mapping systems, 47, 48–50, 53, 54, 57, 58
Marine Corps, U.S., 179
marketing department, 25, 58, 61, 81, 83, 130, 171
market position, as key descriptor, 35, 37
market share, 63
marlin fishing, 195–98, 199
Marriott, 169, 192
measures of merit (MOM), 37–39, 60, 63, 64
medical profession, 195, 198–201
Merck, 85
Miami International airport, 119–22
Mickey’s, 166
Microsoft, 46, 99–100
Mig-29s, 21, 78, 103
mission objectives, 74–77, 81, 82, 86, 100, 141, 178, 190
briefing of, 98–99, 106
debriefing of, 142, 153
execution vs., 147–49
Future Pictures and, 75, 76–77, 98, 148
mission planning checklists, 90–91
Monday Night Football, 110
“motherhood,” 105–6, 202
movie industry, 62–63
MSN, 99–100
music industry, 53–54, 80
mutual support, 124, 130–32, 153
Napster, 53
NASCAR, 42, 43
National Football League, 42, 136, 156, 179
National Guard, U.S., 5, 164–65
Navy, U.S., 42, 114
Navy SEALS, 192
objectives see mission objectives
OEM (original equipment manufacturer), 35
On-Demand TV, 80
open planning, 58–61, 64–65, 71, 86
Operation Desert Storm, 12, 22, 51, 59, 60, 70, 89, 114, 134, 178–79
see also Gulf War
organizational errors, 150, 152
organizational execution see group execution
outsider perception, as key descriptor, 35, 38
ownership, as key descriptor, 35, 39
packaging department, 25
Papa John’s International, Inc., 166–69, 170
“parking lot rule,” 145
PC, 46
Pentagon, see Defense Department, U.S.
people, hiring of, 189–92
perception:
insider, 35, 38
outsider, 35, 38
Pfizer, 80–81, 136
Pfizer Australia, 80–81
pharmaceutical industry, 80–81, 85–86, 136
see also Merck; Pfizer
pilots:
aerobatic, 42–44
see also fighter pilots
Pittsburgh Steelers, 147
Plan-Brief-Execute-Debrief-Win cycle, 2–4, 18–21, 58, 65, 70, 158, 169, 198, 200
essential elements in, 70–72
see also Flawless Execution Engine
planning, 16, 19, 23–24, 71, 73–92, 103, 113, 194, 197
campaign rooms in, 60–61
for contingencies, 19, 82, 89–92, 97, 104, 109–11, 152, 153, 170, 202
as open process, 58–61, 64–65, 71, 86
six steps of see Six Steps to Mission Planning
see also Future Pictures; strategy
positive summations, in debriefings, 159
precommit, 107
prepping, for briefings, 94–96
process:
execution as, 10, 16, 17–21, 141, 184, 203, 207
planning as open, 58–61
product brands see brands, product
production, xiv
Prometheus Process, 22–23
quitting, task saturation and, 116–17, 123
Qwest, 14
rank, putting aside, 135–37, 143, 144–45, 146–47
Red Teams, 88–89, 92
Renoir, Pierre Auguste, 28, 34, 36, 204
requests for proposals (RFP), 23, 24
research and development (R & D) department, 25, 35, 97, 136
Resident Inns, 192
resources, 114
identifying available, 82–85, 86, 92, 153, 193
root cause analysis, 19, 150–54, 155
recurring causes in, 155–57
Rotary Club, 79
Rothelsberger, Ben, 147
Russell, Leland A., 179
Saigon, 45, 47
sales department, xiv, 16–17, 58, 61, 62, 81, 97, 105, 106, 129, 156, 171
scenario, briefing of, 99–100, 107
Schnatter, John, 166–69
scribe, 142
scripted responses, 91, 96, 107, 108, 111, 113, 163, 202
secondary objectives, 98–99, 106, 178
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 5, 163–65
shutting down, task saturation and, 116–17, 123
silos, 24, 75, 157
situational awareness (SA), 71, 197, 200, 202, 203
Six Steps to Mission Planning, 71, 73–92, 113, 153
available resources in, 82–85, 92, 193
contingencies and, 82, 89–92
courses of action/tactics in, 86–89
evaluating lessons learned in, 85–86, 92
mission objectives in, 74–77, 86
threats identification in, 77–82, 86, 92, 103
small business, 193–203
see also entrepreneurs; individual execution
Smart, Brad, 191
Southwest Airlines, 34, 192
spreadsheets, 131
standard operating procedures (SOPs), 105–6, 124, 125, 126, 155
standards, xiv, 5, 161–75, 184, 197, 202
at Afterburner, Inc., 169–70, 171–74, 183, 185
compliance vs., 162
as crucial in emergencies, 162–65, 175
of fighter pilots, 162–65, 169, 170, 184
in hiring, 173–74
at Papa John’s, 166–69, 170
rewards of high, 166, 169
training of, 170–71, 174–75, 185–86
STEALTH debriefings, 72, 139–60, 186
analysis of execution in, 150–55
establishing tone in, 143–47, 159
execution vs. objectives in, 147–49
high note—positive summation in, 159
lessons learned in, 142, 149, 155–57
set time/location/preparation in, 141–43
transferring of lessons learned in, 157–60, 172
strategy, 21, 41–55, 94, 142
aligning execution to, 42–44
centers of gravity and, 23, 50–51, 53–54, 55, 58, 59, 64, 67–68, 70, 71, 113, 204–5
in combat, 45–46, 47
creating, 47
exit, 45, 61–65
Future Pictures and, 16, 41–42, 43, 47, 53–55, 71, 99, 113
Leader’s Intent and, 57–65
mapping systems in, 48–50, 53, 55, 57, 58
misuse of, 22
tactics versus, 45–47, 52, 59
targeting in, 51–55
Sukhoi SU-31s, 21
supersonic jets, xi–xii, 14
see also F-15 fighters
surface-to-air missile sites (SAM sites), 18, 19, 20, 75–76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 85, 89, 90, 103, 107, 153
systems, 18, 22, 23–25, 202
centers of gravity in, 23, 25, 50–51, 53–54, 55, 58, 59, 64, 67–68, 70, 71, 113, 204
family, 205–7
internal vs. external, 49–50, 204
mapping out of, 47, 48–50, 53, 55, 57, 58
targeting in, 51–55
tactics, 68, 70, 71, 73, 85, 86–89, 92, 94, 179
briefing of, 106–8, 109
mission threats and, 77–78, 104
