Alumnus Jim Daly Publishes How-To Book for Dads

The creator of SHU’s Big Red mascot continues to make his mark

Sacred Heart University alumnus Jim Daly ’07 recently published his first book, a humorous, how-to guide for fathers titled, When All Else Fails: Dad Ideas to Get That Baby to Eat. It is available now through Amazon and other retailers.

Friends and family have been calling Daly the “baby whisperer” for years. A husband and father of three, he has a knack for soothing crying children, relaxing the riled-up child at naptime and tricking unsuspecting babies into eating. “I would just try something different, and it would work,” said Daly, adding that he doesn’t care if he looks a little foolish in the process, because the results are what matter.

Daly, who majored in political science at SHU, decided about a year ago to share his gift with other dads and began writing When All Else Fails. It’s a how-to guide in the guise of a children’s book, featuring artwork by illustrator Rebecca McSherry. Daly’s child-persuasion techniques, with names like “The Springsteen,” “Peyton’s Huddle” and “The Batman,” are meant to bring chuckles—and results—to mealtime.

“My inspiration came from my wife and kids. I would actually do these things myself and for other parents,” said Daly. “If I can make one parent laugh while struggling with mealtime, I’m happy.” He said moves like “The Globetrotter” are guaranteed to entertain readers: “Take your spoon back and forth, behind your head, through your legs and slam dunk for the basket.” That last move lands the spoon in the baby’s mouth.

“Sacred Heart allowed me to be creative, even though I wasn’t in a traditionally creative major,” Daly said of his time on campus. He transferred to SHU in the spring of his freshman year and became heavily involved in the University. He served as student body president for two years and was a student representative on the planning board that envisioned expanding the campus into what it is today.

Daly’s legacy is hard to miss at SHU. When he was student body president in 2007, he led efforts to create Big Red, the Sacred Heart Pioneers’ mascot. Bucky the Pioneer had been SHU’s mascot from the 1990s to 2002, but Bucky’s popularity had fizzled, and he hadn’t appeared at sporting events in years. “Bucky was almost an urban legend on campus; he was never out,” Daly said. “I only knew about him because I worked closely with the student life office.” Daly thought the small, Division I school should have a new mascot, not only to be present on the sidelines, but also to connect with the community outside of the University.

Rather than change the Pioneer mascot completely, Daly and his team made it more relatable. “We made him a Davy Crockett who looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger and who could jump, dunk, ice skate and still be friendly to smaller kids. It was my goal to get this brand out there,” he said.

The “Pack the Pitt” event at Sacred Heart that launched the Big Red brand is one of Daly’s favorite SHU memories. Looking at Big Red’s proliferation today, Daly said he is thrilled. “It’s unbelievable to see him on t-shirts, on logos, and to watch him on the sidelines. Each of my kids has their own little Big Red,” he said.

While at Sacred Heart, Daly gained invaluable experience interning with a congressman who helped him get a job with a private defense contractor upon graduation. “All of a sudden, I was pricing billion-dollar deals in Afghanistan and setting up intelligence programs in Germany,” said Daly.

When federal budget cuts hit the defense department, Daly was recruited by Accenture, a global professional services company, and then found his way to Google’s negotiations team. “Our team handles everything from pitch to close with our sales team. Negotiations are a puzzle not a battle, and I strategize with our sales leads to design the best deal for our clients in terms of structure across the various product lines, and how each piece of the deal fits within that overall partnership puzzle,” he said. Daly also teaches negotiation strategies to executives across the globe.

“Sacred Heart prepared me to be creative and to think outside the box in every single career opportunity I had. Whether it was working on intelligence projects for the Department of Defense or working for large IT firms like Accenture, building out deal teams in India and Argentina, and even today working for the most creative place in the world, Google, I’ve been very fortunate,” Daly said.

Having achieved his dream job at Google, Daly has set a new professional goal for himself–working in product development at Google. To achieve it, he’s back to school for his second master’s degree in artificial intelligence.

As for his publishing endeavors, Daly said there are more books on the horizon. “After my kids saw a picture of me on the back of a book, they wanted to be authors, too. So, my next goal is to write a couple of books with them so they can be published as well.” He also plans to publish more When All Else Fails books to help other parents needing that creative spark in their own routines.