Sometimes taking a step back enabled you to see the path that could move you forwards in the future.
Reebok was founded by Joe and his late brother Jeff in 1958, following the footstep of their family heritage of shoemaking. Their grandfather had established J. W. Foster & Sons in 1895, the company pioneered spiked running shoes for runners and athletes in the early 20th century. Joe writes about the origin story of Reebok, the lessons learned, the successes, failures, losses, grief and the price of greatness.
Shoemaker: The Untold Story of the British Family Firm that Became a Global Brand by Joe Foster, is a great biographical account of how they built one of the most recognizable athletics footwear brand in the world. The book contains lots of great lessons, anecdotes, insights, strategies and tactics for building a great business brand.
Here are some great quotable quotes from Shoemaker by Joe Foster:
- Like every success story, there’s been a sacrifice, a muddy pay-off for the glitter and gold that comes with industrial celebrity. There’s only room for one love when your heart is fully invested in your passion.
- Any brand that goes from zero to hero relies on good timing.
Some people run to beat others. I ran to beat myself.
- I always knew that if I wanted something badly enough, I alone had the power to achieve it; others weren’t going to just give it to me.
- Genius doesn’t just rely on creativity, invention and production. It also needs recognition. Without being recognised, you can’t be perceived as a genius.
- Subconsciously, a seed had been planted that the spectre of death was never far away, and if you wanted to do something there was no point in hanging around, you’d better just get on and do it
I was free to plot my own path, to reach beyond what was expected. There were no limits now, no rules imposed, no dreams and aspirations that could be quashed by others. It was me and Jeff, and a future of freedom.
- I knew it was necessary to first go backwards before we could move forwards.
- Along with luck and timing, it was the people I encountered who made the difference between moderate achievement and monstrous success.
- Hindsight can make any brand name seem like a stroke of marketing genius.
- As is often the case with doors, when one closes, another one opens. Sometimes several doors.
- That’s the excitement of business – you never know what’s waiting around the next corner.
Sometimes taking a step back enabled you to see the path that could move you forwards in the future.
- Networking can be a numbers game. Sometimes you’re lucky and meet the right person at the right time within minutes. Sometimes it can take years. But you have to fully believe that the gatekeeper is out there somewhere, and it’s your job to find him or her.
- No matter how well you plan and make contingency plans, external factors could easily derail you at any time.
- Running was all about – freedom, expunging stress, clearing the mind – not pushing yourself past your limits in the pursuit of victory, especially when that win was more for someone else.
In business, you have to use all the weapons you’ve got when you’re going onto the battlefield, even if they’re not strictly your own.
- Business is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. There’s no point in doing it if it’s not.
- You could have all the product you wanted in the world, but, without the money to make it, you were going nowhere.
The lifeblood of any business comes from the staff
- Every obstacle, every problem, every challenge had provided a lesson, something that I could take away and use to my advantage in the future.
- If Kay’s death had taught me anything, it was that spending time with people you cared for – and who cared for you – was truly the most important thing.
- I guess some people set a cap on their goals, while others seek the moon and beyond. I think you have to know from the outset exactly what you’re striving for depending on your mindset. For me, it was taking the company as far as it could go, and, for that, it had to enter the big arena to take on the A-list sports shoemakers.
I think you have to know from the outset exactly what you’re striving for depending on your mindset.
- Finally, at the risk of sounding like an Oscar winner, I’d like to thank Lady Luck. Without her on my side, none of this would have been possible. Every entrepreneur, without exception, needs a little good fortune their way. I had plenty, and from the bottom of my heart, I hope you do too.
All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
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