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Jim "Murph" Murphy    

Business & Military Leadership Expert, Founder of Afterburner, Flawless Execution Speaker, Former Air Force Pilot & National Guardsman

James D. “Murph” Murphy, the Founder and CEO of Afterburner, Inc., combines extensive experience from both his military and business careers. As a former U.S. Air Force instructor pilot, he logged over 1,200 hours in the F-15 and accumulated over 3,200 hours of flight time in various high-performance aircraft. During his time with the 116th Fighter Wing’s Chief of Training for the Georgia Air National Guard, Murphy's role was crucial in maintaining the readiness of 42 combat-trained fighter pilots, preparing them to deploy globally within 72 hours. His leadership extended to flying missions across diverse regions including Central America, Asia, Central Europe, and the Middle East.

Before his military service, Murphy had a thriving career in imaging equipment sales, achieving a 500% increase in his company’s sales. Later, as the Director of Sales for a small paint company, he applied military precision and strategies to the business sector, which significantly boosted the company’s revenue from $5 million to $52 million annually. These experiences were foundational in developing the Flawless Execution Model—a continuous cycle of planning, briefing, executing, and debriefing. Recognizing the broader applicability of these principles, Murphy established Afterburner Incorporated in 1996, a firm that has significantly influenced leadership and execution strategies in various corporations worldwide.

Murphy’s achievements and contributions have been recognized widely. He has been featured on the Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 500/5000 list 11 times and is an Inc. 5000 Hall of Fame Honoree. His insights have been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Newsweek, and Meetings & Conventions Magazine, and he has appeared on media platforms such as CNN, Fox News, CNBC, and Bloomberg News. Additionally, he was named one of Atlanta’s top 50 entrepreneurs by Catalyst Magazine. His firm, Afterburner, has impacted over 85% of the U.S. Fortune 50 companies, transforming their performance and management strategies across 24 countries.

Murphy has shared insights on global stages with other prominent figures like Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Colin Powell. He has also been a panel member of the League of Extraordinary Minds with influencers like Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey. Murphy is a prolific author, having penned seven books that include "On Time and On Target", "Courage to Execute", "Down Range", "The Debrief Imperative", "The Flawless Execution Field Manual", "Flawless Execution", and "Business Is Combat". His thought leadership is also sought after at prestigious business schools such as Harvard, Wharton, Cornell, Emory, Duke, MIT, and Fudan University in Shanghai, China, enhancing the strategic execution capabilities of future business leaders.

Speech Topics


Leading from the Future

Most leaders focus on the daily tasks and only spin their wheels on what is urgent. Sought after global business consultant and former fighter pilot Jim “Murph” Murphy will teach audiences how only a clearly defined future can get you where you want to go.

Drawing from his remarkable journey, from a Kentucky farm boy to the cockpit of high-performance aircrafts, flying missions worldwide in just sixteen months, Murph emphasizes how the power of envisioning a clear future changes everything.

Murph illustrates the path to painting a clear, detailed, goal focused mission that will transform your team and company to greater level of trust and success. His insights and captivating stories from the cockpit are interwoven with proven business frameworks, offering audiences inspiration and actionable strategies to excel in today's dynamic business landscape. A clearly defined mission combined with resolute focus are central themes in Murph's message transforming mere discussions into transformative components of your team's future strategies.

Courage to Execute

Addressing Complexity. Becoming Agile. Leading through Change. Innovation.

Operational Excellence. Developing Leaders. Retaining Top Talent.

Do these sound like a myriad of challenges, many of which you and your organization today face? Do your strategies to address and excel in these areas seem disconnected and paralyze your people? Would you believe a firm has spent the last two decades evangelizing and demonstrating that in fact they are all connected? And better still, there is a simple, holistic set of tools and techniques you can apply to address them all - simultaneously?

Aligned with the release of his 5th book Courage To Execute, Jim not only shares how leaders can address these challenges and seize these opportunities, he details the simple, scalable process that elite military teams and key clients leverage to survive, thrive and dominate where competitors fall short.

Leveraging video, corporate and military analogies and Lessons Learned from his work advising Executives at 85% of the Fortune 50 and dozens more, this keynote will inform and empower leaders to scope the environment, drown out the noise, align strategy to execution and empower leaders to demonstrate a Bias to Action – the secret to winning in the today’s business environment.

Aligned to Scale

Great leaders don’t make decisions based on the past, they compel their teams forward by bringing alignment towards the same mission. But how do the best leaders motivate their teams to complete the same mission? They create ultimate buy in by communicating a clear mission and giving everyone a seat at the table.

Employees want to be heard across all levels and know they are part of the vision, mission and intent of the company they work for. As we’ve seen again and again over the past few years, employers are struggling to keep their talent which detracts dramatically from profits and the overall success of the organization. Teams need a clear, simple and compelling mission. A mission where everyone understands the vital role they play, feel their input matters and the ultimate goal they are collectively working towards.

Founder and Chairman of the immensely successful Afterburner Inc. management consulting and leadership training firm, he has been part of the team that has transformed the landscape 85% of the U.S. Fortune 50 and hundreds of Global 1000 corporations in 24 countries. Jim’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Financial Times, Newsweek, and Meetings and Conventions Magazine; and on national media networks like CNN, Fox News, CNBC and Bloomberg News. In addition to being a bestselling author of seven books, Murphy is also Co-Founder and former Chairman of Advanced Care Partners, a rapidly growing home healthcare company that has been serving our nations medically fragile children since 2010. Advanced Care Partners has made Inc. Magazines list of fastest growing companies every year since 2016.

News


Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals' Leadership Summit Features ...
Former fighter pilot, Jim "Murph" Murphy, delivered his nationally acclaimed Flawless Execution® model to more than 60 members of Bayer Healthcare ...

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