For this post, students have been asked to continue a series
that we’ve been working on since the beginning of the semester. This will be
the 3rd of 3 required reading reflections. We were given a bit more
leeway for our final book choice, and I went with Shoe Dog, an
autobiographical memoir written by the founder of Nike, Phil Knight. For
clarification, I will post the required questions from the assignment, along
with my answers. Let’s do it!
1.) What
surprised you the most? – I was surprised to learn how late in the game Phil
Knight got started with shoes. He went to Grad School, was in the Army, and
traveled the world, all before selling his first shoe.
2.) What
about the entrepreneur did you most admire? – I admired the fact that everything
he did in the world of shoes was done from an athlete’s perspective, since he
ran college track.
3.) What
about the entrepreneur did you least admire? – I did not admire
the way that he communicated with his staff. (basically, not at all)
4.) Did
the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about
it? – Yes, time and time again Knight was told no. He used his knowledge,
skills, and network to find a way to keep his business alive.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur
exhibited? – Knight’s ability to stick with a vision and stay focused is
unprecedented.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was
confusing to you. – I could not really grasp why it was so hard for him to get
credit despite their early success in sales.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the
entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? – Q1.) Why did you choose your hands-off
management style for something that you were clearly so passionate about? Q2.) Why
did you negotiate with your Japanese partners by yourself early in the game
instead of including Bowerman? – I would ask both questions to get a better
look into his philosophies and decision-making styles.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was
of hard work? Do you share that opinion?- Knight’s work would be seen as hard
work by almost anyone else, but I think that he was just fulfilling an
extremely consuming passion to positively impact the world that he knew,
running.
Hey Michael!
ReplyDeleteI did not read this book but I did read the one written by Scott Adams, you should give it a shot. But overall, I really liked your reflection on this book. From your reflection, I was able to understand what the book was about and get to know a little bit about the author. I especially enjoyed your "fun" section, gave me a good laugh. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Michael! I didn't end up reading this book, but your description of it definitely has me interested in looking into Knight and his company. I think what really drew me was the mention of hands-off management. I don't quite understand why someone would chose this as the way to run their business. From your description, it seems that Knight was driven and had passion about his product, which makes his way of running things even more puzzling.
ReplyDeleteMichael, your reflection definitely has me interested in Nike and this book! I enjoyed the point about Phil Knight approaching his business from the perspective of an athlete. I think that is something most of our group can relate to as we have all chosen opportunities for which, at one point, we could have been the potential customers. It's very interesting to me to see how many successful entrepreneurs started with an idea based in what they had experienced as a part of the target segment.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael! I have not read this book, but from your reflection I am able to receive an understanding of the qualities of Knight. I am interested in learning more about his talks with Japanese partners and why he decided to do that instead of expanding the market elsewhere first. This is another book I need to read in the near future!
ReplyDeleteMichael,
ReplyDeleteThe book that you read, "Shoe Dog", seems like it was a very good read and has sparked my interest as a book that I can potentially read. I also like how it was from the perspective of an athlete or someone who was involved in the athletic business, because this is an area that I am very interested in as a possible place to have a career after some experience in the field. When you described Phil Knight's point of views on success, I could really feel the methods and ideologies being useful in my life and future career in business. Thanks for sharing!