Kill and Survive: A Stealth Pilot's Secrets of Success | Bill Crawford | TEDxRexburg

Learn the secret to becoming the best in the world at what you do
Bill Crawford graduated from BYU with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He went on to fly Air Force fighters and bombers before studying entrepreneurship and finance at Harvard Business School, where he received an MBA in 2006. He has worked in sales, marketing and product development for Ventana Medical Systems, Inc, an award winning fast growth medical device company acquired by Roche in in 2008 for $3.4 billion. He currently teaches entrepreneurship and marketing at BYU-Idaho.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@jdepew]

Life changing mental model! Thank you! TL;DR Mission Framework: 1. Plan (39% of the time) 2. Execute (58% of the time) 3. Debrief (3% of the time) (Document the following): 1. What happened? Objectively reconstruct the sequence of events, without passing blame or judgment. 2. What went right? We want to keep doing these things. 3. What went wrong? Notice it’s not, “Who screwed up?” That’s very important. 4. Why? Find the root cause(s) of what went wrong. 5. What can we learn? To fuel the next planning cycle. Lessons learned get added to the Part files, Job files, or Knowledge base.

[@The762nato]

He has explained exactly the process I used to become a 5 time US rifle Champion , he is so absolutely correct . Even when I broke records it was back to evaluating the issue of the event ! Well stated !

[@RRRRobbbb]

Bomber pilot gives a Ted Talk. What does he wear? A bomber jacket, duh. Badass.

[@optimuscprime]

Hey. The tools of the trade.

[@JulesBartow]

Navy bomber jacket is better. Try taking off and landing on an aircraft carrier.

[@optimuscprime]

@@JulesBartow I would love too. And if you can scrape together an operational Tomcat I would jump at the chance.

[@gwillis9797]

@@optimuscprime 🤣

[@thegreatdogzilla5855]

@@JulesBartow Navy doesn't have bombers.

[@ken48229]

That was actually one of the most useful TED talks I have listened to I actually got information that I can use in my day-to-day life or just in my life.

[@jamesmudd4162]

What is the difference between day to day life vs just in my life?

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

It reminds me a little of the Kepner-Tregoe training used for troubleshooting problems. You ask where did it happen, where didn’t it happen, when did it happen, when didn’t it happen, etc. The military has spent a lot of money on the science of operational analysis. Most people aren’t aware of analysis techniques like this or how good they are.

[@Redbull_5757]

He won me on "when I was a little dude."

[@ShivamSharma-xz5je]

1:38 best response What a champ

[@SvenKolb]

Me 2 🙂

[@driverjamescopeland]

This video explains the #1 concept of damage control I try so desperately to explain to my wife. Once you arrive at the consequence of error, blame is out the window. Damage control is more about altering the future course of action, than the resolution of the error itself. Error is the result of poor course of action... but an error does not have to lead to a poor course of action, if properly addressed.

[@robertweekley5926]

James, If memory still serves, for Apollo's Trip to the Moon, it was said, they were only "On Course" just 3% of the Time! The other 97% was like this 5-Point Analysis, requiring Corrections, to get back on track! It was more like the travels of a snakes body, than a Dart, or what we think of, as a Rocket: straight to the point! On a moon Trip, you need to know, where will the moon be, when you get There!

[@Kimchi_Studios]

Women are wired differently so you have to explain to their emotions

[@Nghilifa]

@@robertweekley5926 Uh, no. On average, only 1 (sometimes two) MCC's (Mid-Course Corrections) were done on the way to the moon. The systems were THAT accurate.

[@attorneymom35]

We really just need chocolate, hot bubble bath, massage, then we'll pretty much do or listen to ANYTHING

[@coiledsteel8344]

@mind fornication Mgtow?

