John "Gucci" Foley

Keynote Speaker to over 1500 Organizations Worldwide, Blue Angel Lead Solo Pilot, Stanford Fellow, Bestselling Author & ‘Gratitude Guru’

John "Gucci" Foley

Keynote Speaker to over 1500 Organizations Worldwide, Blue Angel Lead Solo Pilot, Stanford Fellow, Bestselling Author & ‘Gratitude Guru’

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Biography

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.

Speaker Videos

Speaking Reel

Virtual Highlight

Connect. Align. Commit

How Good Do You Want To Be

Mentimeter

John Foley Highlight

The John Foley Experience

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Speech Topics

Leading Through Change: CONNECT, ALIGN, COMMIT

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.

High-Performance

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.

Teamwork

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.

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.

Glad to Be Here Mindset

Glad to be here – is simply the Ethos way of living combined with the operation of excellence – takes teams to the next level – it connects, aligns, and commits an organization opening up its communication line.

The Glad To Be Here mindset stands at the very heart of high performance, with gratitude and generosity fueling that positive state of mind.

Glad To Be Here is the subtle ingredient that binds habits and behaviors of excellence.

Glad To Be Here will bring you to an understanding that will elevate and galvanize your mind.

Gratitude, an attitude that imbues the Glad To Be Here state of mind. It is the most overlooked personal quality, and yet probably the most crucial one.

Like a high standard professional camera lens, or an F18 radar screen, you will be able to bring everything into awareness and yet identify what you are supposed to be focused on. The Glad To Be Here mindset will provide you with the tools to do just that.

Having a Glad To Be Here mindset you will realize your own purpose in life and in your professional career. This is called “Purpose Larger Than Self”.

The feeling of happiness happens even before you even give is a Glad To Be Here mindset.

Generosity is a pillar of your own personal flourishing. What is the point of success if it cannot be shared with others?

Testimonials

"The first thing that comes to mind is how well John related precision and excellence from his experience as a jet pilot to our roles in healthcare. The correlations became real when John used terms we are all familiar with: pillars of excellence, huddles, careplans, debrief, etc. It was clear that he did his homework and had a clear understanding of what we do and who we aspire to be. That gave him instant credibility and made it meaningful to us. The other thing that I found inspiring is that he included the failures (or so they seemed at the time) he had to overcome on his journey to success. There is no doubt that Sharp is a better place because of John's influence."

- CEO, Sharp and Children’s MRI Center LLC

"A key priority for our sales organization in was to increase accountability and effectiveness with planning and execution. The Diamond Performance Model was a perfect complement to reinforce this priority. John’s keynote address at our national sales meeting, his monthly voicemails reinforcing these key points, as well as live workshops led by our sales leaders provided a framework to instill and reinforce the key concepts. The partnership with John Foley facilitated notable improvement in the sales team’s engagement and effectiveness!"

- Merck

"Thank you very much for your excellent presentation. Your message was extremely well-received by our delegates – several of whom have thanked us for including you in our program. We were very appreciative of the time and effort you had obviously taken to tailor your presentation to our manufacturing audience. Many professional speakers do not attempt to relate to the audience in the manner that you did. It was extremely well received by our audience. Your visuals were incredible! We would have no hesitation in recommending you to any group that would be considering your presentation."

- Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

"Thank you for helping ASTD make our International Conference and Exposition in Orlando such a success. We had over 8,500 people in attendance – an enthusiastic group of leaders who came together to learn from the best. Your high-energy keynote was a highlight and great close to the conference. Your stories, humor, and insights into how teams self-correct, learn, and improve were valuable messages for attendees to take home. It was great to end the conference on a high note, thanks to you."

- ASTD Workplace Learning & Performance