Reading Reflection No. 3
For the last reading reflection, I decided to read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. The thing that surprised me most about Phil is that he first started his shoe venture by selling shoes out of the trunk of his car. That start to such a large and successful company such as Nike is incredible to me. The thing that I most admire about Phil is that he took chances and had great tenacity in starting his business. The thing I least admired about Phil was the fact that he set up factories in China. Some of those factories were eventually found to have sweatshop like conditions. Phil Knight did encounter adversity and failure. I think the main thing he did to get through those times was to just keep pushing.
The main competencies Phil exhibited were his constant work ethic and his ability to let people work to their fullest potentials. In the early days of Nike, Phil had to work extremely hard to sell the shoes and build his brand. This hard work ethic along with the people he surrounded himself with really propelled him to great success.
The one part of the book that was confusing to me was how in the world he managed to convince the executive of Onitsuka’s shoes that he was a representative for an actual company in the United States. At that point, Blue Ribbon Sports was not big at all. I am very impressed he was able to pull that off.
If I were to ask two questions to Phil, they would be: What do you think the future trends in shoes are going to be? and Why do you think Nike has continued to be successful for so many years?
I think Phil Knights opinion of hard work is that it is completely necessary to achieve success. I share that opinion because without hard work there is no way anyone can be successful.
The main competencies Phil exhibited were his constant work ethic and his ability to let people work to their fullest potentials. In the early days of Nike, Phil had to work extremely hard to sell the shoes and build his brand. This hard work ethic along with the people he surrounded himself with really propelled him to great success.
The one part of the book that was confusing to me was how in the world he managed to convince the executive of Onitsuka’s shoes that he was a representative for an actual company in the United States. At that point, Blue Ribbon Sports was not big at all. I am very impressed he was able to pull that off.
If I were to ask two questions to Phil, they would be: What do you think the future trends in shoes are going to be? and Why do you think Nike has continued to be successful for so many years?
I think Phil Knights opinion of hard work is that it is completely necessary to achieve success. I share that opinion because without hard work there is no way anyone can be successful.
Hi William,
ReplyDeleteI think it is crazy to learn how big companies first started! Phil Knight took a leap of faith and landed a worldwide company. I was unaware of his story, but I find it fascinating that he began by selling shoes out of the trunk of his car! It is a great reminder that great things take time. It takes time to reach our dreams and achieve bigs things. It does not fall into our hands with no effort! Your questions are interesting that you would ask him. I would love to know the answers, he seems like a great guy!
William,
ReplyDeleteAll great companies start somewhere even for a company as large and famous as Nike. Like us most companies start from the ground and slowly move towards their goal. I use these success stories as motivation to keep me going as I continue to work on my business. Great work.
William,
ReplyDeleteI read shoe dog for my first book at the beginning of the semester and it was an awesome read. Mostly because I am a big Nike guy so seeing the making of this brand/company was pretty cool to read about. I also admired that he took chanced to do many things including going over sees to present his ideas to people. I think work ethic is one of the traits that I noticed the most from Phil Knight as well.