You're probably right. John Foley:Oh, well, tons of them. We go around the table and everybody first gets a chance to say that, the general safe. Sorry. You're reacting based on your training. You're landing on a runway that happens to be a boat. I know there's difficulty and I'm aware of it. There's twofold here, so I'm just You came off of a career that every day was filled with very precise, intense things. Don't you wish you would've had that back when you were doing all these crazy maneuvers. JOHN FOLEY - BIOGRAPHY In 2015, John Foley has been recognized as one of the top 10 most in demand speakers. And I love it. You're flying small prop planes. While I had known about the Blue Angels, I hadn't ever heard of John Foley. The other new members include an events coordinator, a C-130J Super Hercules pilot, an aviation maintenance officer and a flight surgeon . Erik Weihenmayer:John, backing up, one thing I kind of missed in my thought process talking to you was, you were on that track to be a Blue Angel, and you talked about your dad who was an officer. Jeff:You have been up on stage for countless hours and thousand, tens of thousands of people, but you're shit at guitar right now, but you're getting better. I was so inspired from his . 18 seconds, it takes nine seconds for the hit to happen, and then we have a clear for nine seconds. 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. Subscribe 3K views 2 years ago John Foley is a top leadership keynote speaker and former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels that delivers keynote experiences to inspire leadership, improve. But you're exactly right, that's exactly the zone I'm in when I'm in a maneuver. But what's surprising to me is you say the first thing on your debrief is you come at each other with something you feel. I never met him, but he was a huge mentor. Then you climb into the, we call it a water wagon, but you climb into the vehicle that's going to take you out to the jet. Those are much more take the who out of it, be very of what happened, where were the decision points? Then here's the last thing, and I'll do this for any leader is go, or anybody really, go forward in your day, and I use my calendar, but think about others, not just yourself, and think about, how can I show up in a way that helps somebody else. Well, both. These fundamentals are incredibly important because that's what we all learn from, we got to have a process, but I think the difference when you're talking to somebody who's actually done it and done it at a high level. Jeff:See, that's the PhD level of what we're talking about right there. Our audience, our community is going to be so impacted by everything you've said, and your life's work, as it's been encompassed in this conversation today. It snaps me out of that downward spiral. He shares how to center a team around shared goals, strengthen relationships, and create unity that leads to consistent and effective results. I think that's it in a nutshell, right there. They knew it. John Foley:I mean, that's what saying. And then you're going to be the best of the best. We're talking to each other. John Foley Inc. and The Glad To Be Here Foundation asked where $10,000 could help others in a direct and imminent way during the pandemic. Is that part of the process of being focused? I was doing the Red Bull thing, how Red Bull created air races. Because that's where I'm going to make a mistake, right? Glad To Be Here Debrief Program - Digital Book. It's not happening. Aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) Foley and VA-22 deployed to the Western Pacific, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean in 1986 and later to the Persian Gulf in 1988. It's important to know, it's easy to kill yourself. Then I went out and I tried it. These are two of the best programs and that's why they're in the finals. Erik Weihenmayer:How do you elevate people's belief levels? And they've got a great program too. Ready, hit it. 0 bids. Or is it different? He shows how to create buy-in and commitment for a teams vision and goals, leading to clarity that drives execution decisions. There are few examples where this is more dramatically demonstrated than with the Blue Angels. John Foley:Once you learn how to do it, it's easy. John Foley:To me, a liberating belief is where that opportunity. I actually think most of my flying was emotional. I mean, that would be the obvious sort of reach on that. Jeff:I'm just, I'm trying to get my head around that though, because in a way, I think maybe we frame things up to see its either clinical precision or its emotion love, and sort of heart. I have been training. I want to do stuff that I've never done before, and I didn't know how to do it. What I've learned is, it's like two sides of the same coin, operational excellence, process, briefs, debriefs, preparation, focus, trust, and then you add in this glad to be here