Shoes and Dogs is a book about the entrepreneurial experience of the founder of Nike. Unlike many corporate biographies written like case studies, this book is written more like a novel with repeated suspense. From the idea of selling shoes to selling shoes alone, to encountering agency problems, to establishing your own brand, to growing step by step, to encountering financial problems, tax problems and technical problems. Finally, the company went public and became an empire spanning many sports fields. With a clear theme and without missing necessary details, the author tells readers about the experience of founding Nike and the problems encountered in the process, which is both rational and frank.

cause

When I was a child, I fantasized about saving the world. When I grow up, I find that the whole world can't save me, but I still stubbornly exist in this world.

As a self-made sports equipment company, which made it stand out from many competitors and eventually became the founder of Adidas, which dominated the sports equipment field for decades, what did phil knight do right? What inspiration did his choices at the critical moment give entrepreneurs? What's noteworthy about him?

1 Choose the right industry

Although the United States in the 1960 s developed rapidly for nearly 20 years after the war, the improvement of most people's living standards attracted more attention, but running was not popular. At that time, going out for a few kilometers would be considered a freak, and the benefits of running, such as physical exercise, phenolphthalein secretion, health and longevity, were unheard of. It is in this environment that Knight bravely brought Keisuke Tiger, a well-made and low-priced Japanese sports shoes brand, to the United States, and gradually gained market recognition. The reason why he chose the field of sports shoes to start his own career is of course related to his athlete background and passion for running, and also related to his market vision as a master of Stanford Business School. He knows that running is a sport that people will inevitably choose after a rich life.

Choose the right partner

Secondly, he chose the right partner. From the beginning of acting as Ghost Tsukuka Tiger, he invited his college running coach and life coach Ballman as his partner, and Ballman was not only a running coach, but also an avid sports shoe innovator. No matter when they represented Ghost Tsukuka Tiger or after they founded their own brand, Ballman, as a technical expert of running shoes, has been making suggestions and doing experiments for the improvement of various new shoes of the company, which most founders who only know sales do not have. After the further expansion of the company's business, his eclectic vision and rational knowledge of employing people also emerged. Johnson, who has sales talent but writes to him nervously every day, is entrusted with the important task of developing the market step by step; Woodall, who is disabled in both legs and in a wheelchair but works hard, was appointed as the personnel director; Hayes, a senior student who works with him in the finance room, was persuaded by him to take the post as the chief financial officer; Strasser, a young lawyer who helped the company tide over legal disputes, was recognized by him and then joined the company at his sincere invitation. As it turns out, strasser is a natural negotiator. Their partner looks like a miscellaneous army, but he is definitely smart enough.

3 Persist in innovation

His persistence in innovation and his willingness to try new technologies are also the key to Nike's success step by step. As a rising star, if Nike wants to compete with its big brother Adidas, it can't surpass its rivals by spending money on advertising. It can only find another way and gradually establish its brand awareness and reputation by technological innovation and cheap prices. Knight knew this well and showed it well with his actions.

4 Perseverance

As an entrepreneur, his most precious quality is persistence and tenacity. Entrepreneurship is a process of constantly encountering problems and solving them. In Knight's entrepreneurial process, agency problems, capital problems, tax problems and technical problems may each lead his company to the road of eternal ruin. Every problem kept him awake all night, but he did not give up, but gritted his teeth and persisted until things turned around. He said: "Cowards never set out, the weak die on the road, leaving us with constant progress."

Are dreams honest?

think

Knight's idol, steve prefontaine, the most famous long-distance runner in American history, said a famous saying praised by Knight:

Many people will meet more experienced opponents, and maybe I have no chance to win. However, if I take a step, summon up courage, and finally get dizzy, my opponent still beats me. As long as I make my opponent nervous and let him try his best to beat me, it can only prove that he performed better than me that day.

This is the spirit that he highly respects as an entrepreneur.

memory

those years

I had a dream.

When you go in the wrong direction, the harder you work, the farther you will go. Choose a correct direction, stick to it constantly, and there will be a successful day, at least it is getting closer and closer to success. In order to be able to choose the right direction, you need wisdom, agility and insight. Come on, young man!