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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
Awesome look into how Nike started out and getting the inside details, crazy to see how it almost failed so many times and is so massive now
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
While slow in some parts and not always the most interesting story, Shoe Dog was the next best thing: honest.
The ups and downs of the narrative and the dragging chapters and pages only served to prove how true it was to real life. Most businesses do not take off in a smooth storyline, and Nike was no different. Knight is honest about his company’s failures and transgressions, his failures as a father and a husband (for which I still feel bad for his wife, but that’s another discussion), and his regrets and successes along the way.
Of course, I believe there are three truths: the first side, the second side, and what actually happened. Knight takes the last chapter to clear the air on some things regarding labor conditions and wages, which changed my perspective on Nike quite a bit, but I do think it’s important for people to remember that Nike is a corporation in a capitalistic society, and whether it’s a big deal or a small deal, at the end of the day it’s not possible to become a global superpower without stepping on the backs of someone. Whether that is justified (as he describes the way they tried to raise wages but were told it would disrupt the economy in that country) or not, it is the way it is.
Interestingly, Knight struggled for so long because he refused to make his company public. The reason cited was not wanting it to change the morals or mission behind the company. While I don’t know if he has succeeded, I also don’t know if I really blame him for that. My thoughts on Nike are, like most things, complicated and nuanced. My thoughts on Knight are similar, but with a lot more respect.
The writing is simple, but despite it not being challenging or artful, it has a strong voice and I never once thought that maybe Knight hired a ghostwriter. Either that or his ghostwriter did a great job.
The ups and downs of the narrative and the dragging chapters and pages only served to prove how true it was to real life. Most businesses do not take off in a smooth storyline, and Nike was no different. Knight is honest about his company’s failures and transgressions, his failures as a father and a husband (for which I still feel bad for his wife, but that’s another discussion), and his regrets and successes along the way.
Of course, I believe there are three truths: the first side, the second side, and what actually happened. Knight takes the last chapter to clear the air on some things regarding labor conditions and wages, which changed my perspective on Nike quite a bit, but I do think it’s important for people to remember that Nike is a corporation in a capitalistic society, and whether it’s a big deal or a small deal, at the end of the day it’s not possible to become a global superpower without stepping on the backs of someone. Whether that is justified (as he describes the way they tried to raise wages but were told it would disrupt the economy in that country) or not, it is the way it is.
Interestingly, Knight struggled for so long because he refused to make his company public. The reason cited was not wanting it to change the morals or mission behind the company. While I don’t know if he has succeeded, I also don’t know if I really blame him for that. My thoughts on Nike are, like most things, complicated and nuanced. My thoughts on Knight are similar, but with a lot more respect.
The writing is simple, but despite it not being challenging or artful, it has a strong voice and I never once thought that maybe Knight hired a ghostwriter. Either that or his ghostwriter did a great job.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Great eye opener in all the hard work and set backs that the founder of Nike had to endure to make the company what it is today.
It gave me the same feeling as reading Steve Jobs’ biography; that feeling of hope, inspiration and motivation to do things you love, to make good use of your potentials, to give back to the world. It’s a light read and I would suggest it to anyone asking for a good book. I have always been a fan of Nike because of quality goods, but peeking through how it all started and the principles of their business makes me love them even more. #buttfaces
“We wanted, as all great businesses do, to create, to contribute, and we dared to say so aloud. When you make something, when you improve something, when you deliver something, when you add some new thing or service to the lives of strangers, making them happier or healthier or safer or better, and when you do it all crisply and efficiently and smartly, the way everything should be done but so seldom is - you’re participating more fully in the whole grand human drama. More than simple alive, you’re helping others to live more fully, and if that’s business, all right, call me a businessman.”
“We wanted, as all great businesses do, to create, to contribute, and we dared to say so aloud. When you make something, when you improve something, when you deliver something, when you add some new thing or service to the lives of strangers, making them happier or healthier or safer or better, and when you do it all crisply and efficiently and smartly, the way everything should be done but so seldom is - you’re participating more fully in the whole grand human drama. More than simple alive, you’re helping others to live more fully, and if that’s business, all right, call me a businessman.”
Una storia che non poteva che essere bella e sorprendente. Non è grande letteratura, ma va bene così.
Il titolo originale, purtroppo intraducibile, è ancora più bello.
Il titolo originale, purtroppo intraducibile, è ancora più bello.
I fell in love with this book in the first few sentences.
At twenty-four I did have a Crazy Idea, and somehow, despite being dizzy with existential angst, and fears about the future, and doubts about myself, as all young men and women in their midtwenties are, I did decide that the world is made up of crazy ideas. History is one long processional of crazy ideas. The things I loved most—books, sports, democracy, free enterprise—started as crazy ideas.
It was like staring into a mirror. That someone so different from me could capture exactly how I feel in a couple of sentences was illuminating.
So it starts on an optimistic note. And Phil Knight takes you on a ride. By the end the best way I could describe it was a rollercoaster of a book. You go through the ups and downs of growing and running a company as large as Nike. And the book never lets up. There's never any breaks. Phil Knight is able to accurately convey the rush that comes from managing a company that large, so that by the time you're done you feel as if you took part in it yourself.
At twenty-four I did have a Crazy Idea, and somehow, despite being dizzy with existential angst, and fears about the future, and doubts about myself, as all young men and women in their midtwenties are, I did decide that the world is made up of crazy ideas. History is one long processional of crazy ideas. The things I loved most—books, sports, democracy, free enterprise—started as crazy ideas.
It was like staring into a mirror. That someone so different from me could capture exactly how I feel in a couple of sentences was illuminating.
So it starts on an optimistic note. And Phil Knight takes you on a ride. By the end the best way I could describe it was a rollercoaster of a book. You go through the ups and downs of growing and running a company as large as Nike. And the book never lets up. There's never any breaks. Phil Knight is able to accurately convey the rush that comes from managing a company that large, so that by the time you're done you feel as if you took part in it yourself.