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Shoe Dog - Phil Knight

Tompety03

By Tompety03
in Books

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DCG Newbie

DCG

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I got about a 3rd of the way through it, and sort of got bored and moved onto something else. Maybe I should revisit it. I found his writing pretty boring, and thought he included way too much useless information. I don't like how it's a full year-by-year summary of the company.

Kapitalust Newbie

Kapitalust

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I concur with Morgan that it shows a glimpse into what it takes, the bounces that have to go your way, and the sheer willpower you need to channel into your idea/business for it to succeed.

 

Thought it was a fun, quick read. Blasted through the book in a couple of days. It read more like a fiction novel than a non-fiction autobiography.

 

I highly recommend this to friends, even if they have no interest in business/finance/investing.

Phaceliacapital Newbie

Phaceliacapital

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Posted

I got about a 3rd of the way through it, and sort of got bored and moved onto something else. Maybe I should revisit it. I found his writing pretty boring, and thought he included way too much useless information. I don't like how it's a full year-by-year summary of the company.

 

Yes, funny how differing opinions are but I did not get captivated by his way of writing and struggled through the second half of the book. I also expected more business specific developments for the later years of Nike...

 

Most important takeaways for me:

 

- Hustle, hustle, lie lie and make sure you can deliver.

- Nike was founded by an average athlete, a retired coach (who almost blew himself up by experimenting with waffle irons), a guy in a wheelchair and a fat guy (who probably needed a wheelchair).

- Tiger was one of the first to call after Matthew passed away.

Green King Contributor

Green King

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Great Book. If you get bored get the audio book. half way done. It has strong familiarity my experiences in the past year. Helping my family build a consumer beverage company from a piece of paper.

 

Leverage, negotiating, positioning dealing with stake holders.

Hiring people and getting them to contribute to you vision and actually do work.

Working with people getting ideas across and then implemented. 

 

Injecting a brand with emotional appeal with the products's natural characteristics and desires of the consumer.

 

overall informative and enjoyable read.

jawn619 Newbie

jawn619

Posted
Posted

I got about a 3rd of the way through it, and sort of got bored and moved onto something else. Maybe I should revisit it. I found his writing pretty boring, and thought he included way too much useless information. I don't like how it's a full year-by-year summary of the company.

 

+1 same

  • 3 years later...
dwy000 Veteran

dwy000

Posted
Posted

I got about a 3rd of the way through it, and sort of got bored and moved onto something else. Maybe I should revisit it. I found his writing pretty boring, and thought he included way too much useless information. I don't like how it's a full year-by-year summary of the company.

 

Interesting because that's kind of what I liked about it.  It definitely got more boring near the end when it was less about the scrappy startup and more about the massive company.

 

But I like this kind of book that's more of an autobiography and timeline that some of these other business books that are ego trips about management style more than the business.  I just finished Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Shultz (about Starbucks) and it got really preachy about how wonderful he was in treating employees and staying true to their brand etc.  More "look what a genius and nice guy I am" than about the scrappy up and comer trying to carve out a niche.  I want to read about the hard parts of building a business that you never knew about when looking at the end result.

clutch Apprentice

clutch

Posted
Posted

I got about a 3rd of the way through it, and sort of got bored and moved onto something else. Maybe I should revisit it. I found his writing pretty boring, and thought he included way too much useless information. I don't like how it's a full year-by-year summary of the company.

 

Interesting because that's kind of what I liked about it.  It definitely got more boring near the end when it was less about the scrappy startup and more about the massive company.

 

But I like this kind of book that's more of an autobiography and timeline that some of these other business books that are ego trips about management style more than the business.  I just finished Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Shultz (about Starbucks) and it got really preachy about how wonderful he was in treating employees and staying true to their brand etc.  More "look what a genius and nice guy I am" than about the scrappy up and comer trying to carve out a niche.  I want to read about the hard parts of building a business that you never knew about when looking at the end result.

 

I also agreed with this take. This is not really a book about business, rather an interesting life story. One of my favorite autobiographies of all time.

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