13A - Reading Reflection Number One
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Overall, I thought this biography
was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever read. Not only is Phil Knight a
great person, he is also a great entrepreneur. A little background, Knight had
his idea to start this shoe company while he was in college in the sixties. He
was so excited about his idea that he wrote his final paper on it. Notably,
Knight’s classmates didn’t support his idea and weren’t impressed by it. This
leads to what surprised me the most. I was definitely surprised at the fact
that he maintained his enthusiasm for his idea and kept going, despite outside
opinions being very negative. Personally, I know there are times when I do care
for others’ opinions and I feel if I were in his shoes then my spirit
definitely would’ve been dampened if I heard that feedback. I most admired this
about his as well. Additionally though, I admired how he wasn’t afraid to do
anything. He wasn’t afraid to take risks or put himself or his idea out there.
On the other side of this coin, something that I least admired about Knight is
more or less difficult to think of. Something mentioned was about the “sweatshops”
being run in the 90’s that the workers were working out of in Indonesia, China,
and Vietnam. Supposedly, Knight didn’t know about these conditions and released
a statement apologizing to the workers and their families. He tried to make
things right, but ultimately, he could have put more effort into visiting these
places to make sure the wrongdoings were corrected. Definitely with this
business venture, Knight had some hardships. I remember reading that after transforming
his brand from Blue Ribbon to Nike, that Knight made little to no profit in the
first couple of years selling. Knight had two get a different full-time job,
while also starting his family. However, he kept pushing through and marketing
and hired employees who were actually serious about the company until it
started taking off. Knight exhibited competencies such as responsibility,
trust, dedication, and leadership among many others. Nothing in this biography
was majorly confusing! Knight is a great writer and very inspirational. I
presume that the most confusing thing would be why his parents didn’t support
his travels in general. I feel like most parents want their children to
experience the world and travel to new places, learning new cultures. Yet, his
parents didn’t want that for him.
If I could ask
Phil Knight two questions, I would definitely ask him “What was the motivating
reason behind going through this entire process and journey – Did you just like
shoes a lot and that’s why you pushed so hard?” and also “How did this change
your life?”. Definitely, Knight’s opinion on the definition of hard work
involves being passionate, hands-on, and problem solving. Oftentimes, Knight wouldn’t
respond to his employees because he wanted them to figure out and solve
problems by themselves. I definitely agree with Knight to an extent. I wouldn’t
take it as far as not answering someone because people are still growing and
need guidance sometimes, but I do think that hard work involves passion and
being hands-on with something.
Hi Madison, Thanks for your sharing. I like what you said about Phil Knight's enthusiasm and persistence in his ideas despite the negative feedback from the outside world. Many times people don't make the right judgment in the face of great external pressure. On the other hand, the difficulties he encountered during his journey may went far beyond what he mentioned. But these examples are enough to give a little encouragement to more people who are struggling in their early days.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reflection as I choose to read about someone different. I have never heard of this entrepreneur but he seems to have similar competencies as Mary Kay Ash, who I chose to reflect on. I feel as most of these entrepreneurs all experienced some difficulties and challenges in their lives, just as everyone does. It is inspiring to see how they all used it as motivation and pushed through to become so successful. It is really amazing and can be a life lesson for anyone reading their stories. I wish we could ask these people some of our questions as they would be so interesting to talk to especially for others looking to be a potential entrepreneur!
Hello Madison,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your reflection on Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. I did not read this one, so it's interesting to read a reflection on a different book. I think it is good that you found that he was a good person, because in my reflection I was not sure if I could definitely say the same about my entrepreneur. I think you really dug deep into the material to write your reflection, so great job!
Whats really interesting to me about your post is that you mention the ethics of entrepreneurship. We haven't really touched on that in this class, but thats something I personally value and I think Phil Knight does too. Knight practices good, sustainable business practices, something we always talk about doing but rarely do. I feel most serial entrepreneurs (at least the ones in it for the money) would disregard how their products are made so long as they can do it cheaply. This makes Phil Knight unique in my opinion. It was also interesting to know he had to bootstrap his company. You never really think of Nike as a struggling company, you kinda figure a company that big has always been that big and successful, but thats hardly ever the case.
ReplyDelete