06/24/2026
Under the SIR-Face of Jim Warren
The World’s Most Accomplished “Average” Man
As transcribed by Mike Murrell - Accurate? Mostly, Maybe
If you spend five minutes talking with Jim Warren, you quickly learn three things:
· First, Jim considers himself “average.”
· Second, he has spent most of his life enjoying most everyone around him.
· And third, he talks about aging and death with the calm comfort level most people reserve for discussing sprinkler systems or tire rotations.
Oddly enough, that combination makes him one of the more entertaining people you’ll ever sit down and have coffee with.
Jim joined SIRS around 2010, though his entry into the organization sounded less like a formal membership process and more like a spontaneous roadside recruitment. While in Napa on one of his scheduled commutes from Boston Jim was golfing at Napa Golf Course when he asked two older gentlemen if they knew of a local men’s club he might join. Don Brooks immediately responded: “STAY RIGHT THERE. I’LL HOOK YOU UP”. Just like that, Jim was in SIRS. Which, frankly, feels exactly like the way most of us probably ended up here.
Jim describes himself as an obedient kid growing up, largely because his father was a school principal and apparently had an intelligence network monitoring Jim’s behavior. While his outgoing older brother Charlie got the girls and the attention, Jim quietly developed the trait that would define most of his life: Work hard and hang out with really good people.
In high school and college, he played football both ways — offensive lineman and middle linebacker —there weren’t enough players to specialize he says. He made three all-star teams, though he still somehow files this under “average.” However, according to Jim, the big highlight was getting to dance on the Alan Freed (Father of rock n roll in NYC) TV Dance Show with his team members.
That “average” label follows Jim everywhere and so does “one star Warren”, but that is a story for another day.
Consider the résumé:
Cornell graduate with a Master’s degree
Eighteen-time member of Trane Company’s Top Ten Sales Club
A lifetime of avoiding office politics
Apparently, in that world, “average” means “you worked harder than you really should while others just got tired and went home. The roots of this go back to childhood (spent in the suburbs of New York City). Jim recalls hearing his mother asking his father: “Isn’t Jimmy special?” His father reportedly answered: “No. He’s average. Jim spent most of his career with Trane Company selling commercial HVAC systems. He loved competition but had little affection for corporate team-work. “In sports,” Jim says, “everybody has to pull their own weight. In commission Sales, people are often looking out for themselves.”
So, Jim mostly operated his own way — working nights, weekends, and whatever hours were necessary to help customers be successful. His philosophy was simple: if his customers succeeded, he succeeded. Of course, his assistants may have viewed things differently after arriving Monday mornings to discover the mountain of work he created over the weekend.
When asked if anyone at Trane cried when he retired, Jim answered honestly:
“Cheered maybe. But probably not cried.”
For all his business success, what really stands out is how much Jim genuinely enjoys people. Customers became lifelong friends. Golf trips, ski trips, tennis games, gin rummy, boating, and the Tuesday SIRS coffee at Brewed were really just excuses to spend time with others. “These are good guys,” he says of the Brewed coffee group.
Jim openly admits he hates silence. He loves the chatter and the back and forth of a good conversation.
Jim is also refreshingly realistic about aging. For years he has joked that he only has “two more years left,” though thankfully the timeline keeps renewing itself. His attitude toward life and death isn’t dark — it’s practical, humorous, and maybe a little Rodney Dangerfield-inspired.
At 85, his balance and physical prowess are not what they once had been. His current hobbies include killing time over the computer and experimenting with recommended barbers, attending doctor appointments, and “showing up at Synergy every so often”.
Still, the competitive streak survives.
When asked what he can do better than younger men?, Jim doesn't hesitate. "I can still outfight and outfox anyone twice my age," he says. Since that would put his opponents at 170 years old, the opportunities to prove it are admittedly limited. Still, somehow, you believe him.
Yet, he still insists he’s average. Which would probably surprise the many friends, customers, coworkers, family members, and SIRS members who have benefited from knowing him over the years. Then again, maybe that humility is exactly why people enjoy being around him.
Jim did not need to be the loudest man in the room. He just needed to keep plugging, be at least average, and make sure nobody had to drink alone.
