#288: James “JC” Curleigh, CEO, Pelican Products – How to reframe what you sell

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Most leaders think they’re in the business of selling their product. JC Curleigh thinks that’s exactly what limits your growth. And as CEO of Pelican, he’s helping the company make a profound shift: they’re not in the protective case business, they’re in the protection business. JC understands that great brands sell more than products, and he knows how to position them the right way. In fact, it’s how he led turnarounds at iconic brands like Levi’s and Gibson Guitars. In today’s episode, you’ll see how to use the same thinking to revitalize and expand your own brand. You’ll also learn: How to make better decisions by being “aggressively patient” The incredible story behind the naming rights for Levi’s Stadium What “helicopter vision” is, and why every leader should have it What you need instead of a “Plan B” Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of How Leaders Lead with David Novak. Today, our guest is
0:05.2	J.C. Curley. He's the CEO of Pelican Products. And in today's episode, you'll learn how to reframe what
0:11.5	you sell in a way that expands your brand. You'll also learn how to make better decisions by being
0:17.6	aggressively patient, what helicopter vision is, and why every leader should
0:22.5	have it, and what you need instead of a plan B. Enjoy this conversation between David and J.C.
0:29.4	And stick around to the very end of the episode for the debrief.
0:40.3	Tell us about Pelican products. You know, what it is today and how you're envisioning the future.
0:45.3	Pelicans, in some cases, it's ubiquitous. Everyone kind of sees it, they know it.
0:49.3	And I'm not talking about the bird. I'm talking about the case.
0:52.3	And then when you describe it, they go, oh yeah, I know what that is. And then, of course, if you use Pelican cases, you really know what it is
0:58.8	because you rely on it for your mission, whether that's again, whether you're an explorer,
1:04.0	an adventure, a protector, a defender. And so we're actually 50 years old this year. And so for
1:09.7	50 years, we've been synonymous with protection.
1:13.0	And we kind of invented this category.
1:15.3	We started off with a first aid kit.
1:17.4	And then people said, hey, if this is crush-proof, dust-proof, waterproof, why can't we
1:21.2	use it for more protection across more use cases?
1:24.5	And 50 years later, we're the global leader in protective cases and beyond.
1:29.3	So for us, it is it is been on a mission, but what we like to say is we're not the heroes.
1:34.8	The heroes are all the folks out there doing what they do, and we enable and empower the mission
1:39.8	to be accomplished at Pelican.
1:41.2	And I think, you know, we'd like to also say that our protection
	...

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