Bookzone: 'Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike'

I’ve never paid much attention to shoes—except for my mother’s high heels with the sassy polka dot bow that I coveted when I was a child, and my favorite red Oboz hiking boots that I consider friends. A few years back, a Malibu pal, Dan Bercu, suggested I try HOKA ONE ONE shoes, and he wouldn’t let up until I went to Road Runner Sports and got a pair. Although I’m not a runner, I got hooked on the HOKA rocker-sole bottom.

So, reading and enjoying “Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike” by Phil Knight was like entering a whole new world that I know nothing about.

I admit it. I don’t know Adidas from Nike and I don’t really care. So, it’s all the more fascinating that Knight, who started out as an accountant, has written about the business of the shoe business so well his story kept and held my interest from the beginning to the end. 

Early on, Knight tells us that his favorite thing was running. At Stanford, he wrote a paper about shoes. He writes that “The paper evolved from a run-of-the-mill assignment to an all-out obsession. I knew that Japanese cameras had made deep cuts into the camera market, which had once been dominated by Germans. Thus, I argued in my paper that Japanese running shoes might do the same thing. The idea interested me, then inspired me, then captivated me. It seemed so obvious, so simple, so potentially huge.” He called it his “Crazy Idea.”

I especially enjoyed Knight’s father’s reaction to his son’s idea. “Jack-assing around,” that’s what he called it. “How long do you think you’re going to keep jack-assing around with these shoes?”’

Knight was aware that 26 out of 27 new companies fail, and he writes that starting his own business was the only thing that made life’s other risks—marriage, Vegas, alligator wrestling—seem like sure things.

In 1965, when he was starting out, he writes that running wasn’t even a sport. Running for pleasure, running for exercise, running for endorphins, running to live better and longer—these things were unheard of.

Eventually, he quit the job at the accounting firm and did nothing but sell shoes out of the trunk of his Valiant, and the response was always the same. He couldn’t write orders fast enough.

This is a fascinating read. I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t want it to end. An excellent writer and a superb storyteller, I hope Knight has another story to write.

Article originally posted on April 12, 2020 in the Malibu Times

Jo Giese is the author of “Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lessons from My Mother.” Visit her website, jogiese.com.

Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection' by Brian Grazer

Recently, the social network Nextdoor Western Malibu had a posting by a woman who said she was lonely and wanted more connections in her community. Neighbors made various suggestions, and I should have added: Read Brian Grazer’s book about making connections. 

It’s especially fun to start the new year reviewing a book I enjoyed that’s also written by a Malibu neighbor. 

I guess someone could dismiss Grazer’s suggestions because he’s a bigtime Hollywood producer whose films and television shows have been nominated for 43 Academy Awards. They could say, “Of course he knows how to make connections.” But that would be unfair. 

Grazer starts out very personal. He tells us that as a kid he felt alone and anxious most of the time. Because he was dyslexic, he was better at talking than reading. 

“Figuring out how to connect has probably been the most important skill I’ve learned in life, and I use it every day: in negotiations, on movie sets, with friends and especially in new situations. Human connection is my antidote to living a life that would have been more defined by my learning disability.” 

He’s seriously worried about the digital age and the social disconnect that happens because of the distractions of screen time, and how we’re sacrificing real connections for virtual ones. 

Grazer points to studies that show people who are more connected to family, friends and community are happier, healthier and live longer than people who are less well connected. He suggests that staying connected should be as important as exercise or a good diet when it comes to taking care of ourselves. I’d say, if you haven’t already made a new year’s resolution, here’s one to keep in mind. 

Grazer says we’re becoming so bad at forming connections because we’re losing the ability, the opportunity and the desire to look others in the eye. The more we attend to our devices rather the people in front of us and the more we send messages via text, email and social media rather than meeting and talking face to face, the more comfortable we become looking down at our screens rather than up at one another. 

According to Grazer, eye contact is far and away the most critical tool that helps us communicate more clearly. He writes that one look is enough to capture someone’s attention, spark engagement, ignite attraction and create a bridge to real connection. When we look someone in the eyes—really look at them—we are telling them, “I see you.” We are recognizing their humanity. And they, in turn, have the chance to recognize ours. 

