Maverick marketing whiz Mike Veeck is ready to share his simple, fail-proof formula for business success: Make work fun and you’ll create a culture of creativity that attracts the best employees and encourages customers to spend their money.
Veeck stresses the need to reexamine the way business is conducted, from employer-employee relationships to customer service. The Fun Is Good philosophy has worked to make enjoyable evenings for all at Veeck’s ballparks but has also transformed a half-dozen struggling or start-up teams into a thriving $25 million business.
Peppered with firsthand accounts from businesspeople who have benefited from Veeck’s philosophy, Fun Is Good is an innovative, off-the-beaten-track approach to getting the most out of your work life, in and outside the office.
Mike Veeck is president and part owner of six wildly successful minor league baseball teams. Son of the late Hall of Fame baseball owner Bill Veeck, he has followed his father’s lead, with innovative promotions that have captured national attention. He lives in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
Pete Williams writes about business, fitness, and sports. He is a contributing writer to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and is coauthor (with Mark Verstegen) of Rodale’s Core Performance series of fitness books. He lives in Safety Harbor, Florida.
MIKE VEECK is a nationally renowned speaker, entrepreneur, college professor, marketing, promotions and advertising expert as well as an owner of six successful minor league baseball teams. His name is synonymous with fun and creativity and he continues to blaze new trails each year. Who else would train a pig to deliver baseballs to the umpire, hire mimes to perform instant replays or lock fans out of the stadium to set an all-time attendance record for fewest people at a game?
The Veeck family started in baseball nearly a century ago when Mike’s grandfather was president of the Chicago Cubs. Mike’s father Bill, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was the owner of the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and the then minor league Milwaukee Brewers. Bill Veeck is remembered for signing Larry Doby, the first African –American to play in the American League (1947) and for sending 3-foot, 6-inch Eddie Gaedel to bat in a major league game. Mike began his baseball career with the Chicago White Sox and has also worked for the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.
It is with the belief that anything is possible and fun is crucial to success that Mike runs his companies. His Saint Paul Saints have become a model organization and along with this culture of fun, it’s their willingness to take creative risks, forge innovative partnerships and deliver outstanding customer care that proves to be the positive difference that leads to success. It’s no surprise then that SNL alum and film guy Bill Murray (a co-owner and partner with Mike in a number of ventures) serves as Team Psychologist / Director of Fun. Murray is sometimes seen taking tickets, selling programs, coaching third base and giving noogies. Fans love the positive vibe, family feel and great customer service they get at Mike’s ballparks! This business philosophy has garnered national attention, with Mike being featured on NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, ESPN Sports Center, The Late Show with David Letterman and many other national media outlets.
With his teams practicing all this fun and passion in the workplace, providing great customer care, exceeding aggressive sales goals and gaining national attention for his creative promotions and partnerships, Mike decided to highlight his coworkers and tell these stories in his book– Fun Is Good! In response to the success of the book and organizations asking to learn more of this philosophy, Mike created the consulting company of the same name, Fun Is Good. He and his team lead entertaining seminars, training sessions and keynote speeches across the country. Mike is a highly sought after speaker, allowing him the privilege of working with many companies each year, including 3M, The NBA, Deluxe Corporation, General Mills and NASCAR, to name just a few.
Mike and his wife, Libby, reside in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He is the father or two children, William “Night Train” and Rebecca.
PETE WILLIAMS, I've written about sports, business, and performance for more than 25 years, blessed that writing has allowed me to explore my interests. Though I'm perhaps best known professionally for my work as a sportswriter and my first book (Card Sharks), I've transitioned in the last decade into more of a training and performance journalist between co-authoring Mark Verstegen's best-selling Core Performance series, along with Every Day is Game Day, and my coverage of endurance sports. These days, I write about living lean in all aspects of life at www.tolivelean.com. My personal website is www.petewilliams.net. Thanks for stopping by.
