Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
PREFACE: IN THE FIRST BETWEEN BOOKENDS, ROBERT IGER’S MEMOIR TOOK CENTER STAGE. WITH THE UNTIMELY PASSING OF CHADWICK BOSEMAN, IT IS HEARTBREAKING TO RECOUNT PASSAGES WHERE IGER DETAILS THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES ORIGIN STORY OF HOW BLACK PANTHER CAME TO BE. CONSIDERING ALL OF IGER’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT THE HELM OF DISNEY THIS MOVIE WAS ONE OF HIS PROUDEST MOMENTS. ON THE RED CARPET WITH CHADWICK AT THE PREMIERE.
Going cover to cover with so many previously untouched books this summer, it seems that what is both limited and not allowed today becomes all the more pronounced: the recurring theme of traveling. For Phil Knight it is an expansive world tour that becomes the impetus to his life’s inflection point and his entrepreneurial eureka moment (called his “Crazy Idea”). Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike is essential reading, no more for those who wear the swoosh from head to toe than those wanting to understand Knight’s success despite being shy, introverted, and very quiet. Bill Gates found Knight difficult to befriend as he was a mystery among Fortune 500 executives. Yet one of the most striking takeaways, considering Gates’ assessment, is that Knight found love in Accounting 101, not for the subject mind you (who could) but for his long-time wife Penny. Readers planning to conduct field testing will have to wait as classes largely remain online!
Shoe Dog’s timeline is from 1962 to 1980 when Nike went public, alongside Apple that same year. Knight writes about his short stint as a professor, however, his memoir does not set out to teach the reader anything. There are no explicitly mentioned tips or lessons. In favor of being unflinchingly honest, Knight presents the messy journey of growing Nike (formerly known as Blue Ribbon Sports). Throughout much of the story, Knight is in debt, his company is on life support, and he is at his bank begging the bankers for more credit. It does not get more real than this. The book has endless characters, some you may well recognize from history. From Bill Bowerman to Employee Number One to Steve Prefontaine, and culture-defining moments from a few Olympic Games… there is a lot to read up on after flipping Shoe Dog’s final page.
Here’s hoping we all capitalize on our Crazy Ideas! And continue to be grateful for Nike. The Nike as we know it today because if it was up to Phil Knight it could just have easily been Dimension Six. Unlike a swoosh, Dimension Six doesn’t have the sound of someone going past you.
THE MUSINGS OF PHIL KNIGHT
Knight often quotes General MacArthur: “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” (Sound like remote work?)
I had no love of violence, but I was fascinated by leadership, or lack thereof, under extreme conditions. War is the most extreme of conditions. But business has its warlike parallels. Someone somewhere once said that business is war without bullets, and I tended to agree.
The cowards never started and the weak died along the way—that leaves us.
Supply and demand is always the root problem in business. It’s been true since Phoenician traders raced to bring Rome the coveted purple dye that colored the clothing of royals and rich people; there was never enough purple to go around.
When we did fail, we had faith that we’d do it fast, learn from it, and be better for it.
Whether you have [money] or not, whether you want it or not, whether you like it or not, it will try to define your days. Our task as human beings is not to let it.
I’d tell [young people] not to settle for a job or a profession or even a career. Seek a calling. Even if you don’t know what that means, seek it. If you’re following your calling, the fatigue will be easier to bear, the disappointments will be fuel, the highs will be like nothing you’ve ever felt.
Have faith in yourself, but also have faith in faith. Not faith as others define it. Faith as you define it.
The majority of Bob Iger’s success can be accredited to his instinct, throughout his career, to always say yes to every opportunity. In part this is just his garden-variety ambition but it also fits his bigger picture mindset of valuing ability more than experience. Disney has recently passed the torch from one Bob to another Bob. Robert Iger to Robert Chapek. Disney’s CEO succession if anything is easy on those bad with names.
Iger is responsible for the Disney as we know it today, the front-facing Disney+ and its accompanying mountain of IP: Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox (as well as the recently rebranded, 20th Television). Iger details these acquisitions in-depth and they lay evidence of his being one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our era.
We would be remiss if we didn’t start Between Bookends with The Ride of a Lifetime. Bill Gates happily recommends this business book despite not reading many books about how to run a business. In Gates’ experience, it is rare to find one that really captures what it’s like to build and operate an organization or that has actionable tips.
Interlaced in the story of Iger’s career are several anecdotes with colorful characters and deals that almost happened; one such deal had Disney almost buying Twitter. Iger said the deal didn’t feel right to him and therefore, it wouldn’t be right for him and Disney. File this under plotlines for a parallel universe—an alternate timeline where Disney did acquire Twitter. Need the rights to that untold story. The character that will most warm your heart and make you laugh is Steve Jobs. The friendship between Iger and Jobs plays out beautifully in print; including the defeating phone call Steve made to Iger saying Iron Man 2 “sucked.”
TEN LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM ROBERT IGER
Innovate or die. There can be no innovation if you operate out of fear of the new.
The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Projecting your anxiety onto your team is counterproductive. It’s subtle, but there’s a difference between communicating that you share their stress—that you’re in it with them—and communicating that you need them to deliver in order to alleviate your stress.
True integrity—a sense of knowing who you are and being guided by your own clear sense of right and wrong—is a kind of secret leadership weapon.
The way you do anything is the way you do everything.
Empathy is a prerequisite to the sound management of creativity, and respect is critical.
Don’t start negatively, and don’t start small.
People sometimes shy away from big swings because they build a case against trying something before they even step up to the plate. Long shots aren’t usually as long as they seem. With enough thoughtfulness and commitment, the boldest ideas can be executed.
Ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can.
No matter who we become or what we accomplish, we still feel that we’re essentially the kid we were at some simpler time long ago. Somehow that’s the trick of leadership, too, to hold on to that awareness of yourself even as the world tells you how powerful and important you are.