Simon & Schuster Shoe Dog Hb: A Memoir By The Creator Of Nike, 400 Pages

Shoe Dog is an honest and engaging memoir by Phil Knight about building Nike from scratch. Instead of sounding overly motivational, it shows the real struggles, risks, and failures behind the success. Simple writing and personal stories make it a fun and inspiring read even for non-business readers.

I don't remember the last time I read an autobiography. Perhaps, it was VVS Laxman's "281 and Beyond" quite a while ago. Ignoring my ever growing TBR list, I picked up Shoe Dog on impulse upon reading a review in Facebook. Prior to reading this book, I had no clue about the history of Nike or its founder. The book starts with the author sharing his thought process during his daily run in 1962 as a twenty four year old, quite unsure of what lay ahead of him. From that point onwards, it is like talking to your buddy and discovering his story. Simple language, no management fads, no jargons - plain description of what life threw at him and what he made out of it. Very interesting to know how the company Blue Ribbons was formed, how it became Nike, their management style or rather the lack of it - all the way up to 1980 when they went public. The best part of the book is that Phil manages to suck you into his life and at some point when I couldn't continue, I kept thinking how he is going to sort out his million dollar loan. At another stage, I was thinking why he keeps hiring accountants and lawyers to run his factory. As if on cue, he says "I just didn’t know where else to look for talent", besides "there’s no shoe school, no University of Footwear from which we could recruit". If there is a sequel detailing the post-1980 scenario when Nike grew into a monster that it is now, I would gladly lay my hands on it. In the last few dozen pages, Phil does give a fleeting view of what happened to the leadership team of Nike - Buttfaces, as they are called, after 1980. A detailed memoir like this one would be a great read. In short, I loved the book to bits. No other non-fiction had managed to keep me hooked on till the end and yet made me crave for more. You may or may not buy a pair of Nike after reading this book, but you will definitely feel motivated and inspired. For that alone, Buck, I owe you one. Just read it.

Fantastic memoir from the founder of Nike. First the good points: 1 It is a very detailed and engrossing account of Knight's journey. It reads more like a novel or a screenplay, as it contains anecdotal accounts of the key meetings/interactions that shaped Nike's founding. It keeps you hooked n you are excited to know what's next. 2 Knight tells it all, including personal negative traits, as it is. Most would keep the doubtful, negative parts out. 3 Not at all preachy as some management bios tend to become Now a few disappointments: 1 The books stops at 1980 or when Nike went public. This is a big let down esp since you are in 2016! That is too long a time to keep the reader away. So you don't get any view as to how Nike finally took over its arch enemy Adidas. No insights into the athletes that Nike is associated with. If one has to go by the period written in this book the next 35 have been even more eventful. Hopefully Knight will soon bring out another volume. 2 While Knight paints the key milestones vividly, the book does not contain any pictures! This is almost unforgivable. The reader is robbed of the opportunity to relate more closely to the characters and enjoy the ride that much more. Not sure about the reason but may be it's the strong headed Knight who did not want to part with his privacy. But a very serious error on part of the publishers! Of course its worth the read!

Good

Shoe Dog" is not just the story of Nike—it’s the raw, unfiltered journey of a man chasing a dream through chaos, doubt, and passion. Phil Knight writes with a rare honesty, exposing his vulnerabilities, missteps, and relentless determination. Unlike many polished success stories, this memoir captures the uncertainty and madness of the entrepreneurial path. What stood out most is how real it felt—Knight doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. He just kept going. It's not just a business book; it’s a human story of grit, risk, love, and belief. A must-read for anyone daring to build something from nothing.

Inspirational, Encouraging ! Phil explains the journey right from founding the company till the year 1980 when Nike went public. I was half into the book and out of curiosity checked his personal life. He had lost one of his son Mathew. Tears rolled in my eyes.. because Phil's life is filled with adventures, sacrifices , love , fight , suspense. As you start reading you immediately get sacked into his life story and will keep you hooked till the end. Happy reading !

Wonderful biography by the author. Worth reading by anyone interested in entrepreneurship or even as a enjoyable read.

In the sun-set years of his life (Phil Knight is pushing 80 plus), the author takes us thru his life and the roller coaster ride of building a world class company….which today possibly ranks as one of the most successful brands on the planet and numero uno amongst the sporting fraternity. Think Ronaldo, think Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova…the best basket ball teams in the US and also the Indian cricket team kit…the most successful sportsmen are mostly in NIKE. With remarkable honesty and candor, Knight takes us thru his journey from the initial stages where he was peddling Japanese shoes in the US to creating his own brand, his ups and downs, the team that worked with him and stayed for long, the frustrations of managing cash flows to fuel the growth to finally becoming a multi-billion dollar brand that takes the sole of the more established Adidas and Puma. Interspersed thru his journey of building the company, Knight gives us a peek into his own life - early life with his kid sister in small town America, his romance with a student which culminated into a successful marriage(after working briefly for audit firms post Stanford, he ventured into teaching as he felt it was a more stable life), bringing up kids, the critical but encouraging role his father played in his life and the role of mentors. What makes the book interesting is that it has not been written as management gyan ( oh..I built a great company and let me share the wisdom - which most super successful Corporate builders are guilty of) but as a straight from the heart autobiography of an ambitious young American and how he built an iconic company… Written with a lot of warmth and feeling….towards his product ( he loves Shoes…..actually this is the first subliminal management gyan of the book….you should LOVE your product), towards his colleagues – his appreciation of their talents and contributions and also acknowledging their kinks and idiosyncrasies and his see-saw relationships with some of them ( second most important gyan – get to know the people who work for you – treat them well and respect them), his mis-steps and failures and his bouncing back ( another lesson: don’t worry about how many times you fall down….as long as you bounce back stronger)……his ability to own up the mistakes ( most important management gyan to succeed….the need for humility) and many more. I rarely read books about Corporations or the guys who built them – but was delighted to read this book…..and thank Shantanu for his recommendation….the lessons learnt are not just for those wanting to build great companies …but the lessons are also useful for those who want to lead a meaningful and purposeful life. Throughly enjoyable reading. PS : The book ends rather abruptly in the 80s when Nike went public…possibly some one else will pick up the baton and write the rest of the story.

