He pitched his idea to a Japanese shoe manufacturer, Onitsuka, whose shoes he liked. Here are 3 lessons from Phil Knights life about how he built Nike, the most valuable sports brand in the world: Have a crazy idea for a business to start? Copyright 2021 ShortForm | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Terms. *If you have a body, you are an athlete. This statement features prominently on their website and aligns with Knights understanding of the need for a deeper purpose. The only thing stopping his from . His Crazy Idea was to partner with Japanese shoe companies and sell their shoes in America. The film's writer Scott Alexander last wrote Dolemite Is My Name and Big Eyes. He obsessed over shoes and how to make them better. His passion for footwear began when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Oregon. This Study Guide consists of approximately 39pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - #1 Things Were Tough at the Beginning Despite Nikes current success, the earlier decades of the company were rife with financial struggle. Phil Knight has always loved sports. His traveling ambitions have a spiritual air, longing to understand how the Chinese and Buddhists and Greeks and Christians have thought about life for millennia. Knight faced challenges acquiring funding, landing orders on time, and difficulties with manufacturers throughout the early days and pushed through to find the accomplishment that Nike has today. Knight acknowledges that never give up is an overstated piece of advice. Explore our shoes timeline Find out more about our shoes collection. He is 24. And, to be honest, it was pretty big, hairy, and audacious for who Phil was at the time! Does it get people going? Short Summary: Shoe Dog (2016) is written by the founder of Nike, who has shared his journey of how he built the largest sportswear brand in the World by taking a small initiative step.The famous shoe brand Nike started out as "Blue Ribbon" with the minimum resources. When Phil finally got the shoes, one of the first people he mailed two pairs to was Bill Bowerman. By populating his company with people who were driven by creativity, Phil created a company culture that was committed to thinking outside the box. Johnson hit his target and Buck allowed him to open a Blue Ribbon . To accomplish a BHAG, keep these four ideas in mind: Fully commit to it: You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to ensure your BHAGs success. The company was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports and it verged on bankruptcy for about 20 years before going public in 1980 and became solid enough financially that Knight did not have to worry about going under. In general, adults dogs have . He even built a shoe with fish skin instead of leather once! Selling the shoes from the boot of his Plymouth, Knight grossed $8000 in his first year. As mantras go, just do it is pretty electric and empowering. For one, banks didnt want companies to grow too quickly. Then, well discuss how Blue Ribbon transitioned into Nike and how Nike became the successful brand it is today. His papers thesis: Japanese companies are poised to burst into the shoe market, just as they had for cameras and displacing the German incumbents. #7 Make a Great Team Knight describes that a lot of his success came from the excellence of his team. More books from this author: Phil Knight . Its absolutely vital to connect with people who share your vision for your company and who can help you put your mission into action. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. And one day, that one check from a retailer is late. In Shoe Dog, Phil Knight said, Life if growth. It was published in 2016. Originally called Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that would become Nike, was on the verge of bankruptcy for almost two decades. Hiring great people and letting them do their thing is one of the core parts that made Nike, well, Nike. This year is relatively crisis-free, and Phil Knight and his team spend their time thinking about the future. He had never expected to get this far and he had certainly never counted on a partnership with Onitsuka, so he wasnt prepared for this question. Finally, Nike files a $25 million antitrust suit against its competitors and rubber companies, who had conspired to cripple them. He managed these victories by acting as though he was successful and he eventually became so. With Blue Ribbon growing and getting press, they could use help with their marketing print ads, charts, and maybe a logo. In Shoe Dog, Phil Knight chronicles the journey of creating Nike, a globally-recognized athletic shoe and apparel company. Shoe Dog was published in April of 2016. