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Being a fan of Nike apparels for a long time, it’s almost a prerequisite to read the memoir of its founder. I picked up this book in Malaysia during a trip to visit family studying there.
I had previously read inspirational stories about Phil Knight on the web. He was an accountant, he sold shoes from his car boot and quit his job to start a business. All these stories make for a perfect motivational yarn from a writer’s objective.
My take from the book was slightly different. Phil, as a young man, finished college, did his MBA and became an accountant to support himself. While at college he would complete an assignment on the market potential of Japanese shoes in the US market. This was his life journey.
He kept his job to keep himself afloat, he was in the lecture circuit as well, where he met his wife.
Phil was a runner in in his college days, having trained with a renowned track coach who was an Olympic trainer and would later became his partner.
After college he left on a world tour which also included Japan. There he convinced a Japanese company to sell him shoes. At the time he had no company and zero funds.
Upon his return to the US he started a company from his home garage. He would later move to an apartment and then finally to a warehouse.
Phil took calculated risks to build his company and he challenged the giants in the sports world. He developed a very good relationship with athletes Nike represented.
He picked up dedicated people to work for him and eventually all who worked with Phil at the beginning of the company retired as millionaires.
Phil is known as a family person; he had good relationships with his parents and immediate family.
Nike was not Phil’s initial choice to start the brand, it was his distribution manager who came with the name Nike and the “swoosh” was designed for only US$35.
Phil’s focus and tactical decision making, above all else, is inspirational.
