"In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, …
"In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business--a business that would be dynamic, different. Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream--along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything"--
History of Nike and Phil ('Buck') Knight - the (co-)founder of the Brand. Reads like and extended episode of the How I Built This radio show. Liked that he's fairly straight about (at least some of his) shortcomings and doesn't spare himself - intentionally (when writing of neglecting his fatherly or husbandry duties) or not (like the way he mocks employee #1 in this book and ignores him in real life and looks like he thinks that a virtue or the bro fests the founders meetings seem to be).
The least autobiographical autobiography you'll ever read, there isn't a single insight about Phil Knight in these pages a researcher couldn't have figured out on their own. I get the feeling Phil either wasn't involved much in the writing or is extremely protective of his image.
That said, the ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer is a fantastic writer and knows how to turn a limited insight autobiography into a mythic story about how hard work and ambition pays off (in the 60's when you could get a CPA in 6 months plus you have a network of friends who went to Stanford and are available to help with funding/legal trouble/expertise (which in no way diminishes the hard work and success but is definitely worth adding as context to the situation)).
This book gave me anxiety the entire time. And I’m glad I quit public accounting and will never start my own business. But the love story to running shoes and the sport kept me going.
I see why people love this book. It's an incredible story.
Incredible because Phil, the founder of Nike, seems such an incompetent entrepreneur and manager. It was super cringe to hear him say that he never responded with his employees over and over again. Also the fact that how lucky he was with doing business with the Japanese is incredible. But I guess he had the right vision. And he certainly had the passion for it.
The most amazing thing was to hear him explain how to startup a business with an international supply chain in the 60ties. How they did it without e-mail is beyond me. Having to wait for weeks for a reply in the mail. Much respect for pulling that off.
But all in all, it is very clear that running a consumer product business is cashflow hell. Physical products are cool and all, but I won't …
I see why people love this book. It's an incredible story.
Incredible because Phil, the founder of Nike, seems such an incompetent entrepreneur and manager. It was super cringe to hear him say that he never responded with his employees over and over again. Also the fact that how lucky he was with doing business with the Japanese is incredible. But I guess he had the right vision. And he certainly had the passion for it.
The most amazing thing was to hear him explain how to startup a business with an international supply chain in the 60ties. How they did it without e-mail is beyond me. Having to wait for weeks for a reply in the mail. Much respect for pulling that off.
But all in all, it is very clear that running a consumer product business is cashflow hell. Physical products are cool and all, but I won't touch that business with a 10-foot pole.
Loved the storytelling in the book though :)
“I refused to even consider ordering less inventory. Grow or die, that’s what I believed, no matter the situation.” ― Phil Knight, Shoe Dog
3 stars for content but 5 stars for execution: J. R. Moehringer did a brilliant job ghostwriting this book, and Norbert Leo Butz’s narration is top notch. The narrative flow is smooth, easy to listen to, and sounds more like a season of Arrested Development than a dry autobiography by a CEO. It is like having Ron Howard walk you through Phil Knight’s life.
Moehrenger’s patterns can be quickly spotted (quirky lists, introducing a zany event to be used as a punchline later, etc) but they are still effective.
This book is a masterclass in PR. I say this because I have known many founders, and the rosy way how they reflect back, and I see many of the same patterns in this book. Like an Arrested Development episode, it is entertaining to see the story told, but you would never actually want to be involved. I would love to …
3 stars for content but 5 stars for execution: J. R. Moehringer did a brilliant job ghostwriting this book, and Norbert Leo Butz’s narration is top notch. The narrative flow is smooth, easy to listen to, and sounds more like a season of Arrested Development than a dry autobiography by a CEO. It is like having Ron Howard walk you through Phil Knight’s life.
Moehrenger’s patterns can be quickly spotted (quirky lists, introducing a zany event to be used as a punchline later, etc) but they are still effective.
This book is a masterclass in PR. I say this because I have known many founders, and the rosy way how they reflect back, and I see many of the same patterns in this book. Like an Arrested Development episode, it is entertaining to see the story told, but you would never actually want to be involved. I would love to hear the perspectives of the other players in this story, and wouldn’t be surprised if they are wildly different from how Phil Knight remembers it. I think the corporate rationalizing in the final chapter strike a sour, yet more realistic note to this account.
Are there things to learn from this book? Not so much from a business or management perspective. Like most billionaire stories, this is not reproducible. But it was interesting to hear about the challenges of finding capital in the 60s and 70s. There are a few tidbits on corporate culture, but this book isn’t really structured for a business reader. It is more of an entertaining popular history, and an enjoyable one at that.
