By Ben Yi, Grade 10
In his memoir, Shoe Dog, Phil Knight goes over the early days of Nike and how it all started. A particular detail is that Knight was a cross-country runner himself and his coach back at the University of Oregon used to take apart running shoes and redesign them to be more aerodynamic and better for his athletes. Using his own expertise, Knight was able to revolutionize the shoe industry, but it was not without challenges. His memoir teaches a multitude of lessons, but to me, there are three that particularly stand out.
First, work hard. Using himself as the example, Knight often said that he spent early mornings and late nights working on his company and recounted that he lacked work-life balance in the early days of Nike. It does not mean that you should overwork yourself, but simply that you must be willing to put significant time and effort into accomplishing goals. For Knight, that meant giving everything he had to the company to make it grow.
Second, be willing to take risks. After graduating from Stanford, Knight made his way to Japan with a small investment from his father. With no guarantee and very little money, Knight went to Onitsuka, hoping to become the exclusive seller of the Onitsuka Tigers in the United States. During a meeting with the executives, he pretended to represent Blue Ribbon Sports, a company he made up on the spot. Luckily, Knight was able to secure the deal with Onitsuka, but eventually, they began ordering more shoes than they could afford. They had to take out loans from the bank, and at one point, their bank nearly pulled their line of credit, which would have killed the company. It was not, however, an uncalculated risk. Unlike quitting a job without a backup plan or investing in a stock without research, Knight’s movements had some semblance of a plan. In college, he wrote that Japanese running shoes were better than German running shoes through research and firsthand experience, as well as having a backup plan if Onitsuka would not partner with him. Later, when he needed loans from banks, it was not to save a dying company, but to simply expand it. They had real customers and needed more inventory if he wanted to continue growing.
Third and last, have a purpose and vision. For Knight, his calling was cross-country and that was his purpose in designing better shoes for athletes. Using the example of him in college again, he had done lots of research and had firsthand experience with running shoes. His coach would rip apart shoes and then rebuild them to be better and faster. Knight had a vision of what he wanted his shoes to look like and then later, what he wanted to do with his company.
Overall, Shoe Dog demonstrates that success is never smooth, easy, or without challenges. Knight’s journey demonstrates that through hard work, preparation, and purpose, innovation is possible.