mindset. Music. John Foley shares how management can stimulate performance by creating a culture that values expression of gratitude and appreciationfor opportunities, co-workers, and clients. Our first conversation of the new year is with a former navy jet pilot. And then reverse engineer, what are you thinking about? It was during his tour with VMFAT-101 that Foley submitted an application and pursued a position with the Blue Angels that was almost derailed when he accidentally deployed live ordinance from his aircraft on a training exercise. How did he get there? See, that's more important to me because I want to know if they're aware. You know it, every kid does it better than us. Even if Alabama is a better, let's say team, proven by the earlier performance, the chances of repeating that are so hard at this level. Then he looked at me very clearly and he said, "I'm going to give you one more chance. And you're welcome. Play Audio. John Foley:It's exactly that, but it's not just the coffee, right? Because I've never put the work in. Reaching that level of excellence required commitment, discipline and trust. It wasn't the physical side. Most of my flying was the joy of pushing yourself to absolute limits and connecting back to why you're doing that. It's something that defines who you are and your impact in the world. It's the mental side and the emotional side, probably is, you'll have to tell me, but in flying and with the blues, I like to say you needed to connect the heart and the head because it wasn't enough to be just in your head. The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy. I think, at the end of the day, it's all about other people. Jeff:What's the Gucci over under tonight? It's not just physical, right? Jeff:And I guess, just like so many of us, you've evolved into the new Gucci, the different Gucci that I really think the world benefits from having you. We get a choice of how we want to perceive a situation. You have to be amazing. As a Blue Angel, John consistently performed in an extreme, high-stakes environment, flying at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour in formations as close as 18 inches apart. John Foley:I remember it was something just clicked. I've heard about you, I've seen some of your stuff, and you surprise me the entire time because of so many different facets of you and who you are. Once I did that, I went out, I did okay. Okay. So, it's that front end and maybe the backend, the pre and the post is where the heart really truly has to exist. Actually, the glad to be here is a proactive way to not only snap you out of that downward spiral. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing, This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. John Foley:Oh, I like what you're saying, Jeff. He's one of the Top 10 most sought-after keynote speakers and trainers on leadership, performance, teamwork and trust. Erik Weihenmayer:How do you handle that, John? Fortunately, I have a lot of video of me in the briefing rooms and the debriefing rooms and actual flying. Coming out of the new Top Gun; Maverick movie and I'm emotionally moved. All Rights Reserved. It didn't mean I didn't get sidetracked into, hey, I want to play professional football or something like that. Because I'm not trying to teach people to be a Blue Angel pilot. To answer your question, from the ground, we've had spectators, they go, "Looks like you guys aren't even moving." I remember that. Three times in a row, I do not get the wires, which is John Foley:Then the fourth time, I was ugly, but at least I caught the wire. So Nick Saban and Alabama brought me in a few years ago. I had trained my own replacement, Thumper, and he was better than I ever was. It's like the Blue Angels. It was in Newport, Rhode Island place called Kwanzaa Point. John Foley:Right. As a Blue Angel, John consistently performed in an extreme, high-stakes environment, flying at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour in formations as close as 18 inches apart. With Curd Jrgens, May Britt, Theodore Bikel, John Banner. Visit our updated, Distributor/Logistics Provider of the Year, Food Automation & Manufacturing (FA&M) Conference & Expo. Then you start all over again because you've just raised the game. The importance of teams being in sync is a concept that John Foley understands profoundly. John Foley draws upon his experience as Lead Solo of the Blue Angels . Block out your own mind. BLUe aNGeLS John Foley "G lad to Be Here." those four words meant something very special to me when I was a Blue angel. I've recreated my whole career two decades ago. 01:18:45. Sorry. John Foley:A couple of things. The best climbers in the world, back when Erik and I climbed Everest, not necessarily could climb Everest. John Foley:No, actually, Erik, it's just the opposite. Thatsthewayukshop. They're just small. If you've ever been at an air show, it's