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike is a 2016 memoir by Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike. In Shoe Dog, Knight goes into detail about not seeing the value, or benefit from investing in large ad campaigns. Hed written his thesis on this topic in college, and he was passionate about both shoes and running. Rather than looking for shiny corporate-style employees who were cookie-cutter copies of each other, Phil actively sought out the misunderstood creative geniuses. They also become an official executive distributor for the Japanese company Onitsuka, quickly selling out of their shoes and ordering (read more from the Part 1, 1964 - 1966 Summary). But have you ever wondered how Nike got its start? Phil responds that its a backup in case Onitsuka cuts ties with Blue Ribbon. When you break that project down into small goals and success markers, it becomes a lot easier to manage, and the little amount you complete each day, adds up until the job is done. This Shoe Dog summary reveals valuable lessons that Knight learned through his experiences during his captivating and interesting personal journey. Phil is crushed. Pure white with the signature Nike swoosh in bold red, the Cortez was an instant hit. Knight openly acknowledged that starting a business was risky, and he was willing to face that risk. Knight looked to Adidas as inspiration, but also as their main competitor. #2 The Goal Was Always Quality Possibly one of the biggest ways in which Nike beat the rest of the competition was the constant focus on quality and innovation. Figuring he was already there, young, and had nothing to lose, he made a cold call to the CEO, Mr. Onitsuka, who agreed to meet with him and gave him the distribution rights for the western United States to sell Onitsuka Tiger shoes. They sign dozens of college sports teams and legendary coaches. He risked everything, on multiple occasions, to grow Nike into the company we know today, and took extraordinary measures to pursue personal growth through his study, reading, and travels. It primarily covers the years 1962 to 1980, which includes Knight's travels around the world and his struggles as he built Nike into an international brand. As the class required writing a business plan to pass, Phil wrote a paper called Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do to German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras?. On the spot, he made up a company that didnt yet exist: Blue Ribbon Sports. Lets turn to Phil Knight to see how you can make it a reality and have fun along the way! This is his Crazy Idea. Everywhere Pre goes, Nike goes. Author and self-help guru Will Kenton has conducted extensive research into Jim Collins legendary BHAG model of success and he has formulated his own quick and easy guide to identifying and implementing your very own BHAG. In Built to Last, Collins and Porras argue that BHAGs typically take 10 to 30 years to achieve and have a 50 to 70 percent chance of success. Sometimes there is a small amount of bleeding when a tooth is lost. He had to follow his passion his calling. He wanted to sell Japanese, high-end, low-cost running shoes in the US. They drive him around the Pacific Northwest, feeding them salmon and wine. At the time he founded Nike, back then called Blue Ribbon, in 1964, Phil had no idea what this crazyplan of his would turn into, how much it would change the world and that itd make him the 15th-richest person on the planet. But in the actual Olympics, a runner who had previously worn Nikes at the Trials was now wearing Onitsuka Tigers he wasnt confident Nikes would last a whole marathon. In 2000, Phils son Matthew dies in a diving accident. Phil was a big fan of Japanese footwear and he was especially interested in a sneaker brand called Tiger that was made by Japanese company Onitsuka. "Shoe dogs were people who devoted themselves wholly to the making, selling, buying, or designing of shoes. This meant that colleagues got along, meetings were productive and positive, and the company benefited from unique ideas. (Shortform note: As Bowerman did for Knight, a good co-founder can complement your skills and create a more manageable workload. Prefontaine is in a funk from getting 4th in the 1972 Olympics. Over the years Blue Ribbon grew into a thriving company. "Shoe Dog A Memoir by the creator of Nike", "Words to work by: Tradespeople building the new Central Library choose their favourite book", "On Phil Knight, 'Shoe Dog,' Nike, Boris Berian and U.S. track & field: Oregon track & field rundown", "An Honest Tale of What It Takes to Succeed in Business", "Netflix plans to turn Phil Knight's 'Shoe Dog' into a movie", "WARREN BUFFETT: This is the best book I read last year", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoe_Dog&oldid=1143053535, This page was last edited on 5 March 2023, at 18:01. It is no secret that Nike shoes are manufactured offshore. Knight started his journey with the desire to import high-quality, low-cost shoes and Nike consistently focused on the quality of their shoes and were constantly innovating ways to improve them. The acronym BHAG (commonly pronounced bee-hag) is universal to both entrepreneurs and self-help authors. He decides to travel to Japan, exploring the rest of the world on his way. At the 1976 Olympic Trials, multiple qualifying runners are wearing Nike as they qualify to represent the US, and Nike is the talk of the athletic town. In 1964 Knight began selling Onitsuka shoes in earnest throughout the West Coast. One morning while on a run, Phil Knight has a Crazy Idea. In the meantime, he needs a job. How did they go from being a little-known shoe brand to a coveted designer item? But they also have something else in common: a simple acronym. The 1-page summary and then the longer, complete version are so useful. Knights Crazy Idea is similar to Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porrass idea of a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or a BHAG, which is a goal that takes you out of your comfort zone. Today, Nike is a household name in sportswear. He had an arguably negative relationship with the company, in that he had contempt for Adidas and felt that they were very arrogant due to their market domination. 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