Jeremiah Shirk Of Showpiece Solutions: How My Experience in Athletics Trained Me to Become a Better Leader
An Interview With Vanessa Ogle
Lean into Working Hard, and Enjoy the Experience. See the goal and work your tail off to achieve it. The process is the reward! Sure, hosting a successful event or winning the championship game is great, but it’s the work you put in and the insight you gain that truly sticks with you.
The world of sports is not just about physical prowess or competition; it’s an incubator for leadership qualities such as discipline, teamwork, strategic planning, and resilience. Athletes, from amateur levels to professional arenas, often encounter situations that test their limits and require them to step up in ways that mirror the challenges faced by leaders in various fields. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jeremiah Shirk.
To put it blunt, Jeremiah of Showpiece Solutions is unconventional. If you’re looking for a traditional business consultant, coach or COO, Jeremiah is not your guy. However, if you’re looking for someone who will challenge the status quo and leave no stone unturned in an effort to orchestrate encore results in an unconventional manner, he is your answer. Jeremiah skips the fluff of traditional consultants, identifies the complex organizational challenges standing in the way of an ideal solution, and will bring clarity to move organizational priorities forward in a way that truly makes things work.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career in athletics?
Growing up, I was surrounded by sports. Both of my sisters played three sports and my dad was a volunteer coach for their softball teams, so we frequently attended events at our high school. Once I reached middle school, I became a manager for football and basketball and continued throughout high school. When I matriculated to Indiana University, I was hired as a student manager for the men’s basketball team.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The career trajectory itself. I started in college athletics and thought that is where my career would be for most of my life. Yet, the journey has been anything but that. College athletics gave me the foundational blocks to build the career that I’m experiencing today, and I hold a place in my heart of great honor & gratitude.
Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Leadership. I’m known for turning processes upside down and asking uncomfortable questions that most consultants aren’t willing to. To me, this is leadership because it is challenging people to approach problems in an unconventional, different way. Not just the typical or popular way. But in a way that rises above groupthink and achieves optimal results.
- Work Ethic. Each Super Bowl takes about four years to plan. When I was hired as part of the team bringing Super Bowl XLVI to life, we had 14 months until showtime. Our brilliant team pulled off a successful event and pioneered a new Super Bowl tradition because of our work ethic under pressure.
- Communication. When thinking outside of the box, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos. That’s why making sure everyone is on the same page is key. When I was brought on to help Mayor Jim Ardis of Peoria, Illinois, solve the city’s sewer overflow problem, we held clear, open discussions to turn the story around, leaving both the city and administration victorious.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you share a pivotal moment in your athletic career that taught you a leadership lesson you’ve applied outside of sports?
My first job out of college put me in a leadership role where some of my staff was twice my age, and I was sensitive to the challenges that could present. What it taught me was so long as I continued to earn their respect, solicit ideas, and work alongside them each day any sort of animosity, or awkwardness evaporates. It is a good reminder that whatever role we’re playing is just our assigned role, not a value statement of each of us as people.
How has your experience in team dynamics within athletics influenced your approach to leadership in the workplace?
Everyone has a role in the success of the overall operation. Each person’s skill and expertise is required, but their effort(s) might look different from others. So long as everyone understands the vision, their role, and is accountable to each other for that, then a solid standard and culture can be built.
In what ways has facing defeat or challenges in sports prepared you for handling failure and setbacks in your professional life?
There are two kinds of coaches in the world. Those that have been fired, and those that will be. When you can release control of the things that you can’t control and focus on the effort & development of your team you begin to stack up solid wins through that process. Focus on the process & the results will follow over time.
How do you apply the discipline and training regimen from your athletic pursuits to your current leadership role?
There is always more to do, but being able to discern what the priorities are, and what we care about, are crucial to success. Implementing the highest and best use of available resources to address those priorities is a skill that is learned in the crucible of athletics.
Reflecting on your journey, what specific skills or attributes developed through athletics do you believe are most essential for effective leadership?
Learning how to teach by meeting people where they are, sharing the overall vision, and helping them succeed for the betterment of the entire operation. Everyone brings their own history, perspective and lived experience (their whole self) into their work and we have to understand that to know how best to teach them, motivate them, inspire them and work together.
Based on your experience, can you please share “5 Ways That Athletics Can Help Train Great Leaders?”
1. Learn Effective and Efficient Communication Skills. You have to learn how to listen and communicate effectively. What is the best way to illustrate your point so others can have a rich understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish? On the football field, this looks like explaining a game-changing play in a way that will allow 11 people to coordinate well enough to pull it off. In everyday life, communication makes the difference between the success or failure of every project and event.
2. Lean into Working Hard, and Enjoy the Experience. See the goal and work your tail off to achieve it. The process is the reward! Sure, hosting a successful event or winning the championship game is great, but it’s the work you put in and the insight you gain that truly sticks with you.
3. Be a Teamplayer, Always. What skill set and experience are you bringing to the success of the whole? What seat on the bus does that put you on? Ball hoggers hold back the team from winning — working together is what brings the victory.
4. Know Your Place. Not everyone can be the point guard. But everyone has a role to play with clear responsibilities on the court. Sure, at times you may need to pivot and do what’s needed to recover control, but that’s the exception — not the norm.
5. Purposefully Pivoting. We live in a fast-paced, constantly changing world — it’s important to expect the unexpected. When those exceptions arise and you can’t play to the game plan, bring out that secret backup play intentionally. Essentially, CARE.
Concentrate — on what you’re doing & why you’re doing it.
Anticipate — how the environment might change.
Recognize & React — to those changes as they happen & make adjustments as needed.
Execute — the game plan using the strategies your team has set in motion.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, it would be a movement focused on encouraging individuals to let their internal light shine daily so their talents can be enjoyed by all around them.
The idea behind this movement is simple but profound. I believe that every person possesses unique talents, skills, and qualities that have the potential to bring joy, inspiration, and positive change to the world around them. However, often these talents remain hidden or underutilized due to self-doubt, fear, or societal pressures. Self-awareness and self-acceptance are the first steps, as is breaking free from the fear of judgment and rejection. By living authentically and sharing their light, individuals would naturally inspire and uplift those around them, causing a ripple effect no doubt.
How can our readers further follow you online?
You can visit my Showpiece Solutions website or follow Showpiece Solutions on LinkedIn. You can also connect with me personally on LinkedIn.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.
Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.
