Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

What surprised you the most?
I chose Shoe Dog Phil Knight: A Memoir by the creator of Nike for this reading reflection.  I love to run and I love a good running shoe so this book jumped off the list begging to be read.  I was so captivated by Phil's account of his life's work that I read the book over three days at weeks end, finishing the last chapter upon waking on a Sunday morning.  I think what surprised me most about the entrepreneur, Phil Knight, is that he seems so unsure of himself and all of the early entry, start up individuals who he handpicked to to be a part of his journey all had that in common with the exception of his coach, Bill Bowerman who was Nike's co-founder and chief innovator.  I had heard the waffle iron story before but never as vivid as what I read in this book. I will never look at the soles of my running shoes the same way.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

The story of Nike's creation was not a short one.  It took many painstaking years of hard work, sleepless nights, legal fights, and  international challenges before Nike became profitable. One of the things I admired most about Phil Knight is that he remained loyal, not only to his people, but to the "crazy idea", that he referred to so many times in his autobiography which was his shoe company, Blue Ribbon, before the name was changed to Nike. He never gave up even when he was near defeat.  His company was more than once on life support.  

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

At one of those crushing moments in Blue Ribbon's (aka Nike's) history, Knight discloses that he stole documents from Kitami's (Japanese manufacturer of the first Blue Ribbon running shoe, Tigers) because he felt like something was awry with Kitami's visit to the United States and while he was correct in his assumptions, I was disappointed, as were his colleagues, to know he had made an unethical decision when he could have chosen to do otherwise.  It really served no purpose other than providing proof of what he already suspected and there was nothing he could do about it either way and I that decision, I least admired. He did admit that indiscretion later on during a legal battle with the U.S. Customs over American Selling Price (ASP).

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure?

There were so many times Phil could have quit.  He faced so much adversity and failure.  In the beginning, he could not afford manufacturing nor could he afford to pay his employees or himself.  He took a position with a major accounting firm, Price Waterhouse, and even got his CPA, just so he could work his crazy idea after hours.  Then, when his company future was once again bleak, he took a position as a professor at a Oregon State College teaching accounting.  The company was always in a cash flow shortage or zero equity position which made banking and lending a nightmare.  He was often times on the float, meaning he was using money that was not actually in the bank yet and hoping, praying, it would be in the bank on time.  He  faced manufacturing and production issues with the Japanese who would send the wrong inventory and nearly always delinquent because they were serving their own Japanese companies first. They were fired as clients from two different banks. The list goes on and on.  What did Phil and his cohorts do?  They never, ever, gave up.  There was only one of the original employees of the start up who was not invested one hundred percent.  He left the company early on.  Phil drew a meager salary and took none when necessary. Even Bob Woodell, disabled, who later became COO of Nike, most certainly would have needed money to cover medical expenses and basic living needs hid his paychecks in his desk drawers leaving them uncashed for the good of the company.  The point is, they fought and they fought hard, all of those original members of Nike.  They recognized their failures but they were relentless in their efforts to improve and succeed.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Phil Knight is first and foremost an entrepreneur but is competent in so many ways.  He is a graduate of University of Oregon and received his MBA from Stanford, later getting his CPA.  He understands numbers which is crucial for a developing company.  He also is runner which makes him understand and truly know his product because he is a consumer.  He has unwavering determination even to the detriment of other obligations like family.  He is a team player and knows how to bring together a group of people who will create synergy.  I also love that Phil always viewed his people in their entirety.  He rarely cared what others thought about his team because he knew what skills they possessed which I think is a huge part of the success of Nike.  He knew how to create a culture where people did not take themselves so seriously that they could not accept their shortcomings as well as their talents.  He even named their annual meeting the Buttface meeting. 

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

There was only one thing in the reading that was slightly confusing which was the American Selling Price (ASP).  I still find it hard to believe that after all of the evidence was presented in the case with U.S. Customs on the American Selling Price (seems that whole incident was created by competitors trying to put Nike out of business and the government wanted a piece of the profit).  I do not understand why Nike had to settle and pay $9 million to the government.  I would like to better understand the bureaucracy of that deal.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

If I were able to speak to Phil Knight (Buck, to his friends), I would first want to ask him if given the opportunity, what would he have done differently?  Secondly, I would ask him what advice would he give to someone with a crazy idea they wanted to pursue?  I would ask these questions because of the great sacrifice that is involved with entrepreneurship and I read about the toll it took on his wife and children and their relationship as he pursued his idea.

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work?

Finally, I think that Phil Knight's idea of hard work doesn't even begin to describe the words "hard work".  Having read this entire account of Nike's creation, I feel like I do not work hard enough.  Phil worked incredibly long hours for years and I think that is part of the recipe for success.  Hard work is at the core of any entrepreneur's being.  It is undoubtedly one of the tenets for success.  I wholeheartedly agree.  I believe nothing worth having really comes free, unless we are once in a great while, lucky.  Phil Knight actually mentioned in his book there was a bit of luck involved with his success but mostly hard work.