Erik Weihenmayer:I could sense my breath. I can't teach climbing right now. Erik Weihenmayer:My hands sweat, my hand shake. The idea is you got to work way up to it. I hated it, it sucked. At a recent sales kick-off, I had the pleasure to listen to John Foley (call sign Gucci) who was a Naval Aviator, Blue Angel pilot and Stanford Business School graduate. If I'm complacent, that's what I got to worry about. There's a lot of opportunity here. John Foley:No, 100%. I think what you're describing, because I felt that so many times too, is the result of the focus. John Foley:Yeah. Think about it in your own life. Now, do I get it perfect? I've been doing this for about six months now, learn, grow, give. I didn't say that day, I hope to do that. I want to go into the entrepreneurial world. When you call them out, because you did all that front load work of, I really care about you, you're my colleague and I love you, how do you do that effectively when you call someone you out and say, "You screwed up," but without doing it in a threatening way? What if I knew this back when I was on the team? You're a student pilot, man. Blue Angels 2023 air show schedule. They don't know when their last game's going to be. Jeff:Okay. Coming out of the new Top Gun; Maverick movie and I'm emotionally moved. I think Erik also, and I, have had many, many conversations because we practice as well, but I wish I would've had that skillset back when things were really, really hectic, whether it was climbing or life or anything else, but I didn't really know it. 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? I think, at the end of the day, it's all about other people. See, that's more important to me because I want to know if they're aware. What was that like for you? That's, I feel for me, has been the most luckiest part of my life that I've been able to somehow connect with great people who have helped me on the fast track. John Foley:Sometimes that bar is raised by weather. Our first conversation of the new year is with a former navy jet pilot. 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. It's been a struggle to live what I call a no barriers life, to define it, to push the parameters of what it means. 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. Well, look at See the sleeve there, glad to be here. (singing). I constantly want to learn, and I don't want to beat myself up in the learning. Because I've never put the work in. There has to have been a time during that process that you got completely shit on, or you were like, oh, well Or somebody said, "Forget it, Foley. Jeff:I know. 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. Scared to me means I'm aware, I'm present. 01:18:45. The Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA) is excited to announce the keynote speaker for their 41st Annual Conference & Exhibition in February, 2022: John Foley. And it's different. Jeff:All right. I love it because I'm in front of groups all the time blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's a deliverable on work. And here is in the present moment, right? I think you just hit on it. You have to be amazing. The fifth and sixth jet fly in solo formation. It's not straight and leveled. I mean, that would be the obvious sort of reach on that. Foley would enjoy a three year tenure with the Blue Angels that would see him progress from the teams narrator to a position in the demonstration as a solo pilot. It didn't mean I didn't get sidetracked into, hey, I want to play professional football or something like that. Then the debrief, what you're specifically asking about, which I think is really critical, is we go through stages, right? BLUe aNGeLS John Foley "G lad to Be Here." those four words meant something very special to me when I was a Blue angel. John Foley:A couple of things. Jeff:See, that's the PhD level of what we're talking about right there. You're not sick of them dogs? A third of my support crew is new every year. There's, could be hundreds of thousands of people, you're waving to the kids. In the SEC. 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. No kidding, 300%. I'll be honest with you, JB. Erik Weihenmayer:Yeah, for sure. I'm not qualified. I'm not a pilot anymore. John Foley:Thumper and I, two opposing solos. To me, limiting beliefs are fear based. Those are the skills that we can learn. Grounded by his commanding officer and his letter of recommendation revoked, Foley openly shared his lessons learned from the mishap during his interview with the Blue Angels and was selected as the Teams narrator for the 1990 air show season. I feel like when I'm in the middle of a code, I pull my heart away. He shows how to create buy-in and commitment for a teams vision and goals, leading to clarity that drives execution decisions. You've really tapped into it, and I think this is good news for everybody, right? However, after receiving his Wings of Gold in 1984, and in alignment with the needs of the Navy, Foley would initially be assigned to Attack Squadron 22 (VA-22) flying the A-7 Corsair II. At first, you're like, I wouldn't say you black out, but everything goes by so fast. It wasn't the physical side. John Foley:Because you got some off Georgia defensive lineman who got their butt handed to them. You're like that. So, we're constantly in a state of hiring. Now I'm understanding. Then we go into a very scripted, watch the tape, talk about little things. That's just a one sentence. All of a sudden, as the complexity goes up, so do your skills. Erik Weihenmayer:And does that lead sometimes to reaching out to a friend or something like that, somebody who you know is hurting or struggling or just needs you? There's a lot of crowds trying to get in there, the parking. Thanks so much and have a great day. Not, you were off by one degree or 0.1 degree. Otherwise, it's over.". No Barriers is a registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit Guidestar Platinum Rating Jeff:Yeah. 