Shoe Dog Summary and Analysis PDF

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Shoe Dog Summary and Analysis...

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Overview Shoe Dog is a first-person memoir written by Nike co-founder Phil Knight. It was published in 2016. Shoe Dog primarily recounts the events from 1962, the year Knight traveled around the world as a young man, to 1980, the year Nike went public and Knight became a multimillionaire. The years in between are comprised of the struggles and challenges Knight faced as he worked to build the company that would ultimately be known worldwide as Nike. Shoe Dog is divided into 20 chapters, each one roughly corresponding to one year in Knight’s life. In addition to the challenges related to building a company, Knight also reflects on the challenges and triumphs he faced as a son, as a young man searching for his identity, as a husband, and as a father. After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon and business school at Stanford, Knight returned to his parents’ home in Portland, Oregon, in 1962, where he received a loan from his father to travel around the world. While in Japan, Knight met with executives at Onitsuka Tiger, a Japanese shoe company, which agreed to send Knight shoe samples to sell back in the United States. In 1964 Knight began selling Onitsuka shoes in earnest throughout the West Coast. That year he also partnered with Bob Bowerman, his college track-and-field coach; Knight oversaw the managerial and financial end of things, while Bowerman experimented with shoe design. Over the years Blue Ribbon grew into a thriving company. When Onitsuka and Blue Ribbon became bitter rivals and parted ways, Knight was forced to begin producing his own shoes, which he ultimately called Nikes. Bowerman’s designs influenced many of Nike’s iconic styles, including its waffle trainers. In the years that followed, Nike faced $1 million payments to creditors, dirty tricks played by competitors, the death of Prefontaine (a beloved Oregonian distance runner and Nike celebrity-employee), and many other challenges. Through it all, Knight told himself to “never stop.” The result of his perseverance is Nike, a multibillion-dollar brand worn by many of the world’s best athletes and recognized across the globe.

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses Prologue - Chapter 3 Prologue Summary: “Dawn” The narrator eats a light breakfast and goes for a run. He reflects on being from Oregon. He’s proud to be from Oregon but also feels most people think little of importance ever happens there. The narrator is living at home with his parents again after seven years away. He’s attended the University of Oregon and received a master’s degree in business from Stanford. Despite these accomplishments he still feels “like a kid” (2). He’s 24 years old. He reflects on what he wants from life and decides that he wants his life to feel like play. This leads him to thinking about his “Crazy Idea” (4). He begins to run faster, growing excited while imagining his Crazy Idea working. He gives himself the advice to never stop, to “just keep going” (5), no matter what. Reflecting on his own advice 50 years later, he believes it is the most important advice there is.

Chapter 1 Summary: “1962” Knight approaches his father while he watches television. Knight wants to ask for help with his Crazy Idea. While in business school at Stanford, Knight had written a paper involving the potential impact of Japanese running shoes in the running shoe market. Knight saw enormous potential there and continued thinking about this idea well after presenting his paper. He imagined flying to Japan and finding a company with which he could partner to sell their shoes in the American market. He also imagined pairing this trip to Japan with a trip around the world, where he could see many of the planet’s most beautiful and sacred sites. But to make such a trip, he must borrow money from his father. Knight pitches the idea of a trip around the world to his father, who approves. Knight spends weeks preparing for his trip. He asks his friend and former Stanford classmate Carter if he’d like to join him, and Carter agrees. On September 7, 1962, Knight and Carter drive from Oregon to San Francisco. From there they fly to Honolulu. After checking into a motel on Waikiki Beach, they go swimming together and quickly decide they’d like to stay in Hawaii for an extended period. They get jobs selling encyclopedias door to door, but Knight has trouble making sales and changes jobs, becoming a securities salesman. Knight has more success in this job, quickly earning enough in commissions to pay for six months’ rent. After a relatively

