The Gold Medal Strategies team was inviting, very professional, easy to work with, and committed to understanding our business and objectives specific to our event. Their willingness to spend time with us in preparation and to truly share our vision resulted in a uniquely personalized and special event that delivered the exact message we were looking to deliver.

Jim Craig
Olympic Gold Medalist; Goalie, 1980 U.S. "Miracle on Ice" Hockey Team; Owner, President & CEO of Gold Medal Strategies
Featured Topics
Fee Range
$32,000
Jim Craig
Biography
Jim Craig is best known as the backbone of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Team, whose 'Miracle' win was voted by Sports Illustrated as the greatest moment in sports history of the 21st century. Craig, who started every game in goal, was a leading figure in the team's success. One of the enduring images of the 1980 Games was of Craig, wrapped in an American flag, searching the stands for his widowed father in order to share the gold-medal-winning victory.
Before the Olympics, Jim was an All-American goalie at Boston University, leading his team to a NCAA national championship. After the `Miracle' game, Jim went on to play professionally for three NHL teams, where he sustained a career-ending injury while playing for the Minnesota North Stars. He is enshrined in the Boston University Hall of Fame, the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and is a co-recipient of both the Lester Patrick award and the Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" award. He is also a graduate of Boston University and earned his doctorate in humane letters from Mercy College.
Following Jim's professional hockey career, he transitioned his success into the corporate world as a motivational speaker, powerful salesman and corporate consultant. He has been inducted into the Sales Halls of Fame for two different companies, having increased a sales territory from $300,000 to $50 million in annual sales. Following this role, Jim moved on to become the Vice President of a promotional marketing agency. Under his guidance, the agency increased annual dollar sales by 80 percent and its number of clients by 30 percent in just two short years.
For more than 35 years, Jim has inspired, instructed and provided strategic and winning direction to some of the most prestigious companies across the world, including Kellogg's, Bayer, Deloitte, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Disney, as the successful owner and president of his company, Gold Medal Strategies. Jim has been selected three times as one of the top five speakers on team building in the United States, and has evolved to not only deliver motivational speeches, but host immersive corporate training programs that teach participants how to think differently and believe in their possibilities. Jim is the co-author of the highly acclaimed business book, Gold Medal Strategies: Business Lessons from America's Miracle Team and recently released his newest book and legacy piece, We Win! Lessons on Life, Business & Building Your Own Miracle Team. In addition to his role with Gold Medal Strategies, Jim serves as a board member of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, and he has a passion for leveraging his athletic and business success to help others achieve their full potential and lives in integrity with his mission every day!
Jim Craig
Featured Keynote Programs
Building a Winning Team and Corporate Culture
- Recruiting and selecting the right players
- Inspiring, guiding, and motivating team members to put "team" in front of individual interests
- Managing and coaching team members to work efficiently and in synchronicity
- Identifying "diamonds in the rough"
Self Reliance and Personal Responsibility
- How do I strive for and achieve personal excellence?
- How do I stay committed to my personal goals?
- How do I condition myself to be professionally tough – better than my competitor?
Creating Great Groups
- Instilling in people a sense of destiny and desire to accomplish greatness
- Maintaining a competitive edge and a view that the team is an underappreciated underdog that will win, shock, and inspire
Identifying the Right People for the Right Position
- As Coach Herb Brooks said when building the U.S. 1980 Olympic hockey team: "I'm not looking for the best players - I'm looking for the right ones."
- Selecting the type of players so that the whole (team) is greater sum of the parts (employees, players)
- Being on guard against prima donnas and disruptive influences
- Finding your captain and team leader