visceral, right? But then, here's what I've noticed, JB, try this for me, try this tomorrow morning, then go back 24 hours and think about something that happened yesterday, or in this case, that happened today, because you're doing this tomorrow. I'm not. See, that's why this is what's Great. What it does is, let's take it as a personal situation. I thought on about that for a while, and I went, you know what? Erik Weihenmayer:John, you guys were talking about these parameters, but how big of a can you make? I have all this. You're a student pilot, man. I'll just be very too transparent as I'm closing here. Like, glad to be here. John Foley:Then you reverse engineer why it worked, and then put it in a way that other people can access it. For me, it's this purpose larger than self. I didn't do great, but at least I finished. $ 30.00. Yeah, I got you. Do you sort of put a flavor of that pocket into your personal practice as well as the way you teach it? I wasn't even thinking about this, but I was kind of flirting with this idea of, being in the military, being a blue angel, I could imagine that your heart gets left behind because you have to be perfect. John Foley:Yeah. You have to move on in some way at some point. If I'm complacent, that's what I got to worry about. Lt. Amanda Lee has made history as the first woman to serve as a demonstration pilot in the Blue Angels. I constantly want to learn, and I don't want to beat myself up in the learning. You don't want a whole bunch of safeties. John Foley:Then, as you get better, we actually try to fly within a three inch circle on the airplane, because here's the really dynamic part is, it's a three dimensional air show. I think those of us who've been deep in that pocket before, it just becomes this thing that we kind of have to feel it. How has it impacted your life? I was supposed to deploy on the midway, which was a four deployed carrier. Now I'm getting more scared, and the brain's talking to you, right? There's, could be hundreds of thousands of people, you're waving to the kids. Jeff:Wait, are you rolling & talking tonight? I just said, I bet you, I could be decent, but do I have the natural skills to be a musician? What I love about this was you were so real, you were so honest and clear, and you gave people a lot of thoughts and process and mindsets to really bring them to new places of growth. Climbing, flying jets, that's not hard. That's even worse. I know why it works and that allows you to do the how. What we're talking about, I don't think you can learn from a book. I mean, I do fly for fun, but it's no big deal. He's working with us now. Now, to answer that gut feeling JB that you asked about. I hated it, it sucked. This isn't working. Erik Weihenmayer:I've had a few perfect runs, but a lot of them are just reacting and responding to chaos. The way I do that is I just say, when my eyes open up, the first conscious thought that hits my head, I just go, what am I grateful for? I land the jet after that and now you-. Well, absolutely. Business people, we don't necessarily know. It starts with giving. You're like that. So, you have to do well in your landing grades. What does John Foley suck at? I'm thinking about you hanging on to a lift, right? That's where you go, okay, what is it going to take to get to where I want to go? However, not all the jets in the team fly at the fastest speeds. My name is Erik Weihenmayer. Or maybe he didn't realize it. John Foley:Once you finish this, you actually are going to deploy. Some people, I think, climb mountains, let's say this is something I know, like to almost escape, but for me, I think, okay, how do you come down from the mountain and move forward in your life and take certain things with you that help you with your happiness, with your growth, with your evolution as a human being? Every organization depends upon the performance of their people and their teams. So, you must have those clear mentors, direct mentors, but also maybe some accidental mentors. And we have a framework that we teach about that. They leave the event not only transformed, but also with a set of concrete tools to immediately begin a high performance climb. Jeff:Yeah. It was during these deployments that Foley received the Top Nugget Award for first-tour pilots in Carrier Air Wing Eleven, and was also recognized as one of the Top 10 of all air wing pilots. So, they've proven that. My hope is that those four words will have a deeper and richer meaning to everyone who reads this article. John Foley:The human brain will do that naturally. Copyright 2023. You're not doing this. I've gotten the chance to ascend Mount Everest, to climb the tallest mountain in every continent, to kayak the Grand Canyon, and I happen to be blind. Because I said the same thing. $ 9.99. Now I'm understanding. By a trigger, I mean a positive trigger that told myself, okay, that's done. Objective, come at each other at a