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. It's just so hard and so intense. By a trigger, I mean a positive trigger that told myself, okay, that's done. That's exciting to me. The momentous visit served as a way to ease tensions between the once Cold War rivals. That's one of the rare professions that, that's true. I didn't realize what I realize now, how powerful that really was. It's like, oh, that would be cool, but geez, that's a pipe dream. Erik Weihenmayer:Sure. What does John Foley suck at? He shows how a culture of thankfulness engages employees on an intellectual and emotional level to create deeper commitment and raise levels of performance. You're not doing this. If someone missed something, then you point it out to them. 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. Objective, come at each other at a thousand miles per hour closer. 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. She joins hundreds of other women who have served with the Blue Angels . But I would say first off, Erik, we were making tons of mistakes flying. It's not happening. John Foley:Once you learn how to do it, it's easy. 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. My name is Erik Weihenmayer. That's a good question, because I was thinking about that in a similar way, but a little bit differently. John Foley:But what's interesting is that if you expand that time out, because in between each maneuver, we have communication. In what was once thought to be an impossibility, the Blue Angels made history in 1992 by becoming the first United States flight team to fly over the skies of Moscow, Russia. (167) 19.00. John Foley shares how management can stimulate performance by creating a culture that values expression of gratitude and appreciationfor opportunities, co-workers, and clients. They shut me down. John Foley:I think that's important in anything we're learning. 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. 301, taxi you over to the six pack, shut it down. If you acknowledge that empathy, that compassion, and then actually take the action to reach out to them, amen. John Foley:Well, guys, I want to say the honor's mine, and the thanks are for you. Honestly, JB. Just stop in the present moment because your mind's taking you somewhere where you don't want to go. John Foley:Yeah. John Foley:And it was scary. I could read up on it. They get to talk about what they thought, and then anything that they need to do that's a safety, a safety's out of parameters, hopefully you don't have a lot of those. John Foley:No, I love it. 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. John Foley:It's exactly that, but it's not just the coffee, right? . By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link, or continuing to browse this site, you agree to this use. Now everybody and their dead grandma can. $19.50. I'm constantly riding motorcycles. Then I went out and I tried it. The Blue Angels Motorcycle Club are a one percenter motorcycle club founded in Glasgow, Scotland in 1963.. That's a start. I go down there. We go around the table and everybody first gets a chance to say that, the general safe. Be sure to subscribe so you dont miss a single episode of this free, educational and uplifting podcast. Toms Del Coro Blue Angels at Miramar Air Show 2014 . John Foley:Yeah. I think that's, what's going to happen with Georgia tonight, and I think you and I are going to be prognosticators, extraordinaire here in few weeks when this thing airs, because Georgia's going to suck them, get them dogs going. Sorry. You're you're in that focused state. John Foley:Once you finish this, you actually are going to deploy. I break it down to four things, glad in this statement, first off means, that's to be grateful, to be appreciative. How do you sprinkle some Blue Angel pixie dust on top of the way that you present that pocket that we're all trying to find? As I think about though, with the jets, and maybe this is a good metaphor with your climbing, is we don't start as a Blue Angel. To survive in those circumstances he relied on a culture of high trust, leadership and teamwork. Today, Foley is a high performance keynote speaker that helps both corporations and individuals reach their full capabilities through lesions he learned while flying with the Blue Angels. It was during this same time period that Foley attended a Blue Angels air show and proclaimed to his father that one day he too would be a military aviator. And behind many of those awe-inspiring stunts and scenes was John Foley, Blue Angels pilot, entrepreneur, real estate investor, public speaker, and all-around inspiring human being. Guess what? I don't know the business side.