PME 803 ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP INSTRUCTOR: DR.

LOUIS LIM

SHOE DOG
A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Executive Book Summary | By:Vivian Cai

Synopsis
Table of Contents
Straight out of business school, Key Messages………….…P.2
Phil Knight had a Crazy Idea and
borrowed $50 from his father in Leadership
1962 to start Blue Ribbon Sports. Connections………………P.3
His mission was to sell high-
quality, low-cost running shoes Applicability………………P.4
imported from Japan. Now
known as Nike, Inc., annual sales Critical Review……………P.4
top $30 billion.
Notable Quotes………….P.5
Knight’s brutally honest memoir shares
the story of risks taken along the way to Discussion Q’s……………P.5
build something dynamically different. In
this personal narrative, he documents
Recommendations..……..P.5
the beginning journeys, small triumphs,
humble failures, and personal
References…………….….P.6
relationships leading to the iconic
swoosh brand going public in 1980.

Who is Phil Knight?

Born in Portland, Oregon, Philip
Hampson “Buck” Knight (born
February 24, 1938), is the founder
of Nike, Inc. He currently sits as
chairman emeritus, after stepping
down from his position as CEO in
2004 and chairman in 2016. He is a
noted philanthropist and has
donated over $500 million to his
alma maters the University of
Oregon, and Stanford Business
School. He currently resides in
Oregon with his wife Penny.


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 Key Messages
1. Believe in what you sell.
Knight grew up as a runner. He believed in the sport, and
believed in his product. In Shoe Dog, he showed the
importance of believing in what you sell in order to
maintain the motivation to grow. Knight turned Blue
Ribbon into Nike, and grew from selling another brands
shoes into creating his own product.

2. Growth requires risk.

Knight took severe financial risks in order to grow the
brand. His belief was to grow or die. Thus, he continued to
borrow money from the bank. Every profit was reinvested into purchasing more shoes to sell, with each
purchase order increasing in quantity. Each time Knight was rejected from a bank, he turned to another,
accumulating more financial risk. Eventually, Nike went public in 1980 and Knight was worth $178 million.
By 2006, Nike’s annual sales were surpassing Adidas, their primary competition. Knight would have never
grown $50 into a billion dollar company if it was not for taking risks.

3. Seek a calling, not a career.

Nike did not profit for several years in its initial stages. Knight was passionate about running and sports,
and believed Nike could help spread that passion to everyone. Knight was well-educated, but did not
believe in taking a corporate office job. He travelled the world before starting Blue Ribbon, and only
worked at PWC full-time in order to pursue and fund his true calling.

“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” (Knight, 2016, p.382).

4. Surround yourself with those who understand your vision.

Knight's original team consisted of a coach, runners, an amputee, and misfits that did not belong in the
corporate world. They each had strengths and weaknesses, but each individual put their heart and soul
into the company, and felt equally passionate about Nike as Knight. No one who worked for Nike in its
initial stages was there for the paycheque; they were there because they saw the vision for greatness.

5. The journey is the reward, not the destination.

After gaining the success he worked so hard to achieve, Knight
wishes he could relive the whole thing. Knight never knew his
“Crazy Idea” would turn into a billion dollar company - but the
ups and downs of the journey was what taught him the most
memorable lessons. Reading about the evolution of Blue
Ribbon to Nike showed an honest and difficult path to success
that one would not see if they merely looked at the end results. 


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 Leadership Connections


Behavioural Approach
Northouse (2019) defines the behavioural approach with two general types of behaviours:
task behaviours, to facilitate goal accomplishment, and relationship behaviours, to help
followers feel comfortable with themselves, others, and the situation. The key to being an
effective leader lies in how the leader balances these two behaviours. In Shoe Dog (Knight,
2016), Knight’s leadership behaviours brought him to various triumphs over the years. In
attempting to go into business with Onitsuka, Knight read “How to do Business with the
Japanese” several times in order to behave in a way that suited their style (Knight, 2016). He
was strictly business in some parts of the narrative, and engaged in task behaviour; working
with coach Bowerman, signing athletes, and going public. However, he also exhibited
relationship behaviours in the strong bonds he built with the original Blue Ribbon employees
- so much so that an employee retreat soon became an annual tradition (Knight, 2016).

Authentic Leadership
Knight was no doubt a genuine, transparent leader during his
early years at Nike. Northouse (2019) describes five
characteristics of authentic leadership: purpose, values,
relationships, self-discipline, and heart, all of which were
demonstrated in Shoe Dog. Although there were some close
calls, Knight’s purpose and values were clear - to grow or die.
He had strong relationships with his employees, and his self-
discipline was demonstrated through all the hardships endured
including breaking ties with Onitsuka, the trial, and being
constantly in debt until they went public (Knight, 2016). Finally,
his compassion to contribute to the field of sports and provide
athletes with the best running shoes showed heart.

Followership
Followers of Knight played a large role in building the company from the ground up. The
original employees built a culture where everyone who worked there lived and breathed Nike.
As Northouse (2019) states, followers and leaders work together to achieve common goals,
and share a moral obligation to these goals. Rather than serving leaders, followers serve a
common purpose with the leader. Knight’s followers demonstrated this ideology on more
than one instance. Woodell and Penny never cashed their paycheques. Johnson and Woodell
willingly switched places - West Coast to East Coast - for the benefit of the company. Knight
was supported, but often constructively challenged while his employees assumed
responsibility for the common purpose of not letting the company sink. The followers were
passionate, believed in the organization, and acted as partners, showing high support and
high challenge (Northouse, 2019) where necessary.