Red Team testing of, 88–89, 92
strategy versus, 45–47, 52, 59
timelines for, 87–88, 106–8
see also strategy
target fixation, 118
targeting, 51–55, 69
in combat, 51–53
task saturation, 71, 114–22, 123, 186
channelizing due to, 116, 117, 118–22, 123
checklists for, 124–27, 131, 153
in combat, 114–16, 118–19
compartmentalizing due to, 116, 117–1
8, 123
coping mechanisms for, 123–32
cross-checks for, 124, 128–30, 153
mutual support for, 124, 130–32, 153
shutting down due to, 116–17, 123
symptoms of, 115–22
teamwork errors, 152
telecommunications, 33–34
threats, 107, 153
briefing of, 103–4, 106
identifying, 77–82, 84, 86, 92
internal and external, 78–82, 92
Thunderbirds, 10, 42
timekeeper, 142
timelines, 87–88, 172
briefing of, 106–8
Top Grading (Smart), 191
training, 5–6, 22, 155, 156, 167, 168, 177–87
checklists in, 125–27
as continuous, 178–79, 186–87
demo/do in, 181–84
desired learning objectives in, 178, 180–81, 182
discipline in, 184–86
of fighter pilots, 1–2, 5–6, 10, 11–13, 16, 134, 162–63, 165, 178–82, 184, 186, 187, 190, 191
human factors in, 11–12
innovation and, 179–80
of standards, 170–71, 174–75, 185–86
syllabus at Afterburner, Inc., xiii–xiv
Turner, Ted, 77
Tylenol, 85–86
variables, 8–9, 110
Vermont Air National Guard, 5, 164–65
Viet Cong, 45
Vietnam War, 45–46, 47, 52, 158
VIOXX, 85
visualization, 95–96, 134
Voit, 83–84
Wal-Mart, 31, 48, 50
Warden, John, 22–23, 34, 51–52, 59, 178–79
weather, briefing of, 100–102, 106
Wi-Fi, 33–34, 80, 104
winning, 72
Winning in Fast Time (Warden and Russell), 179
workforce characteristics, as key descriptor, 35, 38
WorldCom, 14
World Trade Center, 163, 164
World War II, 11, 52, 179–80
wrap up, of briefings, 111
WTBS, 77
Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO), 79, 205
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The fact that a fighter pilot can write one book should be cause enough for celebration; the fact that this is my second book shows the importance of teamwork! As with most things in life, this book was a team effort, and I have been blessed with being associated with many great and talented teams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have been part of these teams and contributed to this work, and at Afterburner.
Big kudos must go to Doug Keeney, whose selfless hours, patience, and time spent with me coaching, editing, and guiding me through the process of becoming an author were invaluable. I especially thank my friend and partner Colonel John Warden and his staff for giving me the go-ahead to incorporate many parts of the Prometheus Process into this book and our teaching at Afterburner. Colonel Warden’s work has truly been an inspiration to us all. To Mr. Walt Hauck, whom I consider one of the greatest business leaders I have met in my nine years of corporate training; your leadership at Pfizer and the incredible work you have done with the Informatics team is nothing short of phenomenal. Thanks for validating our process, and thank you for all of your support.
To my close friend and business confidant Ron Bogdanovich, thank you for your time and effort in editing and keeping this book “real.”
And most of all I thank the men and women on our team at Afterburner, whose collective intellectual property is the foundation of this book and our way of life at Afterburner. You guys are Sierra Hotel! Special thanks must go out to Michael “Pisser” Kenny for all of his great work on debriefing and execution. I also recognize the great things our Intellectual Property Board has brought to this book, so I thank these team members: Rick “Dewey” White, Charles “Skammer” Skoda, Dan “Razin” Cain, Matt “Whiz” Buckley, Cat “Radar” Peck, and Steve “Richter” McShea for all of your great work on the Flawless Execution Model.
To my partners—my wingmen, the best in the world, Anthony “AB” Bourke and George “Gundawg” Dragush—without your critical eye, unwavering mutual support, and insistence to strive daily to “Flawlessly Execute” in your lives and at Afterburner, this book would not be possible.
ALSO BY JAMES D. MURPHY
Business Is Combat:
A Fighter Pilot’s Suide to
Winning in Modern Business Warfare
Copyright
Certain sections of the book pertaining to Future Picture, Systems, Centers of Gravity and Strategy are used with permission from Venturist Inc.
A hardcover edition of this book was published in 2005 by ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
FLAWLESS EXECUTION. Copyright © 2005 by James D. Murphy.
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EPub Edition © JULY 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-03657-5
First paperback edition published 2006.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Murphy, James D. (James Daniel), 1964–
Flawless execution: use the techniques and systems of America’s fighter pilots to perform at your
peak and win the battles of the business world / James D. Murphy—1st ed.
New York: Regan Books, © 2005.
xv, 218 p.: ill.; 24 cm.
ISBN 0-06-076049-4 (alk. paper) 2005046488
ISBN 13 978-0-06-083416-6 (pbk.)
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06 07 08 09 10 RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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