thousand miles per hour closer. John Foley:Sorry for that little blurb, but that's-. For my life, very quickly, is on the teams, on the Blue Angels, you go into that assignment knowing exactly how long you're going to be there. John Foley:That's basically what he was saying. Some days you're just glad to be alive, but rarely, it meant that. Is that what I think the states that we got into, no one taught me how to visualize. Toms Del Coro Blue Angels at Miramar Air Show 2014 . Jeff:All right. In this brand new interview, Gucci candidly dives into his navy experience and opens the discussion with his upbringing as a German born army brat and the influence his father had on him to pursue a military career. It goes, woo. They are one of the largest one percenter motorcycle clubs in the United Kingdom. There must be a lot of things like that, that you've really tried to take with you from being a Blue Angel. He retired from active duty after 27 years of distinguished service and joined Check-6, a global leader in optimized performance and safety solutions serving the most demanding industries, where he directed business development and corporate strategy for the North American Division. 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. I had a better snap the first time, whatever. I had done really well in all the other phases, and this is the last phase. Second night landing, I miss all the wires, it's called the bolter. They just run by so quickly that I'm seeing a continuum. Print page John. Vintage Pair of Old Foley James Kent White Plate with Red Floral and Bird Pattern 10 Inch Plates. They know the nuance. I think the first thing, Erik, that I've learned over time is I like to say there's two beliefs. Here's what's interesting. Jeff:Okay, so let's back up a little bit. This was after the two had a strained pre-flight brief on the tarmac that was famously documented in the film The Blue Angels: Around the World at the Speed of Sound. I'm a emergency room PA. they have even more significance to me today. John Foley:See, that's a big difference. $3.00 shipping. There's also a link to shoot me an email with any suggestions for the show, or any ideas you've got at all. Blue Angels' John "Gucci" Foley. Then you start landing jets on aircraft carriers. And what discoveries does he continue to make today? As a Blue Angel, John consistently performed in an extreme, high-stakes environment, flying at speeds of more than 500 miles per hour in formations as close as 18 inches apart. John 'Gucci' Foley, the legendary Blue Angel's lead solo pilot, has perfected the art of inspiring and instructing organizations big and small to achieve more using the very practices he learned and mastered with the Blue Angels. I was doing it before them. Am I waking up this morning? Erik Weihenmayer:I just imagine that the heart piece might almost get in the way. That's where I had to make the big leap. Erik Weihenmayer:Or you get internal with yourself and you start making mistakes or something, like how pitchers in pro baseball get in a slump or something. You don't start flying 36 inches, 18 inches from another jet. John Foley:Because you got some off Georgia defensive lineman who got their butt handed to them. She joins hundreds of other women who have served with the Blue Angels . Learn more about glad to be here foundation. A practical model for living out his message that works in other organizations as well as within the Blue Angels. I'm in Sun Valley. I think the hack now is that we're realizing you can get to that flow state through finding that practice and being centered. Research shows that teams and individuals that embrace a positive mindset as a core belief improve communication, inspire commitment and buy-in to group objectives. You're just trying to survive the airplane. I'm not a pilot anymore. I love it because I'm in front of groups all the time blah, blah, blah. March 25 to 26: Barksdale Air Force Base . But my whole point is that I fell into what I do now, which is I went to a seminar on personal growth, and I'm always trying to improve myself. Here's what's interesting. I got goosebumps because yeah, it's no longer about me. But since then, yeah, I had a lot of inadvertent mentors. Team Oneness The National Naval Aviation Museum is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. to current Department of Defense (DoD) ID cardholders. 