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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Shoe Dog, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Entrepreneurship, Experience, and Perseverance
Leadership
Global Economies
Balancing Family and Work
Summary
Analysis
In 1962, Phil Knight wakes up early in the morning while most people are still asleep, eats a quick breakfast, and then goes for his morning run. Knight enjoys the tranquil and idyllic feeling of being all alone while out on the roads. He is running in his hometown of Portland, Oregon—a quiet city where little of note goes on. Although it is not yet a well-known city, Knight loves where he is from and thinks it embodies the pioneer spirit of those who founded it.
Phil Knight is the founder of Nike, Inc.—the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel company. Shoe Dog is the story of how Nike came to be, told in Knight's voice. "Dawn" as a title for the opening chapter has a double meaning; Knight gets up at the break of dawn to go running, and this time is the dawn of Nike as a company. Knight's willingness to get up and go running at a time when most people are still asleep sets him apart from others.
Themes
While on his run, Knight thinks about his current circumstances. After completing college, he is still living at home with his parents and figuring out what to do with his life. Knight graduated from the University of Oregon and earned a master’s degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. While at Oregon, he ran track and was a fierce competitor. Additionally, Knight also spent a year in the United States Army. However, despite these accomplishments, he still feels like a directionless kid.
In part, Shoe Dog is a coming-of-age story. Here, despite his experiences in the world, Knight still thinks and acts like someone who has not yet matured into an adult. In order to mature, Knight needs something that will give his life direction now that he is no longer living in controlled environments where he has adults to look to for leadership.
Themes
Although Knight does not know the specifics of what he will do with his life, he knows he wants to make a significant impact on the world. Suddenly, while on his run, Knight comes up with a “Crazy Idea,” though he does not specify what it is just yet. Instead, he thinks about his love for crazy ideas in general. Crazy Ideas are always tricky, risky, and painful—but in the end, they are worth it. Knight believes it is vital to pursue Crazy Ideas regardless of what obstacles present themselves.
Crazy Ideas are a driving motif in the memoir. Knight uses the phrase to indicate the brilliance and insanity of what he hopes to achieve. In large part, this is a story about Crazy Ideas, some of which pay off and some which do not. Knight calls the ideas "crazy" partly because of how insane they sound to the person pursuing them and due to how other people react when they hear them.
Themes