[@drp9630]

There are so many of these TED talks that I've listened to that really kind of go over what most of us already know and/or just take the entire clock time to get to a point that everyone in attendance knew was coming 14 minutes and 59 seconds before it was delivered. This talk is not one of those. Content delivery, the content itself and how relatable it is to almost anything was exceptional. Thank you very much!

[@k311ydcart3r]

Amazing how seldom I've seen this practiced in organizations I've worked in. Such a simple, common sense message. A.k.a., continuing improvement. I encourage everyone reading this to try hard to apply this in your situation in life.

[@Kryptik33]

He got me at the first statement about choosing to either not pay the price to become valuable, or choosing *TO* pay the price to become valuable, and have unlimited options. It started somewhere around the 0:35 mark for those interested.

[@aaronmccall4345]

This is a truly inspiring message. If you pay the price to be valuable, your options will be unlimited. Wow.

[@danmcool69]

when he talks about the "price" he means "effort"...

[@ludovicthevenet6768]

I like the way it's said. I on't really like the "unlimited" tho.

[@55Quirll]

@@ludovicthevenet6768 I would say you limit your own 'options', doors are always open, you just have to choose which one to take can keep on going. If you don't get what you want, don't quit, see what there is that is similar to what you want and go for it.

[@ludovicthevenet6768]

@@55Quirll Lol don't worry i'm just very factual and precise with words. But in maths, i'm kinda affraid to use words or concepts like unkimited. No matter the price i pay and how much i give of myself, i can't live in the second centurie, to take an overly simply example lol. Thanks for your concern and your attitude anyway, this kind of kindness and genuiness is rare online. take care.

[@saveriosalemme5366]

Aaron McCall I liked that too.

[@kevinkemble3718]

Bravo. This man as “a little dude,” had a definiteness of purpose. Never had to remake him a champion. Way to go sir!

[@robertprice9052]

I'm an Army guy. We use a format called AAR - after action review. Its What were wesusposed to do, what actually happened, how can we do it better next time. After I retired from the Army I used AARs running several schools. I used it coaching Track and Wrestling and teaching martial arts. There are several formats for debriefing, the important thing is that you do it. The need to recount and fairly assess your performance is invaluable. Theres a lot that the civilian world can gleem from the military to increase proficientcy and limit missed steps. Great talk! Thanks

[@chazgurrero3090]

This is the best talk ever. Everyone can walk away at the level of excellence to apply to each and every life.

[@zephyr5802]

A truly underrated TED talk.

[@ABC-vk5yh]

Tremendously succinct. I've always wanted a nice way to explain "work hard now for an easier later" and he nailed it. Great tone and delivery. Appealing and worth sharing with all young people. Will use this in my undergraduate class. Well done Mr. Crawford. Beautiful.

[@RobertJamesChinneryH]

ABC 123 good advice for the young folks ....kill kill kill....

[@FirstLast-fr4hb]

how to kill in mass without any emotional response other than feeling pleased with your ratings is probably not the best choice of example.

[@Meirele]

@@FirstLast-fr4hb You are missing the point of this presentation....sorry.

[@chrislattanzio6074]

Hands down, one of the most amazing Ted talks.

[@Meirele]

It's one of my favorites, too.

[@robertwhitehouse5557]

His Twitter account is suspended. Says all you need to know about Twitter.

[@jmw613]

Wow! Awesome. What happened What went right What went wrong Why Lessons learned Thanks for your wisdom!

[@cofounderkhai]

This is powerful. Thank you Bill for sharing.

[@costa2984]

I love it. I wrote it up and will incorporate especially that Debrief, going forward. thank you for taking the time to bring clarity into the fact that this works for Every and Any kind of mission one sets out to accomplish

[@robertchambers5821]

WOW! The nail was struck hard and accurately. I'm implementing this in my life.

[@KyokushinKichiKai]

Excellent presentation! Useful, adaptable, and always room to grow. Thank you Sir!

