Running with Purpose: How Brooks Outpaced Goliath Competitors to Lead the Pack

This is an excellent read for recent graduates seeking an inspiring autobiography, mid-career professionals infusing purpose to their daily grind, and ultimately senior leaders preparing to “hit refresh” as they scale their career pinnacles. The book helps such diverse audiences precisely because it tracks Weber’s own life. “Running with Purpose” describes his rise from humble beginnings in Minnesota, through his grade-school travails to excel as a student and athlete, to his college studies and search for career beginnings, to his early work at Pillsbury in corporate development, to his MBA at Dartmouth’s Tuck School, to his series of entrepreneurial adventures building or turning around sporting-goods companies, and even his recent years’ fight against cancer. A lot of ground is covered!Naturally, Weber spends the most time on the rise of Brooks Sports. He led the company from <$200M in annual revenue to >$1.3B, competing as a David to industry Goliaths like Nike. Weber details how Brooks has become a standalone subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, operating as a merry band of entrepreneurs inside the corporate holding company. A fun anecdote centers on his first meeting in the inner sanctum of Omaha, Nebraska, with his future boss and boyhood role model, Warren Buffett. Buffett comes off as warm and approachable, yet wise, much like the author himself.“Running with Purpose” serves up a true story of growth and resilience amid sometimes tough, often ambiguous times. In other words, it is a tale for today. The most satisfying part of the book develops in its second half, as Weber relates how his earlier life experiences came together to help him form a mission, re-engineer the technology and business processes, and lead the Brooks team to marketplace and brand success. Weber concludes by writing about the importance of vision, execution, and authenticity in all leaders as they drive for resonance in life and career. I took away an enormous amount and am gifting copies to my entire leadership team at the office.

I'm a annual buyer of Brooks shoes so wss interested to read more.about the culture. Jim tells.a good story.Interesting g to learn .ore.about Warren buffets handoff approach and counsel.

I’m a Brooks brand supporter, & took notice of this book after reading a NY Times article by David Gelles who wrote on author Jim Weber. The article mentioned Jim had to stop running to undergo cancer treatments, & how he got through his struggles.The book details difficulties Jim encountered and the direction he took with the Brooks brand in marketing to survive. With being raised middle class, and keeping a focus, it might provide inspiration to anyone coming from a difficult situation at home, who has a goal to be a CEO. I thought too, that it was fabulous that Jim’s boss said he’d still have a job during & after his medical treatments.I’m a retired marathoner, & I’ve often said, “telling a runner not to run is like telling a squirrel not to eat nuts”, and it’s something that likely only a runner would understand. Jim kept his focus on family & work & details it in his book. He married his college sweetheart, an obvious cheerleader and supporter of his goals.I also bought a copy of the book for my boss as a gift in hopes he too would write a book. The challenges he faced running a company during Covid were tough. I know CEO’s motivate each other, & just had to smile with my recommendation.A great read!

Before listening to and reading this book, I didn’t know much about Jim Weber’s life experience. There are a number of things that I truly love about this book:1) If you don’t have time to read it, Jim does a great job with the audiobook as well. I listened to the book during my morning runs. It gave me an extra spring in my step. Then I marked up my hard copy.2) Without giving too much away, Jim’s openness about life, health, work reminded me about finding happiness in the everyday blessing. I read Chapter 9 several times. That chapter spurred something new for me.3) Nobody achieves greatness without some help along the way and I love the attention this book gives to those that supported him along the way.4) As a runner, I love the #RunHappy philosophy and Jim does a brilliant job defining it clearly. It’s also so cool that I have quite a bit in common with such a great leader, hint: music.5) As a business owner and an entrepreneur, reading the book reminded me of importance of trust and how it should be fundamental building block of any strategy.It’s an easy read. The book leaves you thinking deeply but with a feeling of optimism mixed in.

I liked this book about how he made Brooks the company they are now

The overall story of how Brooks became a powerful leader in the running world is interesting and inspiring. Weber tells his personal story of growth into a leader of a major company as well as the story of how the company grew and shaped into what it is today.Weber is a fit and inspiring person, so the book reads with an upbeat attitude. Most of the stories focus on growth or overcoming situations. It is interesting to see how Brooks chose to focus on the running community and performance gear. Other interests would come along (minimalist shoes, atheleisure, etc.), but Brooks stuck with the focus on creating top running gear for runners.I enjoyed reading Weber's real life stories and how he handled different situations at work and in his personal life. The book takes a detour at the end to virtue signal about popular social topics, which distracts from the story of the book. I was predisposed to enjoy this book though because I enjoy running in Brooks Ghost and have become somewhat loyal to the brand. Hopefully this book inspires people to get out there and enjoy life through running.

Jim Weber really needed to engage an author to write this for him. He skims the surface by mentioning something interesting and not going into any detail.The book is very hard to engage with and is the product of a smart person who thinks they can write, but can’t.