John “Gucci” Foley

Former Lead Solo Pilot, Blue Angels®

Keynote Speaker to over 1,500 Organizations Worldwide, Former Blue Angels Lead Solo Pilot, Sloan Fellow from Stanford Business School, Bestselling Author, and Mindset Master!

Fee range:  In-person (30-90 minutes): $47k + $3K Air travel fee + 2 nights Hotel & Ground Transportation fees; $70k International + 3 nights Hotel & Ground Transportation fees
Travels from: Sun Valley, ID
Virtual: $25k

What if the legendary Blue Angels Culture of Excellence could be replicated and scaled?

Since 2015, 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 in the world such as, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Goodyear, Chevron, Lowe’s, Marriott, Hilton, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA, Penske Racing, Sprint, Motorola, Merrill Lynch, Mass Mutual, AMC Theatre, Norton Lifelock, Capital Group, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GE, American Hospital Association, Mayo, Merck, Palo Alto Networks, Sunovion, Gillette, McDonalds, Stanford Business School, Global Sports Summit, and numerous CEO Summits to name a few.

He is the former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, Bestselling Author of Fearless Success, an expert in the How of High Performance teams and ‘The Guru of Gratitude.’ 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. To survive in those circumstances he relied on a culture of high trust, leadership and teamwork. John employs the intense realities of his aviation career as a metaphor to inspire – breath life into – teams to reach for their highest potential and sustain excellence under dynamic change. John’s presentations are highlighted by:

  • An energizing delivery that inspires High Performance with a grateful mindset.
  • Awe inspiring storytelling and electrifying video of the legendary Blue Angels in action.
  • A contagious attitude of gratitude that he calls Glad To Be Here®.
  • A unique approach that equips others to take the same journey toward excellence, teamwork and transformation.

In 2011 John founded the Glad To Be Here Foundation. John donates 10% of his speaking fees to charities through the foundation. The program has donated over $2 million to 380+ charities and impacted thousands of lives globally including sponsoring 47 children in 47 countries. It’s part of his mission to connect a shared ‘purpose larger than self’ with every organization.

High Performance and Culture of Excellence:
High Performance Mindset, is a process, and a commitment to a culture of excellence that accelerates every day performance and achievement.

Teamwork:
Blue Angel precision is built on a solid foundation of teamwork around a common objective or CenterPoint. Unified alignment collapses barriers and creates a powerful culture of action. John Foley is a teamwork keynote speaker and former Blue Angels Solo Pilot that challenges today’s leaders to inspire collaboration and elevate trust among teams.

Teamwork is the collective potential of individuals harnessed to create an exponential outcome of a unit. Effective teamwork requires many variables including trust, communication, a belief in purpose greater than self, and a common goal.

A CenterPoint is a single reference point or a shared goal that holds the collective focus of a team. The concept of CenterPoint can be used to create unified, powerful action in any organization. A well and clearly communicated CenterPoint helps individuals maintain vision of goals and objectives. For teams, an effective CenterPoint keeps actions focused on priorities, while inspiring collaboration, which leads to faster outcomes, innovation and elevated trust.

Identifying and aligning your teams on a CenterPoint keeps action directed toward desired outcomes while still allowing teams to be adaptable.

Trust:
Picture this: two jets, on a collision course, 1000 mph rate of closure, and the goal is to miss the other jet by a wingspan. An extreme trust makes this maneuver possible, and when that relationship and process is transposed onto the world of business, the results are incredible.

How would your teams perform if there was complete inherent trust in each other and the organization? Implicit contracts are all around us. They bind our world together, and they are part of the natural fabric of any business. Research shows that vocalizing contracts and establishing them in a formal agreement can lead to increased productivity because both employees and managers recognize the risk inherent in breaking trust contracts.

Acknowledging and improving these agreements can have substantial positive effects. Because contracts permeate the entire organization, turning your attention to them has the ability to elevate both trust in individuals and teams.

Contracts present an opportunity to build trust. Trust is well known as a necessary component—if not the most important variable—of successful teams.

Leadership:
The Blue Angel approach to leadership is unique and inspires trust through confidence, with open and honest communication. Every team member is a leader driving expectations.

John Foley is a top leadership keynote speaker and former Blue Angels solo pilot that challenges leaders to build trust, improve performance, and create elite teams.

Teams become elite because of leadership, a commitment to excellence and a proven process. As companies transform their DNA and pivot their business to compete in the new digital paradigm, the ability to develop transformational leadership and enable workforce evolution is a critical competitive advantage.

The potential of elite performance lives within every individual, every team and every organization. It takes intentional leadership to enable that potential and turn it into focused action.

Innovation in Performance & Transformation:
In the digital age, innovation and transformation surrounds us. Engaging with advanced mid-stream requires a unique mindset. Once you’ve arrived, how do you sustain change?

Every organization is faced with some form of transformation based on a changing and dynamic business environment. A global economy, changing consumer behaviors and the digitization of every industry has created tremendous pressure for companies. Today’s leading companies adapt and create competitive advantage in the process.

Organizations that lead through change succeed. The two key elements to success are a reiterative process and a shift in culture. The Diamond Performance Framework was built specifically to drive performance and create the mindset and commitment to a culture of excellence.

Elevated Beliefs and Raising Performance Expectations:
People and teams operate at the level of their beliefs. When we raise the level of those beliefs, performance will follow.

A simple self-reflection on limiting and liberating beliefs can create new alignment and precision in individuals and teams.
Perception is reality. What leaders, teams, and individuals believe drives behavior and a level of performance that mirrors those beliefs. This is true for both the high end performers and the lower end performers. So what is the difference? What separates the best from the rest and what separates the best from the best?

Performance is directly linked to short term beliefs and long-term mindset. A leader’s mindset and emotional intelligence is a proven critical element of high performing teams. When you evaluate performance in any industry, leadership often is the differentiator above skill and experience.

Glad To Be Here® Mindset
Glad To Be Here® is a mindset that opens the door to higher performance. Teams and individuals that embrace a grateful, positive mindset as a core belief will improve their communication, inspire commitment and buy in to group objectives, all while opening their mind to enable new perspectives to recognize opportunities for success.

JFI Workshops:
John Foley offers a variety of programs including training, workshops, online curriculum and mentoring and coaching. Each program is individually tailored to address the challenges and desired business outcomes of our clients, through application of our methodology to existing business processes and environments. The programs offered differ in length ranging from one half day exposure to comprehensive annual engagements with follow on training, monitoring and consultation. JFI has provided these programs successfully to a variety of companies and industries including Health, Financial, Capital Investment, Logistics, Transportation and Information Technology.