[@Rivanni1]

Wow, that's the best talk I've seen on here! You sir, are a mentor/instructor that I wish i had 20 years ago! Keep doing what your doing and enjoy your pizza and life... thanks

[@luisp.cuellar619]

Thank you very much , this is one of the most practical , simple , goof advice's i have heard or listen at , Totally worth to try it and bet it works . Have thought many times to create a feedback template for so many things , this is gold to me. Thanks again...!

[@troy9er]

Excellent, thank you for your service sir.

[@TEHGROUND]

Great talk, it's always good to remember both the good and the bad.

[@andrewheffel928]

Great talk. Be willing to put in the really hard work needed to be the best at what you do. When your job includes difficult assignments, plan, execute, debrief. During the debrief, ask what happened, what went right, what went wrong, why, and lessons learned. A formula for improving performance and success in life. Brilliant. Staff meetings in businesses could be improved by incorporating these questions. I have seen people do the same thing the same way repeatedly, and make the same mistakes again and again. They need to ask themselves these qiestions.

[@joashurban4506]

You have inspired me. Thankyou 🙂

[@aussiechris5904]

I work in the nuclear power industry, and we use the exact same analytical process after a job

[@turdfurg47]

And i bet the government implemented that process at your work. We have a lot of great things because of their investments like cordless power tools

[@MothaLuva]

Estrada603 And roughly 20 veterans a day committing suicide due to PTSD.

[@v.panoch7364]

"what went wrong" Duh ..

[@TheAaron3dg]

Thank you for sharing these insights, Mr. Crawford

[@sjosephy]

That's Airman Crawford to you, good sir.

[@Zany4God]

Great presentation with simple directions. Thank you for serving in the air force. Best wishes.

[@jameswasil8961]

This talk for me really excited and in about two minutes I am going to start a journey and ask the five questions in the plan, execute, and debrief sequences! Thanks for a great talk and for your service!

[@rathernotsay8185]

James Wasil good luck!

[@TalkAccelerator]

The debrief and implementing it is gold!

[@rickkimball6125]

Tremendous talk and full of life advice. One thing I have noticed and he mentioned, but didn't focus on re: the debrief....and it's the timing of the debrief. He mentions the fact he wanted to go home but they took the time to do a 2 hr debrief immediately after landing back at home. That is SO important. Too often, we 'get around' to debriefs, but it could be days or weeks later. By then, the information isn't fresh, or it's outdated. The fact they did the debrief immediately afterwards takes incredible discipline and shouldn't be overlooked.

[@rtrouthouse1506]

Powerful!! Thank You, Sir.

[@stevencooper787]

Hiya and greetings brother ! French Air Force (Rafale) pilot 😸

[@LemmunJuse]

@Cousin Vinny in

[@preteristlab-endtimes5683]

Thanks Bill. Just amazing!!!

[@michaellubinskyj6266]

Nice listen. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@RaivoltG]

I'd love to hear his stories about being a fighter pilot! He's doesn't speak like some pilots who feel the need to be super cool and act like they are the greatest there ever was. I'll bet if you met him, you wouldn't find out he is a pilot within the first 10 seconds! How cool would it be to have a few beers, pizza and listen to his stories! I'm gonna look and see if you have your own channel, if you don't have one, you should!! Great talk! Thank you very much for your service as well, you guys are willing to give your lives to protect the USA and its allies. You are all truly great Americans!!

[@AV4Life]

I know. He’s so humble when he could rightfully be the opposite. Makes me respect him way more!

[@Iovebeingwithmfamily]

Mr. Crawford shared incredible insights and truth that have become invaluable to me since hearing this message. Totally worthy of sharing, and this guy has great stage presence. I'm critical by nature, but this guy rocked it!

[@SpicyTake]

All that planning. All those personnel. All those hard earned tax dollars. All to transfer Iraqi oil into the hands of Exxon and Shell. Crawford's genius and hard work totally wasted.

