13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

Shoe Dog Phil Knight

1. I was most surprised with how many challenges he went through. When I think of Nike I think of one of the most well established, popular companies in the world. I never took the time to think of how it was made and the struggles that he went through to create it. He was able to build a business with under 100 dollars.

I most admired his ability to think on his feet and his fearlessness. To start his business he set up a meeting with a Japanese shoe manufacturer and convinced them that he owns an established company and he can distribute their shoes across America effectively. He then ordered a large set of inventory even though he had very little money and no set way of distribution.

I least admired that he did not invest enough in the staff in the beginning of his business. It seemed like he was trying to do everything himself and not looking for a lot of employees to help him out. I understand employees are expensive, but working alone in such a major industry adds a lot of unnecessary busy work when he should be out building his business. Later on he found great employees that loved the business just as much as he did.

They had issues with his factories and he was unable to trust them but he still needed them. When his relationship with his Japanese factory fell through, he had to quickly find new shoe designs and new factories abroad in order to make sure that the business did not take a hit. Financial people would tell him that he struggled with growth and it was not smart to just keep buying more shoes without investing any money.

2. I noticed that Phil Knight was very intuitive. At first he would go to track meets and talk to experienced runners to see what they want in their shoes. This was very smart because he did not want to waste time making a shoe that nobody wanted. He then was smart enough to make his company private. This move made him make a lot more money. He also knew that if he did not make a profit, and reinvested every dollar in the early stages, it would allow exponential growth for Nike.

3. I was confused when the book talked about how running was not very popular back then. There had to be commercials to advertise running in general, and just when Phil Knight was starting there happened to be a rise in popularity. This was surprising because running is not an innovative concept to me, I just assumed people had been running since the beginning of time.

4. If I were to ask Phil Knight two questions I would ask what the biggest mistake he ever made was and how many times did he think about giving up and what made him persevere.

5. From reading the book it seemed like Phil Knight believed in hard work but that you have to love what you do. If you do not have a passion for your business it is going to be miserable every day, even if you are successful.