‘I had to let go of something that was everything to me’

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Ever since he was little, Bob Puccini's heart and soul were tied up with playing baseball. What he lacked in talent as a pitcher, he made up through hard work and desire — traits cultivated by his father and a go-the-extra-mile high school coach.

But when Puccini’s dream — riding his nasty curve ball through college and beyond — abruptly ended, he redirected that competitive spirit to his career. Not surprisingly, most of that career has been in the sporting goods business.

Puccini, 60, worked for Spalding, Titleist, Adidas and Head before becoming a vice president of Mizuno USA in Norcross in 1995. A year later, he was named president of the Japanese company’s U.S. operations, a position he’s held for more than 18 years.

Puccini has overseen substantial growth in the North American unit, which now sells about $300 million annually in baseball, golf, running and volleyball equipment. And even though they never worked there, part of credit belongs to his father and high school coach.

Q: What was your childhood like?

A: I'm from a blue-collar family in Eastchester, which is a small town in southern Westchester County right outside New York City.

My father was a golf teaching pro at a local country club and my mother was an elementary school crossing guard. She crossed me when I was young.

They wanted things better for my older brother and me. I remember my father telling me, “Stay in school, get good grades and play sports. You’re going to be so tired that you’re not going to get in trouble. And if you’re good in sports, maybe you’ll get a scholarship to college.”

I played baseball from little league all the way up. It was a means to something better, but it was also something I loved.

Q: What happened in high school?

A: Outside my family, the most influential person in my life was my high school baseball coach, Dom Cecere. He believed in me when I didn't, and he did that for so many other kids.

I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the strongest and I wasn’t the fastest. But he believed I had a lot of potential.

He was the kind of guy who got up at 5:30 in the morning to work out with kids like me. He initiated the Breakfast Club, which was weightlifting and fitness. He was there with us, leading by example from the front of the group.

He pushed us to understand that you reap what you sow. I didn’t want to let him down. When other kids were going out partying, I was doing sprints.

Q: Your college coach also played a major role in your life. What happened?

A: I was a pitcher. I wasn't a flame thrower, but I had a great curve ball. I got a scholarship to Fordham University in the Bronx. My father's dream was fulfilled.

My coach was Gil McDougald, who had played for the Yankees in the 1950s with Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford.

I didn’t pitch much in college. I hid the fact that I had a bad arm. Some arms aren’t meant to throw as much as I had thrown. I tried to work through it, because having a scholarship was critical for me to go to college.

During my sophomore year, I couldn’t hide the pain in my right shoulder any longer. I broke down emotionally when McDougald realized what was happening with my arm.

He spent two-and-a-half hours with me, letting me get it all out. It was a revelation that my baseball career was over. I had to let go of something that was everything to me.

He put his arm around me and said, “You’re not going to lose your scholarship. Your education is paid for. Use it.”

Q: Then what happened?

A: It was a life altering moment for me. I was really distraught about it. But drinking away my problems wasn't an option.

Sports helped provide the guardrails for me. You’re not going to win every game or strike everyone out. You’re going to have to overcome adversity. You have to keep fighting.

So I took that competitive spirit and got on the dean’s list. I started getting a 3.5 GPA instead of a 2.8.

I committed myself to taking my inner drive from baseball and putting it toward a career.

Q: How did you get your first job after graduating from college?

A: I majored in marketing and got a sales job at Gillette. They told me they were willing to take a shot with me because of my experience during summers in college.

I worked for the park system in Westchester County. I started as a bathhouse attendant, cleaning the men’s room at a park. Then I collected garbage.

During my last summer, I oversaw about 300 kids who were working in different park locations.

Bonus questions

Q: What did you learn from that?

A: All of a sudden, I started to think beyond myself and tried to see things from other people's perspectives.

Even though I was a peer to the kids, I started to realize how to manage them, that you have to treat people with respect.

I also learned that you can’t play favorites. You have to be consistent when, for example, you’re counseling people who had trouble showing up for work.

Q: At Gillette, you started out selling deodorant and shaving cream to food and drug stores. What did you learn?

A: It's amazing how the fundamentals of sports and business are the same. All that I learned about warming up as a pitcher came into play when making a sales call. You have to be prepared.

I learned PARTS:

— P is for pre-approach: Understand your customers’ needs better than they understand them.

— A is for approach: Prepare what you are going to tell the customers initially.

— R is for reasons to buy: Explain how they are going to make money and increase market share. Tell them about your marketing support.

— T is for treatment of objections: That’s so important. Have a 360 view. Anticipate the possible negatives and what your responses will be. Never denigrate another brand. Just stick to why your brand is valuable.

— S is for service after the sale: Follow up and deliver what you said you would.

Q: During your seven years at Gillette, you were promoted several times. What did you learn about tempering your high expectations when managing people?

A: I made mistakes. I was too rigid as a manager early on. My expectations were that you should do what I did.

I don’t think you can manage like that. Everyone’s not like me. There has to be a tolerance for different styles and paths, and people who can complement what you can do.

You can’t win by yourself.

Q: After Gillette, you worked for several sporting goods companies — Spalding, Titleist, Adidas, Head and Mizuno. What’s a key lesson?

A: I've been with seven companies during my career. As I look back at that, I cringe.

But I’ve also learned that the values and culture of a company are very important. They have to be a good fit and some of the companies I worked for were not a good fit.

What’s important to me? Integrity to brand and integrity to one another on the team. Make the long-term decision, the one that allows you to be here two years from now, not two months from now.

That’s why I can be here at Mizuno with such comfort for 20 years. I’ve never been more comfortable since my early days at Gillette.

Q: Why is that?

A: Because decisions are made within the context of the values of the organization and what is said to be important.

We all make bad decisions in our jobs. I make them all the time, unfortunately.

But if they are made within the context of the values of the organization, if you’re consistent, your team can rely on you. Everyone learns and moves on.

But when the decisions are made outside of the value base, that’s when I get concerned.

Q: After arriving at Mizuno, you had to make some tough decisions. What did you do?

A: We were in financial distress here at the time. You have to get to the truth.

But it’s tough for people to bring bad news to the boss. That’s where making a safe environment for your people is important.

You’ve got to be open to hearing the bad news. That will build trust.

Q: After listening to employees and customers, what strategy did you come up with?

A: We had to shrink before we grew. We had to do fewer things really well for sustainable success.

In the U.S., we exited tennis, soccer and football. We focused on baseball, golf, running and volleyball.

We didn’t try to outdo another competitor from a mass marketing point of view. We were going to go high end, premium, because we had the technology and innovation.

We were not going to chase revenue. We were going to build an aspirational brand.

Q: How did you start to do that?

A: We didn't have the money to build a national brand all at once.

Instead, we would focus on a dozen stores of a retailer. We did consumer research and picked markets where it made sense for our products.

We built success in those stores and then earned our way to more stores. We built our credibility step by step.

Q: What important advice do you have for younger employees?

A: I had many mentors. I didn't agree with every thing that every one of them had to offer to me.

But you have to be smart enough to pick the things that fit your character. Make sure you really understand what’s important to you. Then build your own platform of success.