The journey from player to coach

CRACK! Roar… Run. CRACK! Roar… Run. CRACK! Roar… Run.

Reggie Jackson stepped up to the plate four times in game 6 of the ‘77 World Series. The last three times, he launched the ball into the stands. Reggie didn’t know it, but with each crack, he pointed that bat towards me, just 5 miles north of Yankee Stadium. The ground vibrated as the crowd roared. It was like they were calling me into the world. But I’d wait another nine days to be born and finally join the celebration. It often takes time to know where you should be. That’s certainly been my story.

Everyone remembers Reggie as “Mr. October” for those three rockets he launched into the Bronx night. But people don’t remember his batting coach. Believe it or not, history didn’t write that name down. So, we’ll call him Coach X.

That same season, Coach X’s instruction helped Graig Nettles hit 37 home runs. He also coached Mickey Rivers to a .326 batting average, fourth best in the league.

It’s taken a while for me to know where I should be. My October moment came in 2024 when I started telling my clients that I’d rather be coaching a team of great players than be the one under the lights on the field. I realized that I will make a bigger difference as the Coach X of marketing.

Life’s path is rarely a straight line. And I had to journey through a few inglorious roles until I realized where I now belong.

My Mascot Phase

The first of those roles was more like a team mascot. Fresh out of Emory College, I had landed the role of producer for a TV show. Part of the job was booking studio space. But when it came time to shoot, nothing happened. I helped recruit the host for the show. But there were no guests and no recordings. Then I noticed something more alarming.

After weeks on the job, I hadn’t been paid. So, I went to my boss, “Joe,” and started asking questions. He fidgeted a bit. His eyes started shooting left and right. Then it became clear.

The show was a mirage in the mind of this man. There were no sponsors. There was no show. And like a costumed mascot, I was faking a version of reality. It was time to move on.

My Bat Boy Phase

The next stop in my journey was the “bat boy” phase.

This job was real, with a real paycheck (thank goodness!). Like a bat boy, I was near the action, just not in the action. My cube lurked on the edge of the marketing team. I’d lean in to listen through the five-foot carpeted walls. The more I listened, the more I realized that’s where I wanted to be. So, I had to figure out how to go from being a bat boy to a player on the team.

Eventually, I squeezed through the marketing fence when a graphic design position opened. I got my marketing MBA at night. I was finally getting some playing time! But soon it was time for the next step.

My Ownership Phase

With the founding of Estound, I became both player and owner. Over the next 15 years, Estound grew. I spoke twice at SXSW Interactive. And Estound won ColoradoBiz Magazine’s best Marketing/Advertising Agency Award 5 years in a row. It’s not quite the Hall of Fame, but it felt good.

Over the years I watched how my clients fared in the win/loss columns, and I kept noticing a pattern that holds companies back. They fail at marketing because they’re not prepared.

They jump straight to ads, or email campaigns, or SEO, or billboards. But without the strategy to make those mediums effective, they almost guarantee failure and waste good talent both in-house and external. Any company can spend money without results. That’s easy. But former Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane showed us there’s a better way…

Focus on the fundamentals that really matter. When you do that, you can achieve more while spending less.

If you saw the movie Moneyball, then you know how Billy Beane turned the Oakland A’s into a playoff team on a shoestring budget. Billy realized that getting on base won more games than hitting home runs.

In 2021, Estound published the Unified Marketing System. It unraveled the mysteries of marketing by focusing folks on what really wins the game. Then it was time to scale the business. And that’s when I learned another lesson.

Over the next two years, I focused on sales while the team focused on everything else. Revenue tripled but delivery suffered. And the joy was gone. That is what led to my own Mr. October moment.

I was trying to play too many roles on the team. One role was player. Another role was captain. Another role was owner. And then I looked at what I loved the most. In October, I started telling clients that I’d be shutting down Estound so I could focus on my new role.

My Future…

Reggie Jackson became Mr. October because he had coaching to match his raw talent. We don’t remember Coach X, but he coached some of the best hitters in the world that year.

I see in-house marketing teams filled with talent but not getting the results they want. I want to be their Coach X and help them achieve legendary success. Because the people who make the biggest impact are the coaches. From the background, the lights shine brighter on the team on the field.