[@RobertJamesChinneryH]

RA Allen thanks to the mass murderer....kudoes

[@TomFranklinX]

Dallas Robert James Chinnery Fans of Saddam Hussain I see.

[@spaztor7723]

Robert James Chinnery shad ap rabart

[@coreyfellows9420]

RA Allen agreed

[@mouija1450]

Bill Crawford is a winner.

[@9176648328]

Really inspiring thanks for this talk

[@chaosdweller]

Yeah for some reason TED talks are actually good when air force pilots are on.

[@vvanderer]

there is always room at the top

[@Gamers_Addiction]

Man the way he gives love to Kansas city and Missouri it self make me happy lol

[@CVESVR707]

I listened to this whole tape this morn. Great way to start my morn. This cat is the man.

[@James-qn3wi]

I'm the only person on KZbin to see that he literally executed all of his seriousness and nerves of steel to see that he used the 3% joke. The hint is at the "10% rule" Well played my Man, you're an absolute chad.

[@taxin2476]

Now that was worth my time. Thank you. Thank you for your service to our great nation.

[@steveforster7686]

What exactly makes it great? Your president?

[@themach1ne635]

To the point and powerful!

[@form76]

Super stuff Bill! Thanks.

[@alexp3752]

A man of courage, dedication, and honor... Yes, we still have heroes today!

[@xximanxx267]

That was one of the best lessons i ever learned

[@donfrance3]

"hard work and pay the price to be valuable, then your options will be unlimited." - voice of Freedom by Bill Crawford. "Plan - Execute - Debrief (lessons learned -- not who screwed up -- and roll that back into the next planning cycle). Thank you.

[@techislife2843]

This is best ted talk ever period

[@melodymansion01]

Best whatever I have seen in my life

[@Altaswaysia]

Great talk! I see how I can implement this immediately into my relationships, to be a more effective and supportive partner, father figure, and role model for everyone, by my example. Thank you for this one!

[@llo7816]

The USAF has changed for the better since the 1980's into helping people get better vs just simply demanding that people know everything from the beginning.

[@wp5355]

Fantastic presentation!!

[@thunderandrain09]

If you are ever in Rexburg, Richeous Slice Pizza is some of the best pizza you'll find ANYWHERE. Brought to you by this guy! Thank you for your service-and pizza!

[@markg7963]

Excellent advice to young kids and adults alike. Make yourself as valuable as possible, and you will always have choices to make. I constantly harp on my kids that in their day to day experience, every choice they make is critical. Every time they have to pick from a hard choice or an easy choice, the hard choice is almost always better. Hard work from hard choices builds you up as a person with grit and determination. At the end of the day, life isn't made easier by fame or fortune, it's by preserving your ability to have a choice. If you look at a homeless guy on a cold Chicago street late at night with no shoes, and remove any personal feelings you have on the matter, his immediate problems are obvious, but the long term problem is that he is in a permanent state of not having a choice. He has expired all his easy choices and has none left to make. Every time you make an easy choice you are one step closer to being that person, and every time you make a hard choice you are one step further away.

[@daveriley6310]

In 21 years as a fighter pilot I never heard of this so-called 10% truth rule. However, I will tell you that almost everything else he said here applied to my approach, my military career, and my life. I observed that same trait in many other pilots as well, even those who ultimately didn't make the cut for fighter cockpits and went on to fly C-130s or B-52s.

[@BFZERO]

Salute from a random german soldier, Sir.

[@richardpetek712]

I never thought that I, an IT guy, would learn from an bomber pilot. He probably didn't get to this on his own, but it was a very good lesson. Debrief, in an orderly manner. Wow.

[@tonybparalegal]

Very concise and useful.

[@madchaos4912]

Thank You for your service. America is proud of you.

[@christopherashford4194]

The word is not proud, it's indebted.

[@madchaos4912]

@@christopherashford4194 Tooo Right.

[@Hovermaster]

Strong work!

