Reading Reflection No. 2

For this assignment, I read Phil Knight's autobiography Shoe Dog. I picked this book because I have always been an avid Nike fan but did not know anything about the company's history or its founder. I was incredibly interested in Knight's story and was enthralled by his descriptions of his life. I think that what most surprised me while reading this book was the incredible struggle that Nike and Knight faced when they were still Blue Ribbon. I knew that the company came from humble beginnings, but I never would have imagined that the company was in the negative for so long and reliant on Japanese investors. I think that the individual point in the book that surprised me the most was when Nike received the 25 million dollar invoice from US Customs. This was a shock to me because Knight made it seem like the company was reaching its peak and then announced this blow. I was not surprised that it could happen, because I have seen stories like this in the news regarding companies, but was surprised that it happened in the shoe industry and to Nike. Knight had to figure out a way to overcome this struggle and the adversary that was behind it, the big players in the shoe industry. This bill was orchestrated by the big players, like Adidas, and Knight had to figure out to fight it without resulting to the bureaucratic games that the other companies had.

This was not the only struggle that Knight and Nike faced. They were constantly facing conflict from other companies, from banks and investors, and from within their own business. The story of Nike is built on failure and recovery, as well as resilience in the face of struggle. I think that this is what I admired most about Phil Knight. He faced adversaries head-on but always tried to remain honest and true to his Oregon roots. I think that what I admired least was how this intense focus led to a lack of time spent with his family. Knight struggled to find time to spend with his children and his wife, and I think that was his due to his inability or unwillingness to delegate administrative tasks. He knew that he had a problem and he had a competent team around him who he had trained, but was never willing to give up leadership. I think that this led to strains in his life that he was never able to overcome. I think that he struggled with this, but also knew that it was what allowed his business to be so successful.

Knight was a competent leader. He often struggled to share his thoughts and lead with words, but he led with his actions. He was absolutely enthralled by his business and treated it as a second child which encouraged his leadership team and employees to do the same. He was incredibly hardworking and valued the effort put in by his staff. Many of his employees and most trusted leaders and advisors were chosen due to their dedication to the business. I think that this is incredibly important in a business because if the owner values hard work and expresses that value, then their employees are likely to do the same. Knight also knew how to find and recruit people that he thought were necessary for his team. He appealed to many of his employees sense of honor and commitment, and made them loyal members of his team. He did the same with many of the athletes that he sponsored. He would build connections based on their shared passions and treat them like family, which usually resulted in loyalty to him and his company. 

I think that the only thing that confused me throughout the story was how difficult it was for Knight to find a bank to work with due to laws regarding local banking. He discusses that his options for banks were limited due to these laws, but was still able to get investment from Nissho. I don't think that it was ever explained how these laws applied to Nissho's investment firm, or how he was able to get around it. This was confusing to me, but was also an important part of the book and was important for one of the other moments that I found surprising- when this firm paid off all of his debt to the bank in Oregon.

If I were able to ask two questions to Phil Knight, it would be:
1. What is your relationship like with Travis and Christina (his living son and daughter) and why did you not include Christina in your book?
2. Were you ever able to find all of the letters that Johnson sent you when the company was in its infancy? Do you ever regret not answering all of his letters?