At a Christmas party this year I had a chance to apply Grazer’s theory, and I failed. The festive party was hosted by the rehabilitation gym where I train after a badly botched Achilles ankle surgery. Since most of the party-goers were in wheelchairs, when I was introduced to Steve, I was standing, he was seated in his wheelchair and we weren’t eye to eye. Because Steve couldn’t shake hands, either, our social connection felt awkward. The next day, thinking about Grazer’s book and the importance of eye to eye contact, I told my trainer what had happened with Steve, and I asked, “What’s the etiquette when you’re introduced to someone in a wheelchair? Should I have knelt down in front of him so we’re eye to eye?” 

“Good question,” my trainer said, and then he answered, “Yes.” 

Kudos to Brian Grazer and his excellent book, which has already positively impacted this reviewer. 

Article originally posted in the January 20, 2019 issue of the Malibu Times

Jo Giese is an award-winning radio journalist, and the best-selling author of “Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lessons from My Mother.”

'Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness'

Book Covers courtesy of The Aesthetics of Joy

‘Tis almost the season to be jolly and what better book to read this time of year than “Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness” by Ingrid Fetell Lee (pub. Little Brown).

With happy splashes of colorful confetti, the book’s cover sets a joyful tone. However, the reader shouldn’t be misled. This is not one of those slick, feel-good, new age tomes. The author, Ingrid Fetell Lee, the former design director at IDEO, a global innovation firm, approaches the subject of joy and happiness seriously. As a designer, she’d studied how aesthetics change people’s attitudes and behavior from the outside in. She says aesthetics can help reveal why some stores and restaurants bustle with activity, while others stand quiet and empty.

After the tragedy of the Woolsey Fire, this book might just offer the pick-me-up some people in our community need. The 10 chapter titles range from “Energy and Abundance” to “Surprise and Celebration.”

As an author who has also written about the importance of color (“Don’t Be Drab”), I identified with Lee’s thoughts on color: Color is energy made visible. She says we underestimate the impact of color because we view it as an instrument of decoration, not utility. She demonstrates the power of color to enliven dreary places and the people in them by pointing to the stunning work of Publicolor, a nonprofit that transforms underserved New York City public schools by painting them with vibrant colors. In 20 years Publicolor has painted more than 400 schools and, although schools are complex systems, making it challenging to isolate the impact of color on academic outcomes Lee says anecdotal evidence reveals significant positive changes have followed in the wake of Publicolor intervention.

The author also advocates for dressing in color for the joy we want. On a rainy day, she says it’s almost as if a colorful garment is a tiny gift, a brilliant spot of joy in a bleak landscape. Or, a woman can be wearing all black, but a polka-dot scarf makes her look like an ambassador of joy.

The “Freedom” chapter rehashes the well-known value of having access to nature, which is known to improve sleep quality, decrease blood pressure and even lengthen lifespan. Spending time in nature also decreases blood flow to a part of the brain called subgenual prefrontal cortex, which is associated with the tendency to brood over problems. Natural settings literally make us more carefree—and joyful.

Lee is skeptical that her childhood memory of the Radio City Rockettes’ kickline was exaggerated. She had assumed that joy was unrestrained and energetic—yet, when she revisited Radio City as an adult, she couldn’t deny the deep simple joy she felt seeing that impeccable row of 36 dancers moving in perfect harmony. She was left with the conundrum: Joy is free and wild, but sometimes it’s also very well organized.

My most favorite chapter is “Play,” in which the author meets Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute of Play (who knew). Brown tells her, “The need to play is in us, and if we don’t do it, we’re in trouble.” Lee writes that play allows us to let go of everyday worries and be absorbed in the joy of the moment.

I can’t imagine a fresher, more upbeat, joyous book for everyone’s holiday gift list.

Article originally posted in the November 21, 2019 issue of the Malibu Times

Jo Giese is the author of Never Sit If You Can Dance: Lessons from My Mother, and was president of the MalibuGreenMachine.