The book, Shoe Dog, is in the category of entrepreneurial reading and not particular a sports book.
The title, Shoe Dog, refers to those that sell, manufacture, make, buy or in anyway deal with the shoe business. Phil Knight gets us involved in his story and the development of the Nike business. From the swoosh design made by an art student for very little money, to putting air in the shoes, to warding off the other shoe dogs trying to manufacture and sell their formula.
The book is organized by years with a majority dealing in the first ten years of their launch period. Knight gives us his perspective to living in frustration and fear waiting for the brand to take off. He discusses how their cash flow was almost non-existent when the brand was known as Blue Ribbon Sports.
He takes the reader through periods of selling shoes out of his trunk of his car, the push to get them to famous people and some that tried to not live up to their deals. He chastises Jimmy Connor for not living up to a deal, he mentions how others wore them on TV and their shoes took off for awhile.
His biggest competitor was in Japan and how they would deal with importing shoes and the tension that existed from Kitami, an executive from Onitsuka and some of the American executives.
Shoe Dog is not a sports book as I thought it might be. If you are an entrepreneur this read will give you the trials and tribulations that can and did occur before success was realized.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK “SHOE DOG”
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