Throughly enjoyable. As a 30yr veteran expat in Japan I could feel his pain. I found myself giving him advice. I’ve recommended the book to several.

This is by far the best book I have ever read about entrepreneurship and never giving up. I have read a lot of books about people who have created successful businesses, but this is by far the best one I have ever read. Captivating from start to finish. I can’t wait to read it again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this candid and inspirational personal view into the life of Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. The story is told in a very approachable and compelling manner. Perhaps because I lean more toward biographies, I found it highly entertaining and hard to put down, but I believe it also has to do with the fact that book is very well written; simple and easy to follow.

Ich wusste schon als ich die Gratis-Probe anfing, dass ich dieses Buch lesen MUSS. Einfach Weltklasse. Als anfänglicher Entrepreneur hat mich dieses Buch Demut, Hoffnung und einen langen Atem gelehrt. Qualitäten die man kultivieren sollte, wenn man erfolgreich werden möchte. Eine wirklich einmalige Geschichte und darüber hinaus sehr gut geschrieben. Ich war überrascht! Also, wenn du noch haderst: Kauf es einfach. Es wird dich inspirieren! Dimitri Kanth

Wow. I loved this book. Having worked with Nike on a few jobs, I had a lot of gaps of its history. This book isn't so much about shoes as it is about the epic journey of entrepreneurship, friendship, and self-discovery. Knight writes with such honesty and humility at times, it's hard to believe that this is the man worth billions that created the most iconic sports apparel brand in the world. What I like most is Knight's mindset. He had determination and fire in his belly. His belief in his brand was relentless despite some major setbacks. And in this book, he talks about a lot of them. The only part that got sluggish for me was the end with all the US government negotiations stuff. Other than that, it was a very interesting read. It's a bonus that it was written from an Oregonian because I'm a Native Oregonian--and never have I been so proud to be one. His talk about the Men of Oregon echoes the kind of things pioneers and founding fathers sound like. You can tell that Knight wanted to leave a legacy in he could be proud. He was grateful for his roots. They way Knight talks about Steve Prefontaine is so endearing. It was interesting to hear an insider's version of this amazing track athlete. In fact, because I knew so little about Pre, I started to feel like a bad Oregonian (in my defense, he did die before I was born). Now I know why everything that Nike stands for can be traced in the spirit of Pre. He was a charismatic rebel with a cause. (If you go to the Nike HQ museum, they still loop his Olympic run on an old television.) Through it all, you get a sense of what loyalty and friendship meant to Knight: it's literally the glue that held his business together. Since I'm friends with many Nike directors and executives, it's clear now why most of them have worked there for over thirty years (I think their campus badges are black). That's practically unheard of. I'm biased because I've done work with Nike and grew up in Portland. But I'm unbiased in that I'm a loyal fan of Asics running shoes. Ironically, that's how Knight built his empire so I don't feel all that bad. Still, I do have lots of Nike gear and now I look at it a whole lot differently. The swoosh is much brighter than before. Part of my neutrality with Nike was all the talk about the sweat shops in the late 1990's. Knight clearly gives his two cents on that towards the end of the book which still leaves room to interpret the whole issue. But now I see both sides of the coin. Since they changed their tune, put more money into philanthropies (hundreds of millions), and are the model for corporate sustainable development, ultimately I think they're a good force in the universe. Reading this book I soon realized that no matter what Knight was talking about--Nike's flaws or Nike's triumphs--he was a great storyteller. Just as he mentions embedding his sons into historical events in their nightly bedtime story, Knight mindfully embeds the reader into the history of Oregon, America, and the shoe industry. Somehow he made it all sound exciting. I was worried that the book would not be complete. It doesn't have a table of contents so until you get it, you don't know that it's the history of Nike from 1962-1980. Each year is a chapter, and then he sums up the last twenty years of Nike in a chapter at the end. But it all makes sense: Knight ends the book in the year he took his company public. I'm sure he had more adventures to tell, but he got out the main story of all of his hard-fought battles with competitors, athletes, governments, and ultimately himself. Since I've been to the HQ (which employees call the campus), I know there are dozens of more stories. They're all bigger than life. Each building has a history of its own and every time I'm out there, they're building another cluster of buildings. (I was told they stopped naming buildings after people who are alive because of the Lance Armstrong debacle.) Pretty soon they'll buy the whole town of Beaverton and just call it Nike Town. There are stories like Tiger Woods breaking a glass window that houses the lap pool--an entire football field away. That's what you get with Nike: incredible story after incredible story. Guess what the call the marketing department? Nike Story. It makes perfect sense. It's where they articulate the soul of Nike to the world. If there ever was a company with soul, Nike is it. (No pun intended: sole/soul.) This book really captures the amazing story of a businessman and his vision. Anyone interested in entrepreneurship, teamwork, leadership, track, shoes, or Oregon should pick it up for sure. You won't regret it!