The Outstanding Organization: Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence

6Conclusion: Adopting Habits that Pay

If we did the things we are really capable ofdoing, we would literally astound ourselves.

—THOMAS EDISON

The Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s celebrated flight demonstration squadron, is arguably one of the most outstanding organizations on the planet. With 4,620 air shows—or demonstrations, as they call them—under their belt at this book’s printing, they’ve never canceled a show owing to aircraft maintenance issues and have canceled only two shows owing to pilot-based reasons. This is an astounding performance record. They’ve established the organizational behaviors and habits that enable the members to perform death-defying maneuvers at speeds near mach 1 with as little as thirty-six inches between the wingtips ...