Open Path

by Chad Whitacre

Thank You, Ben

By Chad Whitacre ❧ Published on November 4, 2024
tl;dr Ben Vinegar hired me into Sentry four years ago, and now he is moving on. Allow me a few words.
Disclosure / advertisement: I work for Sentry.

One of my favorite books on leadership is The Captain Class, by Sam Walker. It is a delightfully thorough study of the top sports dynasties of all time. Based on a number of criteria—teams of 5+ players, competing at a national or international level, winning 4+ annual championships in a row—it turns out there are only 17 truly elite teams in sports history.

The thesis of the book is that it’s not a star player or a brilliant coach that sets legendary teams apart. No, it’s rather the presence of an exceptional captain, a player with an extreme drive to win, who commands the respect of his or her teammates and works relentlessly to level up everyone else, in ways that the crowd never sees.

Ben Vinegar was not the founder or CEO or CTO of Team Sentry. He was the captain.

Thanks for hiring me in, Ben, and for a great run. All the best on what’s next. 🫡 💃

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