SOLD/Wiley
Gold Medal Strategies: Business Lessons from America's Miracle Team Business
Jim Craig and Don Yaeger
Taking the lessons of the “Miracle on Ice” team and transforming them into a team-building management book, 1980 U.S. Olympic Team goalie Jim Craig and former Sports Illustrated Associate Editor Don Yaeger have put together a must-read for everyone in your company, from entry level employees to top management.
When the greatest upset in Olympic history occurred thirty years ago at Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. team’s goalie was a Boston University student named Jim Craig. Two years earlier, Craig had led his team to an NCAA championship. A number of his other Olympic teammates also attended BU, and much of the rest of the team came from the University of Minnesota, the other big U.S. college hockey powerhouse. The two schools were bitter rivals; the players openly hated each other. And in the middle was coach Herb Brooks, who had been dropped as a player from the last U.S. Olympic hockey team to win gold back in 1960. It was Brooks who molded these two disparate groups of players into one team with one common goal. And it was goalie Jim Craig who absorbed Brooks’ on-ice lessons—and he has continued to apply them to his successful business career after his playing days had ended. With chapters such as "Goal-Tending: Setting and Guarding the Team’s Goals;" "Face-Off: The Importance of Enemies;" "Managing the Bench: Ego and Conflict;" and "Taking One for the Team: Sacrifices," Jim Craig’s Gold Medal Strategies will be a fascinating, informative and entertaining business book from a man who has met the enemy and come out on top.
When the greatest upset in Olympic history occurred thirty years ago at Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. team’s goalie was a Boston University student named Jim Craig. Two years earlier, Craig had led his team to an NCAA championship. A number of his other Olympic teammates also attended BU, and much of the rest of the team came from the University of Minnesota, the other big U.S. college hockey powerhouse. The two schools were bitter rivals; the players openly hated each other. And in the middle was coach Herb Brooks, who had been dropped as a player from the last U.S. Olympic hockey team to win gold back in 1960. It was Brooks who molded these two disparate groups of players into one team with one common goal. And it was goalie Jim Craig who absorbed Brooks’ on-ice lessons—and he has continued to apply them to his successful business career after his playing days had ended. With chapters such as "Goal-Tending: Setting and Guarding the Team’s Goals;" "Face-Off: The Importance of Enemies;" "Managing the Bench: Ego and Conflict;" and "Taking One for the Team: Sacrifices," Jim Craig’s Gold Medal Strategies will be a fascinating, informative and entertaining business book from a man who has met the enemy and come out on top.
About the Authors
Jim Craig runs a Boston-based promotions and marketing firm, Gold Medal Strategies. He is on the road giving motivational speeches to approximately 50 clients each year. He has spoken to over 300 firms over the years, from Bayer Corporation, Coca-Cola, and General Electric to Merrill Lynch, Monsanto, Sunkist, Walt Disney, and Welch’s, among many other well-known Fortune 500 companies.
Don Yaeger is a former Sports Illustrated Associate Editor and the co-author of four New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book is his collaboration with the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, A Game Plan for Life, about mentoring.
Jim Craig runs a Boston-based promotions and marketing firm, Gold Medal Strategies. He is on the road giving motivational speeches to approximately 50 clients each year. He has spoken to over 300 firms over the years, from Bayer Corporation, Coca-Cola, and General Electric to Merrill Lynch, Monsanto, Sunkist, Walt Disney, and Welch’s, among many other well-known Fortune 500 companies.
Don Yaeger is a former Sports Illustrated Associate Editor and the co-author of four New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book is his collaboration with the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, A Game Plan for Life, about mentoring.