301, taxi you over to the six pack, shut it down. John Foley:At some point, you become a Blue Angel, and we take our pilots from the instructor ranks. More like this. 0:39. John Foley is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, Sloan Fellow at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, leadership expert, speaker and Gratitude Guru. I mean, it's just not meant to be. Erik Weihenmayer:You thunk yourself out of it. I've taught myself to block out distractions. The larger clubs are Hells Angels MC, Outlaws MC and Satans Slaves MC.. Like the vast majority of one percenter motorcycle clubs, the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club predominately ride Harley Davidson motorcycles. There's fundamentals that work like breathwork, like my morning routine, what do I do when I wake up in the morning? Erik and I are like old aged salty mountain guys. Jeff:Well, they are. They have more to win. Guess what? To survive in those circumstances he relied on a culture of high trust, leadership and teamwork. Anyway, got talked into doing recitals, and it is so funny because I get so freaking nervous in front of a group of 50 parents, and I'm surrounded by like sixth graders. We're constantly in a state of training. For nearly 20 years, I was a commander in the US Navy and became Lead Solo Pilot for the Blue Angels. I'm in my jet training, it's called A-7 Corsairs. The significance of these events were not lost on the Blue Angels Lead Solo Pilot, John Gucci Foley, who joins this episode of Blue Angel Phantoms to share insights and behind the scenes stories from that now famous 92 European tour, as well as his naval career that spanned 17 years and saw him ascend to the rank of Commander. Scared to me means I'm aware, I'm present. You got a chance to let the whole, we call it, lay it on the table, let the whole team know that A, you're number one, aware that you have made a mistake. We can only do so much with ourselves. 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. Let's bring it out. What does it look like in this environment? I'm scared all the time. I'm going to be proactive. Because think about when you're teaching someone to climb. Well, I got to go here because it's just a thought that's on my mind. Erik Weihenmayer:And what's an example of a fear-based belief that maybe you have had that you had to struggle with or work through? So, yes, I think that's the glad to be here. The Blue Angels must be closely aligned in thought and action in order to accomplish their mission. John Foley:Now, if I get outside of those parameters, let's say I move three feet and I don't clear the formation, but when you move that far off, you have to get out of the way because you're not stable. I'm not doing it as a career. No, here's the challenge I have. Now everybody and their dead grandma can. I'm so glad that we could share, and that you guys, your community, your audience is so powerful, and they've got stories that are way more powerful than ours when it comes to overcoming adversity and making a difference, and that's what I want to acknowledge, is that everybody has a great story. I'm grateful to be healthy. We have a debrief. I don't know the business side. You're upside down, you're rolling. That's what's really interesting about, really the military as a whole, but definitely the Blue Angels, is we just keep raising the bar. Bottomline is, we fly jets off aircraft carriers. John Foley:Now, having said that, I still get out and do it. You're not sick of them dogs? I believe, in all our jobs, we got to paint the picture of what the extreme looks like first. You're in the zone. But you put in like 200 hours, not 10,000 hours. Now, you can do it however you want. John Foley is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford School of Business, and an expert in the how of High Performance teams. Number one, Alabama, Nick Saban, that program is probably one of the strongest programs I've ever seen. We call it a brief room, but really, it's mental preparation before we go flying. Can you actually call your own mind on demand to be in that state, and for how long can you hold it? What are we going to do going forward? I mean, you got the energy of the crowd, the noise of the jets going overhead. John Foley -Blue Angel. I remember my daytime went well. Both of you have been my heroes too. I'm appreciative to have this opportunity in my life, to do things that most people don't get a chance to do, but more importantly, to benefit others. I'm going to guess ask, were you doing breathwork and meditation when you were with the Blue Angels or is this-. Yeah, they're two points favorites, but here, this is the cross section of everything we've really talked about, which is you can line up the best pilots in the world. Then we give it away. It was some of those things that you talk about. I remember, Mark, 12-years-old, my dad took me to an air show. "Blue Angels are Navy fighter pilots. Full stick deflection, roll, ready, hit it, roll. If I put the work in and the effort in, I could achieve that. PENSACOLA, Fla. - The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, released their 2023 air show schedule at the International Council of Air Shows convention, Dec. 7, 2021. I think, even more important, is in the briefing room, if you have ever been to one of my presentations, you see, I take people into our preparation.

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