Red Arrows pilot is in the business of excellence
AN ex-Red Arrows pilot from Southport has written a book, The Business of Excellence, revealing his in-depth knowledge of what it takes to build a high performance team after 25 years of experience in the air force and consultancy.
Justin Hughes, from Ainsdale, attended Merchant Taylors’ before studying maths, physics and economics at KGV College.
He first joined the army at the age of 18 after being commissioned for one year.
During a Freshers’ Fair at Bristol University where he studied physics, Justin signed up for free flying lessons and went on to apply for the Royal Air Force.
The 49-year-old served as a military fighter for 12 years and became executive officer on the RAF Red Arrows, taking part in the Southport Air Show from 2000 to 2003.
Justin founded his own consultancy firm Mission Excellence and is also a highprofile conference speaker.
The father-of-two said: “After being a fighter pilot, the normal route for people would be to go on to become a commercial pilot. However, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to do something where I could use my military experience in other ways.
“Many people’s opinions of being a fighter pilot comes from the likes of Top Gun and the reality, if you ignore the flying, is that fighter pilots do a lot of complicated tasks, working in a huge team with people from many different backgrounds and you’re under a lot of pressure.
“I’ve tried to deconstruct what is it that allows them to do things well in the Air Force. “I’ve tried to capture 25 years of experience in the Air Force and as a management consultant afterwards, into one simple model for high perfomance.”
The book looks at the challenges of high performance and leadership and is illustrated with interviews and case studies from the military, sporting and corporate worlds.
Justin’s book, The Business of Excellence is available on Amazon.