When a person says Nike most people probably remember the famous ‘swoosh’ logo, not the Greek goddess of victory. The ‘swoosh‘ logo was designed by a desperate graphic designer who goes by the name Carolyn Davidson for $35.Nike has now become a sporting goods powerhouse, with the Swoosh emblazoned seemingly everywhere. But every journey begins with the first step.
Shoe Dog is a memoir by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike of the ups and downs he faced while creating Nike, formerly known as Blue Ribbon.
Before the establishment of today’s Nike Kicks Lounge, Phil knight went selling shoes of a Japanese brand called Tiger manufactured by a company called Onitsuka at a when the shoe market was completely dominated by 2 major companies: Adidas and Puma. Compared to other shoes Tiger was inexpensive and was as good as the competitors. Seeing the potential of the Tiger shoes Phil went around selling it from the back of a truck with the help of his coach Bill Bowerman.
Quickly Tiger brand became popular and there was a constant demand for the shoes but Phil always was in debt and faced problems both personally and professionally. Blue Ribbon as it was called slowly grew from the basement of his parent’s house to an office in Oregon.
But soon Blue Ribbon and Onitsuka got split because Kitami, one of the superiors of the Onitsuka Company had decided that they needed a clean break with Blue Ribbon.
After the split, Blue Ribbon sold football shoes, which was then sued by the Onitsuka Company. After a legal Battle, Nike began manufacturing shoes in different countries and became the first American company to be allowed to do business with China.
One thing that I noticed in the book was that Phil Knight hired ex-runners or people passionate about running. The more passionate the person is, the more he/she will work harder for the company.
The advice given by Phil Knight as given in the book:
- There is no clear path in life
- Do what you know and love
- Work hard
- Don’t be shy when asking for advice.
- Do work that means something to you
- Teamwork Matters
- When the door is slammed on your dreams, look outside all that the world sees as normal.
- There is such a thing as managing creatively.
- Dare to take chances, avoid the risk of leaving your talent buried in the ground.
To know the full story of the journey of Nike I suggest reading the book Shoe Dog. Amazon link for the book:
(Note This is the Young Readers Edition that I have, the original books link is given below):
