Shoe Dog (13A)

For our assigned reading, I chose to read Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight and it was AWESOME! One, I never conceptualized the starting point of Nike’s being in the 60’s. Two, did not know Knight worked so closely with Japan. Honestly, I am just going to stop counting because there are so many things I didn't know! But I absolutely loved learning about Knight’s journey and his tenacity to never stop, no matter how many people called his idea crazy! After all, the world is made up of crazy ideas.

One of the things that surprised me the most was Knight’s legal battle with Onitsuka and Kitami. What once began as a promising relationship turned into a costly and deceptive struggle. Multiple times, it seemed like Blue Ribbon would go under but in the end they prevailed, and prevailed GOOD with money to show for it!

I admired Knight’s desire to “see the world.” I love to travel and would one day, in some capacity, take a journey around the world stopping at unique coffee hot spots. I want to visit coffee farms, roasterys, and iconic cafes. Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia, Australia, Italy, Turkey, and more! (please suggest travel spots below!) When Knight mentioned Turkish coffee I was delighted! I was also pleased to take note that Knight mentions coffee pretty regularly. In his travels, important meetings, or just sitting at home with his family. It’s small but I appreciated it because it reminded me what a pertinent role coffee plays in the everyday interactions of our lives and all across the world.

I least admired Knight’s seemingly disinterested management style. He often considered expressing gratitude or admonishing his employees but almost never did. I believe that words of affirmation and recognizing someone else's hard work are extremely important aspects in employer-employee relationships. At least, I will make them important aspects of my relationships in my coffeehouse.

It was quite interesting that the book’s chapters were organized by year. It seemed like every year had enormous successes coupled with mountains of adversity and failure. In the beginning of the novel Knight says that “so much about those days and months and years in which they slowly sorted themselves has vanished...faces, numbers, decisions that once seemed eternal and irrevocable, they’re all gone.” I agree with Knight. In every problem that arose—the Marlboro Man, legal battle with Onitsuka, accounts with Nissho, and more—it seemed like whatever followed the last struggle was bigger and more challenging than the last. But in time, they resolved the problems and turned them into opportunities.

I noticed that Knight was defiantly passionate about running; something that was not popular among most of society at the time. Knight was also great thinking on his feet—pun intended. I was astounded at his boldness in telling Onitsuka during their first meeting that he had a business called Blue Ribbon that could support orders from Onitsuka Tiger Co. But, Blue Ribbon only existed in his mind! Still, he ran with it. (THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD RUNNING PUNS THAT CAN COME FROM THIS!)  I also thought Knight’s accountant and entrepreneur skills were an interesting combination. Knight remarked at one point that “accountants seek risks but entrepreneurs see the possibility.” Although completely opposite, I think it’s apparent that all those years as an accountant made Knight a better entrepreneur.

A lot of the banking and accounting jargon confused me. Before college and taking this class, I wasn’t particularly passionate about the business world. I still am not PASSIONATE I’d say about stocks and corporate matters, but if I am going to run a coffeehouse one day I am going to need to understand some of this basic information that is applicable to all businesses. To explain more, I had to look up the meanings for words like “cash balances, liquidity, equity, venture capital, etc.” I’ve heard these words before but never understood them in context.

If I could ask Phil Knight two questions I would ask:

1. You say that the world is made up of crazy ideas, what was one of the craziest moments you remember in your journey to where you are now?

2. What do you think the role of coffee is within our society today?

Although they are two very different questions, I would ask them because one relates to him and one relates to me. After reading the book, I know he has plenty of crazy moments to share but I’d like to know which one he remembers best. Whether it was before or after he started? If it dealt with his family, his company, or even just himself. Knight has lived a pretty crazy life. Secondly, as I briefly stated, coffee pops up in Shoe Dog a few times. It’s obviously not a point of the book but I noticed it. I’d like to hear his response in this to garner any advice that could beneficial to setting the tone of The Mount Coffeehouse.

I think Phil Knight’s definition of hard work is ironically, making your work about play. I love that idea because as we colloquially say “work hard, play hard,” Knight accomplished both. Running is a sport that requires complete diligence but you can make it fun. Knight made his hard work fun by surrounding himself with people he loved and selling something that he loved and could support forever. I know that if I tried to sell cars I’d burn out real quick. But working with craft coffee, now that’s something I can play with and make into art.