Reading Reflection No. 1

I read Shoe Dog which was the story of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike.

What surprised you the most?

The part that surprised me the most was how easily Phil Knight gave credit to others. In the book, it is said that Knight admits that he was not responsible for designing the “swoosh” logo or even coming up with the name Nike itself. He readily gives credit when credit is due and he even admits a lot of his own mistakes. For some reason I pictured the founder of such a large company to be arrogant.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

Thing one thing that I most admired about Phil Knight was that he made his billion dollar company simply by solving a problem that he had. Knight was a runner himself and realized that there was a problem with the running shoes available during his time and he decided to solve it. I admired this so much about him because it made him seem like a real person who was simply trying to solve his own problems and the problems of other runners and not like someone who was in it only for the money.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

The thing that I least admired about Phil Knight was that he had a falling out with a valuable employee of his and longtime friend Rob Strasser. This falling out was over business and is an example of why friends and family should not be mixed with business. This falling out lasted until the end of Strasser’s life which is probably Knight deeply regrets.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Phil Knight and Nike did encounter adversity and failure. One problem that they overcame was that they only started with about eight thousand dollars in sales in their first year. Despite this very small number, Knight persisted and year after year Nike saw steady growth. Also, Nike faced a plethora of law suits as it grew especially from Onitsuka, a rival shoe company that Knight worked for before founding Nike.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Knight seemed to exhibit several competencies. One that helped him greatly was that he worked at Onitsuka selling Japanese sneakers. His experience at Onitsuka helped him a lot when he was starting Nike because he now had prior experience selling shoes. This helped Knight kick start his company. Another competency Knight had was extreme patience and perseverance. As I mentioned in the earlier paragraph, Knight brought in a measly eight thousand dollars in sales his first year. Instead of getting discouraged by this tiny number he persevered and continued Nike which grew steadily.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was that when Nike first started, the book says that Phil Knight hired a bunch of his friends to start up Nike. I thought that it was usually better not to mix friends and business. However, it obviously worked for Knight and the people that founded Nike.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask?

The first question I would ask Phil Knight would be if he would have ever believed that Nike would grow into one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, having numerous athletes and celebrities being associated with it. I would ask him this to see how successful he initially thought Nike would be. The second question I would ask Knight is how he felt right after he left Onitsuka. Did he feel like he was risking it all by leaving a safe, steady job as a shoe salesman (something that he obviously loved)? I would ask this to see if he felt any stress initially.

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I believe that Phil Knight’s opinion on hard work can be summed up with this quote from him: “No matter the sport – no matter the human endeavor, really – total effort will win people’s hearts.” This quote shows that what Knight believed in was simple: hard work. I completely agree with what Knight says. In the end, giving it your best is all you can do. Even if you did not set out to complete the goal you set for yourself you gave it your best shot and that will definitely open up other doors for you.