John Foley

Drive the Ball: Sustaining Excellence & Leading Through Change

We live in a time of rapid development. Business culture is evolving and mergers, acquisitions, and global expansion help create new opportunities. Smart companies keep ahead of the curve, but those willing to push the limits of what is possible - the .01 percent - are breaking the curve.
Speaker John Foley has worked closely with top professionals from Fortune 500 companies, major league sports franchises, and healthcare service corporations and has discovered that at the crux of their challenges is one burning question: How do they adapt to change?
"Drive the Ball" is the answer to that question. This keynote will help you in the following areas:

• Create sustained innovation: Foley will share how creating group unity helped him innovate maneuvers for the Blue Angels
• Communication & Collaboration: Foley will help you unlock the wealth of experience in your organization
• Continuity & Mastery: using the "diamond performance framework," Foley will help you master the Blue Angel methodology
• Proactive vs. Reactive Habits: Foley will teach you the proactive habits of top Navy pilots that can help your organization adapt to changing business realities

"Drive the Ball" equips companies with actionable tools that create a culture of sustained excellence and reinforce the "diamond performance framework." Foley's tailored messages resonate with even the most diverse audiences. His enthusiasm is contagious and his story is inspirational.

The High-Performance Climb

Every organization depends upon the performance of its people and its 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 necessary to achieve ever-higher levels of performance. He shows how to create buy-in and commitment to 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.

Employee Commitment

When people are deeply engaged in their work and feel valued, they are more productive and elective, leading to a positive impact on the bottom line. 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 of 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 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 challenge and stimulate each other to achieve higher levels of team and individual performance. In this dynamic presentation, 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 a unity that leads to consistent and elective results.