Shoe Dog: A Memoir by Phil Knight, Founder of Nike

Anand Ramchandani: Charming, inspirational, and beguiling. Phil Knights memoir definitely piqued my interest in more business memoirs... I was impressed with his earnestness and how he dealt with trials and tribulations. Contrary to what I would have expected, I empathised greatly with the gut wrenching worry and anxiety he felt when horrible twists of fate occurred (like his only bank dropping him, or his supplier seeking other distributors only to sue him later on)

However, his ability to take risks and run nike for decades on 90% debt in order to fund astronomical growth is not something I could stomach. It's definitely worth a read

Singapore on Nov 06, 2023

Richard Valenzi: Not just another inspiring tale of the Ups and downs that built the empire, but an incredibly heartfelt, funny and sometimes sad narrative.

I've read a lot of business biographies, but this is in a class of its own.

United States on Nov 02, 2023

Nic: An interesting aspect in the book is how different it was trying to get a company off the ground when starting in the 60s. Limited access to capital (and the attitude of banks..), doing business by letters -- two name just two; things moved a lot slower. International trade in those times, Japan just after the war -- this is more than a book about building a business.

United Kingdom on Oct 21, 2023

psnAmzn: You start with the fact that you are reading a biography of a successful person, hoping to get hard-hitting productivity or self-help 'gyaan' right away. Then when you get hooked to it for pages for pages, it turns into a Novel.. and then you just get lost in its ~400 pages. No way to get out of it...

India on Oct 12, 2023

Pon: Good way to find the life of Phil Knight.

Japan on Oct 05, 2023

Ishaan: This is one of the finest biographies I have read. You should read this once if you are into any kind of business. Or you should read it anyway. It contains all the ups and downs of business. So much to learn.

India on Oct 02, 2023

Ian Mann: This book is about an entrepreneur’s journey, how one man took on the giants and won. The Dassler brothers, founders of Puma and Adidas, began their business in 1924 and Phil Knight began his in 1963.
Over the past 18 years of writing reviews, I don’t think I have reviewed more than 3 autobiographies. My experience has been that hardly any avoid being little more than an airbrushed account of an extraordinary genius, with depth of character and business prowess, written by the paragon him or herself. My visceral response to an autobiography is – ignore.
Shoe Dog came to my attention in 2017, and I ignored it. A week ago, a client, still in her mid-30s, and half way to building her company into a billion-dollar business, raved about the book.
I share her enthusiasm for this autobiography. Let me tell you why.
If you are looking for ‘my 7 secrets of great success’ in this book, you will find only one. And for that one, this 400-page book is not worth the effort. So why would Bill Gates call this book “…an amazing tale”? Primarily because, as Gates says, “Knight opens up in a way that few CEOs are willing to do.”
There are no two businesses that...

United States on Jan 30, 2018

Avid Reader: I have to say I only picked up Shoe Dog, Nike's Phil Knight's autobiography (or *memoir*? What's the difference?), because of it's mention on Gates Notes, Bill Gates' blog, where the Microsoft founder publishes an yearly holiday book list based on what were his top reads of the year (in this case, 2016).

Here's what Gates had to say about the book:

>[the] memoir, by the co-founder of Nike, is a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like: messy, precarious, and riddled with mistakes. I’ve met Knight a few times over the years. He’s super nice, but he’s also quiet and difficult to get to know. Here Knight opens up in a way few CEOs are willing to do. I don’t think Knight sets out to teach the reader anything. Instead, he accomplishes something better. He tells his story as honestly as he can. It’s an amazing tale.

I tend to trust book suggestions by people whose reading habits I admire. It's the case of Bill Gates. My trusting bias is leveraged by the facts that he's a very successful entrepreneur (maybe the most) and a very avid reader. These two traits lead me to believe that his suggestions will most...

United States on Jan 03, 2017