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 Practical Take-Aways

Practical applications from Shoe Dog to use as an educator:

1. Encourage risk-taking in the classroom and let
students learn by making mistakes.

2. Failure is just part of the journey to success.

Emphasize the importance of trying again.

3. Teach that while giving up is easy, perseverance is

more admirable and is often worth the effort.

4. Be mindful and aware of student needs. Knight knew

his employees well enough to know when it was necessary to fly to them to have a
discussion, or when it was simply enough to send a letter.

5. Be a life-long learner. Knight, although highly educated, was a curious individual with
a drive to learn a grow. Learning from different cultures and backgrounds will guide
individuals to constantly learn and improve.

Critical Review

1. Ethics - Blue Ribbon Sports was a lie from the start. In his first meeting with Onitsuka,
Knight lied about having a company, then went on to lie about having offices around the US.
Knight continued to demonstrate unethical ways of maintaining the business including
stealing information from the briefcase of the Onitsuka manager, and hiring a “spy” at
Onitsuka. Later on, Nike came under attack for overseas factory conditions - the sweatshop
controversy - which Knight dealt with in an angry, self-righteous way (Knight, 2016).

2. Leadership Traits - Knight was not a great leader by definition - he was not
charismatic, very introverted and awkward. He demonstrated a lousy management style in
early stages, and was far from showing major leadership traits (Northouse, 2019) including
self-confidence and sociability. To some, Knight may be considered a transformational
leader, but upon critical review, it was evident that Knight did not have the charisma or strong
moral values that define transformational leaders (Northouse, 2019). Knight did not
empower his employees or compliment them often. In fact, he rarely responded to any
correspondence from them, which often made them feel frustrated.

3. Romantic Relationships - Several chapters of the book highlighted the

relationship between Penny and Phil. They met when Knight was a professor and she a
student. Was it truly okay for Knight to date his student, hire her, and then marry his
employee? At what point does an ethical line need to be drawn?

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 Notable Quotes
“I wanted to leave a mark on the world. I wanted to win” (Knight, 2016, p.3).

“Grow or die, that’s what I believed, no matter the situation” (Knight, 2016, p. 257).

“Like most companies, we had role models. Sony, for instance. Sony was the Apple of its day.
Profitable, innovative, efficient — and it create its workers well. When pressed, I often said I
wanted to be like Sony. At root, however, I still aimed and hoped for something bigger” (Knight,
2016, p. 281).

“I no longer simply made Nikes. Nikes were making me. If I saw an athlete choose another shoe,
if I saw anyone choose another shoe, it wasn’t just a rejection of the brand alone, but of
me” (Knight, 2016, p.296).

“I’d trusted them, wholly, and didn’t look over their shoulders, and that bred a powerful two-
way loyalty. My management style wouldn’t have worked for people who wanted to be guided,
every step but this group found it liberating, empowering. I let them be, let them do, let them
make their own mistakes, because that’s how I’d like people to treat me” (Knight, 2016, p.302).

“Jordan. Kobe. Tiger. Again, I can’t help but think of my trip around the world. The River Jordan.
Mystical Kobe, Japan. That first meeting at Onitsuka, pleading with the executives for the right
to sell Tigers… Can this all be a coincidence?” (Knight, 2016, p. 364).

Discussion Questions Further

Recommendations
1. Before Knight started Nike, he travelled
the world. Do you think travelling was If you liked Shoe Dog…
essential for his success?
1. Bill Gates’ review of Shoe Dog: 

2. “Life is growth. You grow or you
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/
die” (Knight, 2016, p.77). Have you ever
been faced with a situation where growth Shoe-Dog
was the only option? Explain.
2. CNBC’s “Swoosh! Inside Nike”
3. Penny Knight’s patience and support was Documentary:

highlighted in the book. How did those https://www.cnbc.com/video/
traits help build Nike’s success?
2010/02/16/swoosh-inside-nike.html
4. What factors contributed to Knight’s
success as a leader and entrepreneur 3. Book: “Swoosh: The Unauthorized
over the years? Story of Nike and the Men who
Played There” 

5. Consider the legacy of Nike and compare
it to other iconic brands. How are they By J.B. Strasser
similar and how are they different?

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 References

Authentic Leadership Characteristics. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://

leadingforlearningwestern.weebly.com/authentic-leadership.html

Logo Evolution. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://timdegner.com/nike/

12_Logo_History_Nike_TimDegner-01.jpg

Knight, P. (2016). Shoe dog: A memoir by the creator of Nike. New York. NY: Scribner, an imprint of
Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Nike’s Original Design for Logos. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.maxim.com/
entertainment/how-phil-knight-became-sultan-of-swoosh-2016-9

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Phil in one of his stores in Portland. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://blog.usejournal.com/
the-greatest-storyteller-of-all-time-phil-knight-76c83e681475

Shoe Dog. [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.amazon.ca/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-

Nike/dp/1501135910