Lessons in Leadership from Top Gun and the Blue Angels

Last week, the EOS Worldwide team had the unique opportunity to sit with Dave Koss. David was a U.S. Navy Pilot who graduated from Top Gun and spent time as the Blue Angels’ Boss. In other words, he’s highly credible and has done some challenging things that require tremendous leadership when the stakes are high.

If you haven’t watched the Blue Angels documentary on Amazon Prime, I recommend it. It will give you an appreciation for the rigor and discipline required to fly those planes over 400 mph about 200 feet off the ground 18 inches apart from one another.

It’s a great lesson in teamwork, with everyone doing their part to execute a successful mission. But what struck me the most during our conversation was the focus on planning, preparation, execution, and continuous improvement.

Dave taught us that Navy pilots spend about ten times as much time planning, briefing, and debriefing as they do flying. They follow a PBED process to help them consistently achieve what mere mortals consider impossible.

Plan, Brief, Execute, and Debrief (PBED) is the process they use to achieve extraordinary results. You can use the same process in your business to shoot for perfection and end up in the land of excellence.

Step 1: Plan

Whenever you want to accomplish anything, it is worth meticulously planning how you will do it. Every step and every action is thought through, and you know where you are going and how you will get there.

Step 2: Brief

This step is the one I found most interesting and the one most often ignored. Navy pilots practice flying over water and take the same path they plan to take over land. Blue Angels sit around a table and conduct a group visualization of what they will do during the actual flight.

Imagine sitting with your team and visualizing and rehearsing a perfect customer experience. Not many will take the time to do that.

Step 3: Execute

Executing is the most straightforward step in the process. Just do what you planned and practiced doing. Work the plan and adjust to the current environment.

Dave taught us that our role as leaders during execution is to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong and give the team credit for everything that goes right.

Step 4: Debrief

Debriefing what worked and what didn’t work is the most crucial step in the process. By reviewing everything about your plan, brief, and execution, you can learn and grow. It’s the only way to strive for perfection. It creates a feedback look where everything gets better and better over time.

Every company can implement the PBED process into its culture. It’s critical to your long-term success.

At EOS Worldwide, we have room for improvement, especially on the Brief step. It doesn’t come naturally. Our EOS Implementers follow this process closely because their job relies upon mastering their craft, but our team doesn’t. 

The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of EOS Worldwide. I am not affiliated with the United States Navy, Top Gun®, or the Blue Angels® in any capacity. Any references to these entities are purely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as an endorsement or official statement from them. Additionally, no logos or stylized representations of these trademarks are used in this post.