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happy period of surfing and frequenting local dive bars, Knight feels it is time to continue his travels. His friend Carter decides to remain behind in Hawaii. On Thanksgiving Day, 1962, Knight flies to Japan alone. In Tokyo he’s struck by the lingering presence of World War II, observing war wreckage from a taxi window. After visiting many of Tokyo’s commercial and religious sites, he meets with two ex-GIs who have launched a magazine about importing Japanese products. They give Knight important advice on how to do business with the Japanese, advising him not to be too aggressive in his dealings. Shortly after his meeting with the GIs, Knight boards a train to Kobe to meet with a shoe company called Onitsuka. He is given a tour of the factory and led to a conference room, where he is given a seat at the head of a large table. A man named Mr. Miyazaki asks Knight what company Knight represents, and Knight says, “Blue Ribbon” (29), after the ribbons on the wall of his childhood bedroom in Oregon. Knight tells the executives of Onitsuka that the American shoe market represents a very profitable opportunity for them. After Knight’s presentation, Onitsuka asks Knight if he’d like to represent Tiger shoes in the United States. Knight agrees and asks for a shipment of samples to his US address. An agreement is reached. It’s during this first trip to Japan that Knight becomes enamored with the idea of Zen, particularly as it relates to business and sports. Zen philosophy asserts that success is only possible “when we forget the self and the opponent, who are but two halves of one whole” (23). This philosophy informs Knight’s business strategy once he’s back stateside. Before that, Knight continues his travels. He goes to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and India. In Calcutta, Knight gets so sick he believes he is going to die. In Nepal, he begins to notice everyone’s shoes. He visits Kenya, the pyramids in Egypt, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and finally London. The highlight of his travels, however, is Greece. While looking out upon the Acropolis, he has the feeling that he’s been there before. He sees the Temple of Athena Nike, which is said to have “housed a beautiful frieze of the goddess Athena, thought to be the bringer of ‘nike,’ or victory” (37). On his 25th birthday, on February 24, 1963, Knight arrives home from his travels.

Chapter 2 Summary: “1963”

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After returning home from his trip around the world, Knight looks for work. Knight visits Don Frisbee, a local CEO whom his father is friends with. Frisbee advises Knight to get his CPA, and so Knight enrolls in accounting classes. He then gets a job at an accounting firm, where he works 12-hour days. He is paid well but misses the adventure of the previous year, when he traveled the world. In summary, Knight writes, “This is how I spent 1963. Quizzing pigeons. Polishing my Valiant. Writing letters” (42).

Chapter 3 Summary: “1964” In the first week of 1964, Knight goes down to a warehouse on the waterfront and receives a large box with Japanese writing. When he returns home, he opens it to find 12 pairs of white shoes with blue stripes. He finds them beautiful. He sends two pairs to his old track coach at the University of Oregon, Bob Bowerman. Knight remembers Bowerman as an intimidating but powerful presence and as a legendary coach. Bowerman responds to Knight by suggesting they have lunch the following week. On January 25, 1964, the two men meet at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Portland. Bowerman likes the Japanese shoes and asks if he can be let in on the deal with Onitsuka. They decide to become partners with a 50-50 share in the company. A few days later, Knight and Bowerman meet with Bowerman’s lawyer, Jaqua, to make the agreement official. Jaqua explains that Bowerman does not want to be in charge and suggests that they split ownership 51-49, giving Knight control. Knight agrees, and they sign the paperwork. The same day Knight writes to Onitsuka asking to be “the exclusive distributor of Tiger shoes in the western United States” (52) and places an order for 300 pairs of Tiger shoes. He borrows $1,000 from his father to make the purchase. In April 1964 Knight receives the order of shoes from Onitsuka. He is told in a letter by Mr. Miyazaki that he can be the “distributor for Onitsuka in the West” (55). He quits his job at the accounting firm and commits himself to selling Onitsukas out of the trunk of his car. Knight has success driving to track meets around the Pacific Northwest and talking up the shoes to coaches, athletes, and fans. Soon he finds himself receiving requests for shoes by mail. He reflects, “Without my even trying, my mail order business was born” (56). Sometimes runners would arrive at Knight’s parents’ home to ask if Buck was around. Knight would then welcome the runner and measure his foot. Knight sells out his first shipment on July 4, 1964. He writes to Onitsuka requesting 900 more

