Shoe Dog

This book is part of the books to read in your 20s list shared by my friend Yash and it was also suggested by my friend Suhasa. Thank you both.

Shoe Dog is the story of Nike, Inc. narrated by its co-founder Phil Knight. This book talks about the founding of Nike, different roadblocks and other incidents they faced till they became a publicly traded company.

The writings are simple and fun to read. The author narrates many incidents in joyful manner. I rarely read biographies or success stories because most of them would be boasting and give wake up at 4 and do cold shower advice. However Shoe Dog felt different. The chapters are filled with actual stories with little meta and philosophical talks.

However, if you are not someone with knowledge about running business and USA’s laws, some things might confuse you. For example, I could not clearly understand how they resolved few court cases and bank complaints.

The book is also not a complete history of Nike. It only talks about the time when Nike was not publicly traded. However I think the exclusion kept the book easy to follow.

The story of Nike may or may not actually inspire you. Though the author tries his best to maintain the common man look, like saying then and there that they do not care about money, only passion etc. But in reality, the author is from a well established background. He is a Stanford degree holder, had enough family wealth to go on world tour, had influential friends and contacts who can get him in touch with athletes, coaches and business leaders. He also does some controversial things but his narration makes it feel like a usual thing.

But to give credit where due, the author did venture into something he has experience about. He was a middle-distance runner at Oregon and the other co-founder of Nike is Bill Bowerman, a coach who trained Olympic athletes. Also he did not jump completely into his company at first. He worked a few jobs (though well paid) and always was ready to go back to his old jobs if the company failed. This may be an important observation which many I want to be a founder too people fail to observe. Moreover, he had financial support from his family, which enabled him to take risks.

Finally, this is a nice book. Even though the co-founder may not inspire you or Nike’s controversies might annoy you, this book gives a fresh perspective which can feel different.