Failure only makes you stronger. ~ Joe Purzycki

Joe Purzycki was the Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Barclaycard, the 5th largest issuer of credit cards globally and the 9th largest issuer of credit cards domestically. Prior to joining Barclays, Mr. Purzycki was Executive Vice President of Chase Card Services and a member of the Card Services Senior Management Team. Mr. Purzycki managed the Business Development Segment, which was responsible for partnerships with companies like Disney, Amazon.com, Starbucks, and Sony.

Before his time in the executive office of some of the largest banks in America, and after receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from University of Delaware, Joe went on to become the head football coach at Delaware State University and James Madison University. And with a decade of coaching experience, which includes an appointment as the first white man to be named head coach of a historically black university, Joe continues to thrive in the leadership arena.

Joe Pyrzycki has been inducted into the State of Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, the State of Delaware African American Hall of Fame, the University of Delaware Alumni Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Athletics Hall of Fame, and the University of Delaware’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Needless to say, Joe is an expert in the field of developing and winning with incredible teams and that’s why he joined us for a great conversation about teamwork…and much more.

• No matter the position, Joe reminds us that if you want to be a leader, you have to embrace a coaches mentality. He opens with a discussion on teamwork and the power of bringing people together. Joe acknowledges that “…you can go fast alone, but you can go far together.” His philosophy is grounded in the foundation that teams come together and move forward based on trust. Don’t miss as he retels his first days as the first ever white head coach of a historically black college in 1981. He describes the protests and how he, ultimately earned people’s trust.
• As someone who has created winning teams on the field and the boardroom, Joe describes how he has used the powerful work of Pat Lencioni and has hired The Table Group to help develop his own teams. He emphasizes the great work being done by Roselyn Torres of the Boston Consulting Group, and reinforces our need to anticipate change, develop diverse networks, abandon the past, and be courageous enough to explore new ideas.
• Purzycki tells our listeners that we need to be cognizant of our attitude and that we need to check our passion levels. He describes how to burn strong and burn slow with passion for greater success.
• Regarding what he still wants to accomplish in his lifetime, amid so much achievement, he talks about writing a book to help our great nation. He proposes a book about his experiences as the head football coach at an HBCU with the pure desire to give insight into how we might better unite as society. You can hear his disappointment in where we are in terms of a racial divide, and his belief that we truly can come together is inspiring. We’re buying that book, and it will be a #readthisseries selection.
• His answer to our #onethingseries personal growth question is incredible. He talks about how he lives a life of discovery, whether from great books or by surrounding himself around fantastic people. Don’t miss it.
• Joe used to think that losing is fatal and that losing is final. For years in the corporate world, he witnessed countless people suffer from the thought that failure was final. He shared how he truly learned that failure is really what we make of it and that he was inspired by the words of Nelson Mandela: “I never lose. I either win or learn.”

Life is discovery, you can’t stop learning. ~ Joe Purzycki

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Joe & T.J.