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pairs, costing him around $3,000. To cover the cost, Knight gets a loan at the First National Bank of Oregon. Since business is going well, Knight decides to hire a salesman in California. He attends a track meet at Occidental College near Los Angeles, where he’s greeted by a former track competitor named Jeff Johnson. Johnson says that on weekends he sells shoes for Adidas. Knight tries to convince him to sell Tiger shoes, but Johnson declines. A letter arrives from a man on the East Coast. The man, whom Knight calls a “Marlboro Man,” claims to have been named the exclusive distributor of Onitsuka in the United States. He demands that Knight cease selling Tigers. Knight contacts his cousin, a lawyer named Doug Houser, for advice. He later decides that he must fly to Japan to confront Onitsuka in person. After arriving in Kobe, Knight calls Onitsuka from the hotel and leaves a message. A secretary calls back to tell him that Mr. Miyazaki, his previous contact, no longer works at Onitsuka. His replacement, a man named Mr. Morimoto, will come to meet Knight at the hotel restaurant the following morning. When the men meet, Knight makes his case for continuing to be a distributor for Onitsuka. Mr. Morimoto says that he will be in touch. The following morning Knight receives a call telling him that Mr. Onitsuka himself would like to meet with him. Knight heads to the Onitsuka headquarters, where he meets with executives and Mr. Onitsuka in a conference room. Ultimately, Mr. Onitsuka decides that Knight can continue selling in the 13 western states, while the Marlboro Man would be forced to limit the sale of his track shoes to the eastern states. After a year, the decision would be revisited. Following this successful negotiation, Knight decides to climb Mount Fuji. He arrives at the foot of the mountain at dusk. At a rest station during the climb, he meets a pair of Americans, a man and a woman. As they climb together, Knight talks with the woman, whose name is Sarah. After returning to the bottom of the mountain, Sarah asks where Knight is headed and decides to go with him. Knight spends two days together with Sarah before they part ways. Knight leaves Sarah a note at the American Express office suggesting that she visit him in Portland, then he flies home. A few weeks later Sarah surprises him by visiting him at his parents’ home unannounced. She stays for two weeks, charming “the uncharmable Knights” (69). Christmas

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that same year, 1964, she visits again. After she returns home this time, Knight notices “a slight cooling in her letters” (71). He calls her, and she tells him that he isn’t “sophisticated” (71) enough for her. She doesn’t think they’re right for each other. They quit seeing one another. A new order of shoes arrives from Onitsuka. Knight hires his sister Jeanne to help him with secretarial work. She agrees and thus becomes “the first-ever employee of Blue Ribbon” (71).

Prologue - Chapter 3 Analysis The prologue establishes a few theses for Shoe Dog. For one, Knight reflects on what kind of life he wants to live and realizes that he wants his life to be a kind of “play” (4). This attitude influences many of the decisions Knight makes throughout his life, including the kinds of people he hires to help build Nike and the company culture they create together. Secondly, Knight tells himself, “just don’t stop” (5), which becomes mantra he uses throughout his life and over the course of Shoe Dog. Finally, it is in the prologue that Knight first mentions his Crazy Idea, which eventually develops into the company known as Nike. Knight takes his first trip to Japan in Chapter 1, a country with which he develops an intimate relationship over the course of his life and over the course of Shoe Dog. One aspect of Japan that Knight especially connects with is the philosophy of Zen as it connects to business and athletic competition. The concept of forgetting the self, for example, might help the athlete dissolve the barrier between himself and his competition. According to Zen, “Victory […] comes when we forget the self and the opponent, who are but two halves of one whole” (23). The forgetting of the self is a theme that Knight returns to at many crucial moments throughout Shoe Dog. Another crucial subtext to Knight’s first visits to Japan involves its relationship to the United States in the wake of World War II. One of Knight’s family members expresses surprise that Knight is visiting the country at all, and wreckage from the war is still visible as Knight is driven in a taxi through Tokyo. When Knight first meets with executives at Onitsuka, he feels that the war is both present in the room and somehow not present as well: “The war was right there, beside us, between us, attaching a subtext to every word we spoke…And yet it also wasn’t there” (28). In the end, these two sentiments result in an “interior static” (28) that makes negotiating in the foreign land all the more challenging. The most important stop in his travels across the world proves to be Greece, which Knight

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calls his highlight. He is inspired by the beauty of the Acropolis and also has the strange sensation that he has been there before. Years later, this inspiration will help him choose the name Nike (which means “victory” in Greek) for his company. Knight’s father grew up in poverty and worked hard to accomplish stability and respectability. As such, he is not initially enthusiastic about Knight’s ambitions to begin a shoe company. Although Knight’s father never tells Knight that he can’t or shouldn’t follow his dreams, his subtle disapproval of the endeavor nevertheless represents an early psychological barrier for Knight. Additionally, Knight’s father refuses to loan Knight money after a certain period. This forces Knight to seek financial support from a local bank, effectively beginning his journey to legitimacy. While Knight’s father is at first disapproving, Knight’s mother is supportive of Blue Ribbon from the very start, buying a pair of Tigers from the very first shipment. But the most important support Knight receives comes from Bill Bowerman, his former track coach at the University of Oregon. Bowerman is considered a legend, and his co-ownership of Blue Ribbon proves invaluable time and time again as the company fights to establish itself as a legitimate and reputable brand.

