John Foley
Performance Expert, Former Lead Solo Pilot & US Navy's Blue Angels
John Foley inspires with lessons from the Navy’s elite Blue Angels flying team. These core values are the key to world-class performance in any field. As lead solo pilot of the heralded Blue Angels, John Foley had to consistently perform as part of team in an intense, high-stakes environment. Reaching that level of excellence required commitment, discipline and trust. Using Blue Angel methodology as a model, Foley has developed a unique approach that equips others to make the same journey toward excellence in execution. His message and personal stories, delivered with his trademark enthusiasm and charisma, emphasizes principles of trust, alignment, clarity and commitment, positioning individuals and teams to achieve and sustain higher levels of excellence than they ever dreamed possible. Foley has served as an adviser to Fortune 500 corporations, professional athletic teams, venture capital companies, professional associations and educational organizations and successfully connects the high intensity of the Blue Angles with your organization.
John Foley has been recognized as one of the top 10 most in demand speakers. John has spoken to some of the Highest Performing organizations such as, Microsoft, Hitachi, Intel, Cisco, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Goodyear, Chevron, Lowe’s, Marriott, Wyndham Hotels, Hilton, Penske Racing, Rawlings, LA Kings, Sprint, Motorola, Merrill Lynch, Mass Mutual, Capital Group, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GE Capital, American Hospital Association, Merck, Reach Air, Adecco, Gillette, McDonalds, and Million Dollar Round Table.
He is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, a Sloan Fellow at Stanford School of Business, a gratitude guru and an expert in the how of High Performance teams. His exciting, rare journey inspires awe, triggering audiences to take action and rethink what they believe is possible. John employs those intense realities as a metaphor to motivate teams and individuals to reach their highest potential while empowering organizations to sustain excellence under dynamic change.
John consistently performed in an extreme, high-stakes environment, flying at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour and in formations as close as 18 inches apart. To survive in those circumstances, he relied on a culture of high trust and leadership that turns inherently unforgiving flight into extraordinary experiences. He employs those intense realities as a metaphor to motivate teams to reach for their highest potential and empower organizations to sustain excellence under dynamic change.
John’s post-Naval experiences as an entrepreneur and a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business put him in a unique position to reverse-engineer the culture of excellence and teamwork found in the Blue Angels. He has created a framework and a mythology that inspires greatness while propelling others on their own journey toward Higher Performance.
John graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also was a defensive back for the Midshipmen, playing in two bowl games and helping Navy to one of the best four-year records in its football history. As a pilot, John was a “Top Ten Carrier Pilot” six times before becoming a Marine instructor pilot and a Blue Angel. He holds master’s degrees in business management, from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (as a Sloan Fellow); in international policy studies, from Stanford University; and in strategic studies, from the Naval War College.
In 2011, John founded the Glad To Be Here® Foundation. John donates 10% of his speaking fees to charities through the foundation. John works with every client to donate 5% to charities of their choosing. Through this program over 100 charities and 1 million dollars have impacted thousands of lives globally. It’s part of his mission to connect a shared “purpose larger than self” with every organization.
He is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, a Sloan Fellow at Stanford School of Business, a gratitude guru and an expert in the how of High Performance teams. His exciting, rare journey inspires awe, triggering audiences to take action and rethink what they believe is possible. John employs those intense realities as a metaphor to motivate teams and individuals to reach their highest potential while empowering organizations to sustain excellence under dynamic change.
John consistently performed in an extreme, high-stakes environment, flying at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour and in formations as close as 18 inches apart. To survive in those circumstances, he relied on a culture of high trust and leadership that turns inherently unforgiving flight into extraordinary experiences. He employs those intense realities as a metaphor to motivate teams to reach for their highest potential and empower organizations to sustain excellence under dynamic change.
John’s post-Naval experiences as an entrepreneur and a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business put him in a unique position to reverse-engineer the culture of excellence and teamwork found in the Blue Angels. He has created a framework and a mythology that inspires greatness while propelling others on their own journey toward Higher Performance.
John graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also was a defensive back for the Midshipmen, playing in two bowl games and helping Navy to one of the best four-year records in its football history. As a pilot, John was a “Top Ten Carrier Pilot” six times before becoming a Marine instructor pilot and a Blue Angel. He holds master’s degrees in business management, from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (as a Sloan Fellow); in international policy studies, from Stanford University; and in strategic studies, from the Naval War College.
In 2011, John founded the Glad To Be Here® Foundation. John donates 10% of his speaking fees to charities through the foundation. John works with every client to donate 5% to charities of their choosing. Through this program over 100 charities and 1 million dollars have impacted thousands of lives globally. It’s part of his mission to connect a shared “purpose larger than self” with every organization.
Topics:
- Fearless Success: Leading Through Change
Connecting, aligning, and unifying teams that are geographically remote or unable to travel can be a daunting task. Leading through these changes with an attitude of gratitude can transform the way your organization does business. The US Navy’s Blue Angels are a living example of extreme trust and collaboration. In his virtual presentations, John Foley shares the wisdom of his experiences and brings audiences inside the cockpit for the experience of a lifetime. His interactive virtual presentations will leave your audience feeling connected, inspired and ready to commit to a world where anything is possible. The key to Foley's “Fearless Success” system is the Glad To Be Here mindset, a powerful new way of thinking, working and living that connects people on a human level. This mindset will engage your employees on an intellectual and emotional level to create deeper commitment and elevate overall performance. Key Takeaways:
•How to build a culture of excellence, clarity and focus that will transcend virtual boundaries.
•Shared “attitude of gratitude” called Glad To Be Here that will transform your organization.
•Master a process and a mindset for leading through change.
•Find your “purpose larger than self” and use that purpose to elevate execution and drive results.
•Live, virtual Q&A sessions, polls and exercises to take leaders to the next level.
•High-quality viewing experience and customized content aligned with your meeting objectives.
This keynote is available in a virtual format. - Employee Commitment
When people are deeply engaged in their work and feel valued, they are more productive and effective, leading to a positive impact on the bottom-line. John Foley shares how management can stimulate performance by creating a culture that values expression of gratitude and appreciation—for opportunities, co-workers, and clients. With his signature “Glad to be Here”™ mantra, Foley discusses the power behind gratitude as a way of thinking, working, and living. He shows how a culture of thankfulness engages employees on an intellectual and emotional level to create deeper commitment and raise levels of performance. - Team Oneness
The importance of teams being in sync is a concept that John Foley understands profoundly. The Blue Angels must be closely aligned in thought and action in order to accomplish their mission. Through their interdependence as a team, members are also challenged and stimulated to achieve higher levels of individual performance. In his dynamic presentations, Foley addresses the essential elements of exceptional team performance and makes them relevant, simple, and immediately actionable. He shares how to center a team around shared goals, strengthen relationships, and create unity that leads to consistent and effective results. - High Performance Climb
Every organization depends upon the performance of their people and their teams. There are few examples where this is more dramatically demonstrated than with the Blue Angels. John Foley draws upon his experience as Lead Solo of the Blue Angels to inspire audiences and show them how to achieve substantially higher levels of performance.
Foley demonstrates a simple, systematic, yet exciting approach for how to develop the clarity, focus, commitment, and trust that are necessary to achieve ever-higher levels of performance. He shows how to create buy-in and commitment for a team’s vision and goals, leading to clarity that drives execution decisions. He demonstrates how learning to focus prepares individuals for action and increases successful outcomes. In this insightful program, he emphasizes the development of trust and respect among team members as essential to execution, and demonstrates proven ways for teams to achieve deep levels of trust. He also explains a process that he believes is the primary key to continuous improvement and exceptional growth.
He drives home his message with dynamic videos of his adrenaline-pumping performance with the Blue Angels. His charismatic and enthusiastic presentations stimulate audiences emotionally and intellectually with a whole new perspective on their ability to excel. They leave the event not only transformed, but also with a set of concrete tools to immediately begin a high performance climb.
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