In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today.
But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At 24, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business—a business that would be dynamic, different.
Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream—along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.
##上班路上听到Phil Knight说二儿子出生,自己第一反应是有了a pair of sons的时候直接笑出声来,真真是shoe dog.
##20160609-20160708。本书只是讲了耐克草创时期的人和事。他害羞内向的性格,他无限热爱的事业,他的志同道合的朋友们,他的感情史,他面对竞争对手的害怕和绝地反击。作者一直说他害羞,其实书中不乏笑点,想必也是一个闷骚男。
##很庆幸在人生的这个阶段读到这本书。Phil常常提到来自童年时期以的insecurity, 以至于一次退休了的Phil和妻子在街上遇到了比尔盖茨和巴菲特,假装拉家常的时候心里还在想着自己的身家跟这两位比低了好多倍,心里有点被intimidated到。同样insecure的我读到这里会心一笑,紧接着又是一声叹息:“诶原来这缺乏安全感的毛病真是要伴随终身了啊!”但愿我能像Phill一样,借着这因为缺乏安全感而永远unsettling的心,一直追随所谓的calling。Don't stop.
##看传记感受他人的精神面貌,弥补上班生活孤岛的状态。看完想买一双 pre montreal 跑鞋。
##This book has everything! This book is everything! Gosh, I laughed and cried.
##有趣且诚实:Luck plays a big role. Hard work is critical, a good team is essential, brains and determination ave invaluable, but luck may decide the outcome. 不知道我是不是唯一一个关注Fujimoto, Phil从Onitsuka收买的间谍, 在东窗事发后下场如何的人...
##謙遜平和 坦誠真切 “It’s never just business. It never will be. If it ever does become just business, that will mean that business is very bad.”
##20160609-20160708。本书只是讲了耐克草创时期的人和事。他害羞内向的性格,他无限热爱的事业,他的志同道合的朋友们,他的感情史,他面对竞争对手的害怕和绝地反击。作者一直说他害羞,其实书中不乏笑点,想必也是一个闷骚男。
##看传记感受他人的精神面貌,弥补上班生活孤岛的状态。看完想买一双 pre montreal 跑鞋。