Chapters 4-6 Chapter 4 Summary: “1965” At the beginning of the year Knight offers Jeff Johnson a job as a commissioned salesman, and Johnson accepts. Johnson begins to send Knight an endless stream of letters in which he reports his sales, his plans, his suggestions, and his thoughts. He sends so many letters that Knight worries he is “unhinged” (74). In April 1965 Johnson reports that he’s quit his job as a social worker in Los Angeles. Although Knight tries to convince Johnson that work at Blue Ribbon could be unstable, he ultimately accepts Johnson’s offer to become the company’s first full-time employee. Knight runs into problems with his banker, who believes Blue Ribbon is growing too quickly for its equity. The banker observes, “Growth off your balance sheet is dangerous” (77). Knight, however, feels that growth is vital to his company’s survival. He continues to place orders with Onitsuka that are twice the size of the previous order and convinces the bank to approve the necessary loan.

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Given so much uncertainty about the company’s future, Knight decides to find “a real job” (80). He’s hired as an accountant at Price Waterhouse, where he meets a man named Delbert Hayes. Hayes is a large man with a large appetite. He drinks often and smokes at least two packs of cigarettes a day. Hayes is flamboyant but also extremely talented as an accountant. Knight joins Hayes at local Portland dive bars after work and on road trips visiting clients. While in Japan during the 1964 Olympics, Bowerman visits the Onitsuka headquarters and bonds with Mr. Onitsuka. When Bowerman returns to Oregon, he corresponds with Mr. Onitsuka, sending shoe ideas to the factory. Eventually, Onitsuka makes samples according to Bowerman’s notes and sends them to Oregon. Bowerman issues the prototypes to his runners, who use the shoes to win races.

Chapter 5 Summary: “1966” Johnson’s endless stream of letters continues from California, and Knight continues to not respond. Given free rein to do as he likes, Johnson works obsessively for Blue Ribbon. He creates a database of customers with whom he regularly keeps in touch. Knight moves out of his parents’ home and rents an apartment in downtown Portland. Around this time Johnson writes Knight to say that he’s been in a car accident. Though critically injured, he manages to meet his obligations with Blue Ribbon. Knight proposes that if Johnson can sell 3,250 pairs of shoes by June 1966, Knight will let Johnson open a retail store. Johnson hits the goal and opens Blue Ribbon’s first retail space on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica that fall. Knight receives word that the Marlboro Man is beginning to sell Onitsukas on the East Coast again. Once more, Knight flies to Japan hoping to secure rights to sell Onitsukas in the United States exclusively. When he arrives at Onitsuka’s headquarters, he meets in the conference room with Kitami, who has replaced the previous export manager, Morimoto. Knight attempts to persuade Kitami and the other executives that Blue Ribbon should be Onitsuka’s exclusive US distributor. Kitami says that this won’t be possible, as Blue Ribbon is not established enough, nor does it have offices on the East Coast. Knight bluffs that Blue Ribbon does have offices on the East Coast. This seems to change Kitami’s mind. The next morning he awards Blue Ribbon a three-year contract as Onitsuka’s exclusive US distributor.

Chapter 6 Summary: “1967”

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Knight hires a local track coach named John Bork to run Johnson’s retail store in Santa Monica, then flies down to LA to convince Johnson to move to the East Coast and quickly open a factory there. At first Johnson is reluctant, but he ultimately agrees. Then Johnson threatens to quit working for Blue Ribbon unless he is made a partner and given a raise. Knight flies to Palo Alto, where Johnson is staying with his parents. There is a meeting between Knight, Johnson, and Johnson’s father. Though Johnson’s father argues that Johnson deserves to be made partner, Knight merely offers Johnson a $50 raise. Johnson accepts and continues working for Blue Ribbon. Knight hires two former University of Oregon track runners to work for Blue Ribbon: Geoff Hollister and Bob Woodell. Woodell had been a rising long-jump star w...