Eric Platte is the Vice President of Ticket Sales for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He has been with the Hawks since 2010 when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Supply Chain Management. Eric is highly regarded for his innovative ideas for workplace culture and leadership training. Eric believes that leaders drive culture, culture drives people, and people drives business.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- His journey and career advice for others looking to get into professional sports
- Creative ways to motivate employees and team members
- On-boarding and training of employees
- How leadership is important in the sales business
As a college basketball coach for nearly 20 years, I had many experiences that I was proud of. But, I also made my share of mistakes, especially early in my career. Now that I have left coaching to work with teams as a leadership trainer and consultant, I look back on my career and offer up five things that I wish I knew when I first started out in coaching.
Best-selling author of Leadership Interrupted: daily inspiration to become the leader you were meant to be, and iAthlete: Impacting Student-Athletes of a Digital Generation, Kevin DeShazo is the founder of Fieldhouse Media. He is a sought after speaker, having presented on over 80 campuses as well is a regular presenter at conferences and conventions, including NACDA, CoSIDA, the NCAA Convention and the Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium. He has also been quoted on ESPN.com, The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sports Business Journal and a variety of other national and local media outlets. Kevin is also the founder of Culture Wins Championships, helping leaders in the sports industry build a championship culture with their team. Kevin was also honored as an Innovator of the Year for FieldTrack, our web-based platform that monitors social media activity of student-athletes and coaches. Oklahoma City is home for Kevin along with his wife Megan and their three boys, Gabe, Noah and Asher.
Sue Enquist is UCLA Softball’s first All-American, National Champion, and Hall of Famer. In 2006, Enquist concluded her storied 27-year career as head coach of the UCLA Bruins with a 887-175-1 (.835) record, making her the winningest softball coach among all active coaches. She is the only person in NCAA Softball history to win a championship as a head coach and a player. During her career, Enquist produced 65 All-Americans and 15 Olympians. She has been inducted into six Hall of Fames including UCLA, Women’s Sport Foundation, USA Softball Hall of Fame, and National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Enquist is also the recipient of multiple National Coach of the Year and Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. She grew up in San Clemente, California, and is a former professional surfer. Today she lives in San Clemente, California, where she surfs daily and enjoys spending time with her family.
Steve Nudelberg is a serial salesman & entrepreneur. As a product of his entrepreneurial spirit, he developed On the Ball – a company that focuses exclusively on sales & business development. Inspiration for the company name was derived from the feedback Steve received from business associates, claiming that he was always ‘on the ball’. The core philosophy is rooted in that what we know and who we know can help your business grow. On The Ball’s list of clients include Toshiba, BankUnited, AIG, Transworld Business Advisors., and Getaway2Give
