[This blog is Part 4 of 4 blog posts on Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog:  A Memoir by The Creator of NIKE (New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2016)]

MEANING:

Shoe Dog is titled as a “memoir”—this would imply sober self-reflection.  The book recounts Phil Knight’s personal story in considerable detail, with small doses of reflection sprinkled throughout.  Despite 350 pages recounting his story, there is precious little reflection on meaning or faith. 

In his 20s he was doing soul searching: “I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than we ever know, short as a morning run, and I wanted mine to be meaningful.  And purposeful.  And creative.  And important.  Above all...different.  I wanted to leave a mark on the world.” [3] 

When he met the woman who would be his future wife, “I told her that I flat-out didn’t want to work for someone else.  I wanted to build something that was my own, something that I could point to and say:  I made that.  It was the only way to make life meaningful.” [124] This is a classic entrepreneurial statement, focused on his own self-actualization.  He wanted to make his life meaningful; he wasn’t thinking of his girlfriend-cum-wife or others. 

Knight notes that in the late 1970s, “I redefined winning…We wanted, as all great businesses do, to create, to contribute, and we dared to say so aloud.” [353] 

He doesn’t talk much about his own sense of purpose or calling.  He does note, however, that there is value is a clear sense of calling in relation to life’s challenges: “I’d tell men and women in their midtwenties not to settle for a job or a profession or even a career.  Seek a calling.  Even if you don’t know what that means, seek it.  If you’re following your calling, the fatigue will be easier to bear, the disappointments will be fuel, the highs will be like nothing you’ve ever felt.”  [382] 

With his $27.3 billion, what is he up to these days?  Knight explains that, “We [Knight and his wife Penny] give away $100 million each year, and when we’re gone we’ll give away most of what’s left.” [380]  He is focused in his philanthropy.  He explains, “I think about the few things I want to do.  Help a couple of universities change the world.  Help find a cure for cancer.  Besides that, it’s not so much things I want to do as things I’d like to say.  And maybe unsay.” [381] 

FAITH 

In relation to meaning, is there any reference to faith?  Not really.  He does mention his father’s faith.  He explains cynically: “In many ways my father was a conventional Episcopalian, a believer in Jesus Christ.  But he also worshiped another secret deity—respectability.” [12] 

What is his present spiritual state?  Hard to say.  He does give a garbled statement which is reflective of present-day spirituality: “The harder you work, the better your Tao.  And since no one has ever adequately defined Tao, I now try to go regularly to mass.  I would tell them:  Have faith in yourself, but also have faith in faith.  Not faith as others define it.  Faith as you define it.  Faith as faith defines itself in your heart.”  [382] In other words, craft you own beliefs from the spiritual smorgasbord and, if it works for you, great.  Not terribly inspirational.  

CONCLUSION 

That is, indeed, reflective of the book.  Knight recounts his story of the early years of NIKE is a candid manner.  He’s not trying to be inspirational, but more informational.  There is not a listing of lessons for success.  Nothing that would smack of “be like me and you, too, can be successful.” 

The book is well-written and poignant at the times, describing the nature of running and the reasons for it, the death of a close friend and more recently, and tragically, one of his sons, his dead-end relationship with a girl friend and his shyness. 

You come away from the book, not viewing Phil Knight as a personal inspiration, but rather marveling at the story of how he rode herd over the growth of the company.  His general qualities of persistence, guts and dedication are amazing.  Then, there is the side of being shy, uncommunicative, unresponsive, seemingly uncaring, challenging relationships, bungling the sweatshop controversy, absent family man, ethically and morally ambivalent.  

In view of the prominence of NIKE, it’s well worth getting a first-hand account of one of the great entrepreneurial success stories of our time.  And, with Phil Knight being one of the most successful and influential entrepreneurs alive today, it’s valuable to know his story.  

As with any autobiography, it’s his perspective on what happened.  The shortcoming is that you don’t know what’s been glossed over or omitted.  On the other hand, the book provides his perspective on what happened and he does a great job of giving a first-hand perspective on the entrepreneurial struggle from university track athlete to global business mogul through persistence and focus over a 40-year period.

NIKE & Top Shoe Dog Phil Knight: The Crazy Idea, Passion, Startup & Innovation

Take the Phil Knight (Founder, NIKE) Ethics Test

NIKE & Top Shoe Dog Phil Knight: Entrepreneurial Lessons, Great Phrases & Interesting Tidbits