He gained their interest and started selling their products without even having any semblance of a company. He was truly a risk taker and willing to go do things that most of us never would. There were some major flaws about him that I do not want to imitate. Knight was exceptionally consumed by his company and his family and personal life often suffered because of it. I understand that starting a company requires immense sacrifices and consuming amounts of time. However, he would often go out drinking with co-workers and go on long runs by himself instead of spending time with his wife and kids. This led to problems with his oldest son whom he never had a close relationship even up until his son died tragically. He also was a very poor communicator with his team and often alienated employees by never expressing gratitude for their work or giving positive feedback. He lost relationships and employees where he could have avoided that by simply being a better leader and investing some time in people. Knight encountered massive amounts of adversity and dealt with each situation similarly. He attacked the problem with reckless abandon and an obsession that left him constantly thinking about the problem and how to defeat it. He was very competitive and saw adversity as an enemy to be conquered. He was a ruthless and determined business owner.
2. Knight displayed an amazing ability to sell a product and build a powerful brand. He was very successful at creating a network of sales reps to slowly but surely build their sales. Surprisingly, despite many loan and distribution problems, Knight pursued exponential growth each year. This planning and pursuit of growth were some of his greatest assets.
3. One aspect of Knight’s story that perplexed me was his refusal to develop and appreciate employees. He talks about this some in his book and eventually links it back to never receiving that from his father. One sales rep would write him every day with updates and idea trying to get feedback from Knight. Instead of offering occasional support or even criticism, he simply ignored the rep and never once responded. I have wondered why he frequently treated employees like this. I felt that eventually he would feel secure in himself without his dad’s approval and change his leadership style. As it turned out, he never really changed and continued his bureaucratic approach that had a negative effect on some of his employees.
4. The first question I would ask would be if you were to start a company again, what would you change from how you first went about starting Blue Ribbon (Nike). I would like to ask this because I do believe he learned valuable lessons in the process and would potentially go about the business different if he did all over again. However, the route he took ultimately ended in massive success. Secondly, I would ask him what his most prevalent regrets were and how I could avoid them in my business journey. Ultimately, the point of reading this book is to learn from their story and see how I can make better decisions in my journey.
5. Knight viewed hard work as a necessity and a way of life. To him, winning in life was bringing Nike to the pinnacle of athletic brands. He seemed to have no desires besides creating that brand and put his business as his number one priority. I also view hard work as a way of life and something that must be carried out in every aspect of life. However, my priorities would have my faith and my family ahead of the business. I agree with his work ethic and view on work, but I would change it to fit my priorities.