Shoe Dog - a podcast by You Exec

The iconic Nike sporting goods company started over 50 years ago as a
‘crazy idea’ in the mind of a young runner in Oregon. Shoe Dog is Phil
Knight’s personal memoir of the company that started with him selling
running shoes he called Tigers out of the back of his car. Along the way,
he learned the importance of assembling a team of brilliant, dedicated,
like-minded individuals; of focusing on people before profit; and of not
being afraid to stand up to challenges and face them on your own terms. In
the early days, the Nike management team, the Buttface team, identified
strongly with each other and trusted each other. That spirit and ethos came
to embody the entire company, where the focus has always been on the
athletes and on building trust. The company’s “us against the world”
approach helped them to overcome some formidable challenges: losing their
main Japanese supplier, solving the problem of uneven supply and excess
inventory, and even taking on the government over import taxes. Sponsoring
the runner Steve Prefontaine when he was at a low point in his life gave
the young company a formidable spokesman and ambassador for the brand.
Deciding to maintain his memorial after his tragic death was emblematic of
the people-oriented company Nike was becoming. That connection with its
athletes continues to this day. The inventions of two of Nike’s iconic
products—the waffle-sole running shoe and Nike Air—came from unexpected
sources and went on to revolutionize the world of athletic shoes. There
were disasters, too, like the much-hyped Tailwind shoe that literally tore
itself to shreds. And there was controversy, particularly the allegations
over the use of sweatshops in Asia. Phil Knight and Nike turned each
stumbling block into a challenge to do better, to achieve more, to keep
winning the race.

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