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 30 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!
Very few things great are done alone. Epic achievement is almost always the result of successful and enduring collaboration. Jim explains and details the elements of winning teamwork. He provides specific examples from the experience of the U.S. “Miracle on Ice” hockey team, and how it confounded the experts, made history and made it to the top of the podium.
“We want to thank you very much for being a keynote speaker at the annual event for The Family Care organization of Procter & Gamble. You spoke to our theme “Inspirational Players, Everyday Champions” brilliantly. This event was our highest rated in over 5 years… The attendees also appreciated the autographed picture of you with your strategies on the back and the opportunity to have their picture taken with you. Thank you for your overwhelming willingness to ensure your part contributed to a great event.”
“The leadership from our organization has been working with Jim Craig and Gold Medal Strategies in various ways for many years … Jim and his team are experts at developing materials that are relevant to our leaders. Jim has a natural talent for pulling out greatness! He challenges you to think differently, push harder and develop exceptional work through these calls. Jim will push you and challenge your team. He has helped me grow my leadership exponentially and is an amazing performance coach! I highly recommend Jim & Gold Medal Strategies!”
“If you are looking for someone who delivers at the highest level of motivation and professionalism, look no further than Jim Craig. Jim personalized his presentation to our audience while at the same time, touching on the key elements that have impacted his life, as well as the amazing events that have shaped who he is. I have been involved in securing and working with speakers for over 37 years and I can say, hands down, Jim is one of the finest people whom you will ever work with.”
