Shoe Dogs the Nike Story

The key ideas from the book- Shoe Dogs the Nike Story- by Phil Khight ran with his “crazy idea” and created a company that imported running shoes from Japan, which were cheeap but of good quality.

Today, Nike is one of the biggest brands in the world. In his autobiography, Knight tells us his story from the heart: he talks about his passion for running, his travels, all the risks he had to take to make his company grow, and the triumph and relationships that contributed to the creation of Nike.

1. 1. Phil knight and his “crazy idea”

Into his twenties and nuts about sport, fresh from Standford University, where he had graduated in economics, and having just completed a year of military service, Phil Knight went back to his parents’ home in Oregon. He was at that turning point when a young man has to decide what to do with their life.

He didn’t want to work for a big company, but he wanted to start something on his own that was new, dynamic and different. Selling japanese running shoes, which are high quality and cheap for the American market.

He decided then to go to Japan to give a try, even tho the american- japanese relation was not good at the 60s. He arranged a meeting with the managers of a company Onitsuka, they thought he was working for a big American company, they asked ofr the company name and he said ” blue rubbon” then, he placed the first order, he had no money, but he was sure in his abilities.

He borrowed some money from his dad, and he start reselling in a trunk, he made about eight thousand dollars.

2. Surround yourself with the right co-workers: Blue Ribbon and the Shoe dogs

Bill bowerman, the great American running coach with a passion for trying different running shoes. He always loved getting his athletes to try out creation as soon as they were made.

One morning at breakfast, while he was watching his wife make waffles, he came up with the idea to create shoe with a waffle shaped tread on the sole, to improve grip. Starting with his ex- coach, Phil Knight sorrounded himself with a group of people he called “the Shoe dogs”, people who were intensely immersed in the world of running business from planning to wearing.

Together, thanks to a bold vision and a mutual trust in the transformative strength of sport, Knight and his co-workers created a revolutionary brand.

3. Don’t tell people how to do things

Phil knight loved learning about leadership, so he read many books written by greta leaders and generals. One of the biggest lesson that he learned, which proved to be highly successful during his career, was not talk much, in particular he said “don’t tell people how to do things“, and he avoided trying to overly control his employees. He was focused on the task, not how to do it, he left his employee to suprise him.

4. Fail Fast

Knight’s company was always short of cash, always on edge of disaster, until Nike went public. Every cent was reinvested to produce more shoes, and each year the company size was getting big. Banks rejected Blue Ribbon, because they did’t have much capital, in spite of their strong growth. The company kept a low profile for years, despite the growing custom demands was astonished.

Phil lived on edge for years, but this permitted himto take risks and to not have fear, but instead to lear from the fail and start again another company more strong. His mantra was “fail fast”, he always pushed hard his company to not loose time, if the company was doomed to fail anyway, but his company never failed.

5. The birth of Nike ad the swoosh symbol

Phil decided to design a new brand with a new logo name, his team worked hard for months, the time was running out and a proper name was needed. The first name was “dimension six”, then an employee had a dream, he saw nike in his vision, the ancient greek, the goddess of the victory, he wasn’t convinced then he accepted.

Today the swoosh, that “rustle”, the “sound of someone goint past you”, is much more than a logo: it is an instantly recognisable icon in all corners of the globe.  

Shoe dogs the nike story, that’s it!