Reading Reflection No. 1

1.) For this assignment, I decided to read Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight, who was one of the founders of Nike. I really enjoyed this read because it gave me a much better insight of life of Phil Knight as well as his experiences as an entrepreneur. One of the most surprising things that I learned from this book was Phil Knight's business relations with Japan and Onitsuka. Prior to reading, I had no clue about the struggles that Knight endured through as he tried to get working relations established for his company Blue Ribbon Sports. It was surprising and upsetting to learn about the shady things that occurred such as trying to cut the other team out of the business contract, failing to establish exclusive dealer rights, and then trying to come after Phil Knight for his business practices. On the other hand, reading this gave me a great admiration for Phil Knight's character as a businessman and entrepreneur that struggled to stay afloat financially, yet seemed to find ways to hurdle over any obstacles thrown his way. I am not a big fan of Knight's business personality where he never expresses gratitude towards his employees, even amongst changing their roles and working locations. Lastly, it is very clear that Phil Knight encountered adversity and failure with his experiences with Japan. At first, Knight tried to deal with Onitsuka and having them manufacture and then ship the shoes across the world, but these shipments were often delayed and not the right orders. So, after Phil Knight spent years dealing with this struggle, he then decided to start Nike, which would create more adversity for him. As Nike was created, the Japanese businessmen saw this as a breach of contract and tried to sue Phil Knight, but in the long run Phil Knight ending up receiving money for damages.

2.) One of the competencies that Phil Knight exhibited most impressively as an entrepreneur was persistence. At times, there were many doubts about the financial endeavors that Phil Knight was experiencing, but he used persistence to not settle for failure. Phil Knight constantly tried to contact Onitsuka to develop better working relations and get orders figured out, but when that did not seem to do the job he even found himself traveling to Japan multiple times. He would get hit with constant obstacles, but this did not deter him from finding success. Additionally, Phil Knight also exhibited strong problem solving skills to keep his company afloat. He would often find himself having to ask the bank for loans and even made a last effort to ask the community to support him and always seemed to find a solution even when he did not know the answer to the problem.

3.) There was one part of this reading that was confusing to me and that had to do with Phil Knight's relationship with his kids, Matthew and Travis. He worked hard to make money for his family and continue his financial endeavors for the company, but on the other hand the kids did not seem to support him. It even mentioned that Matthew's character developed as one that countered the morals and ideals of Phil Knight. I don not understand why his kids were not supportive of him. It is evident that Phil was not around a lot to be a good father to his ids, but I am confused with why his kids did not try to get involved in their father's life more. Instead of trying to help their father out or even learn his business practices, they turned away from him and hated sports.

4.) The first question I would ask Phil Knight would be why did he rely on the support of the Japanese businessmen so much? At times, it seemed like Knight was relying too much on Onitsuka to come through on their side of the deal, whereas at some point, preferably earlier than he did, it seems that you need to find another company to conduct business with. A second question I would ask Phil Knight is what did people think about your use of a waffle machine to create your Nike shoes? This is something that was never heard of before, so I think it would be interesting to learn from Phil Knight about his experiences people talking about the creation process of his shoes.

5.) I think that Phil Knight definitely realized the constant hard work that was required for his company to be successful, but I do not think he minded doing it as much when sales started skyrocketing. He was bound by the idea of "Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." This is a now famous quote from Phil Knight that I believe really embodies the character that he displays as a businessman and entrepreneur. Whether it was hard work that helped him create Nike after the Blue Ribbons Sports company or hard work that helped Nike become one of the leading companies in the retail industry in the world, Phil Knight definitely displayed it. I admire this hard work and believe that while hard work can get you to the successes of Phil Knight, it definitely takes more if you want to get on the same level as him.