[@darraghodonnell6954]

Wasn't sure where he was going with this but we'll worth listening to him

[@agostinochimienti3541]

Excuse me guys does somebody know the questions for the opposite operation the briefing ?? Thanks a lot

[@GeorgeAdams123]

I'm pretty sure this video was reccomend to me because I was just talking to my barber about pilots

[@puncheex2]

The title is click bait. The talk is interesting.

[@kevinkelley5014]

I watched this that evening form the NMCC

[@sylviasanchez7500]

He has a gentle voice.

[@mattw3340]

2:29 He makes a great point. I met with a university student adviser at age 21, having dropped out of school at 15. After explaining that I wanted to start a 3 year arts degree, they informed me that I would not be able to complete the course work given my lack of prior education. They advised me that I would be best to go back to a community college to complete 3 years of high school level qualifications before returning to enter university. I thanked them for their time and immediately left their office to sign up for the universities first year courses. After my first year I had become fascinated by the diagrams in the science building, and decided I was going to change my BA to a 5 year double degree, graduating 5 years later with both an arts degree and a science degree. I had no idea what an atom was at age 21, and ended up completing up to third year chemistry courses as part of my biological sciences major. One year later I graduated with a postgraduate diploma in science with distinction, receiving an A+ grade in my year long 400 level cellular and molecular biology course. It wasn't without slips and stumbles - I failed two papers during my first 6 months which resulted in a warning letter being issued to me by the Dean. I was determined that I was simply suffering teething problems, being so long unfamiliar with an educational setting. I was determined to not only graduate university. but not to give up until I had been awarded the highest qualification possible, the PhD. Over the last year-two years I ran into more slip ups and road blocks, resulting in taking a two year hiatus from my education. I spent so many years studying that I maxed out my student loan allowance, and need to accrue the money necessary to fund my PhD. I have also decided that one PhD isn't going to be enough anymore. I want two. Maybe three. What motivates me isn't the good things in life, ironically. The greatest motivation I receive is frequent interaction with the far too many morally bankrupt persons in positions of power. Unfortunately if their superiors are going to view you as authoritative enough to mean getting something done about the problem, you're going to need qualifications, no matter how strong your arguments are. I hope I live to see age 50+ simply to have the oppourtunity to let my determination facilitate achieving my goals. Great talk, Sir, inspiring and threw me into an interesting self-reflective moment, thank you!

[@athenaathena77712]

Great respect for this man ;)

[@lordverinus]

Excellent knowledge shared here.

[@alexanderdemoniac8107]

I got an add for air force recruitment on this video. Thank you youtube

[@braxtonrasmussen2110]

He really is a amazing inspiring person, the comments will not be nice to him but understand he is one of the most caring and nicest guys you will ever meet. I know him personally and he very dedicated to his family and his community. Also he really does love pizza!

[@Meirele]

I'd like to meet him or talk to him about these steps and it's practical usage. Of course talking to a B-2 pilot would be awesome too..

[@root1657]

I don't doubt anything you said here, but there is an important unanswered question that his entire talk dances around and never touches.... If this man is such an expert, with this level of passion and knowledge, then I demand to know where the good pizza is!

[@Meirele]

@@root1657 That...has to be payed for sure...LOL

[@Beery1962]

Nice caring guys don't drop bombs on innocent people. He might seem nice and caring, but if he dropped bombs on Iraq, he's a criminal. The Nuremberg Principle, which is a part of our Constitution, requires that each soldier acts lawfully. The Iraq War was an unjust war - a criminal endeavor. He had a duty to the US Constitution to refuse to fight in such a war. He failed in that duty because he has no moral compass.

[@root1657]

@@Beery1962 you are so far off the mark...

[@suryarout8225]

thanks...Bill Crawford | TEDxRexburg

[@muf]

what if conan o'brian served in the army...

[@oak1739]

This guys voice is actually very similar to Conans ahaha

[@Cynthia_Cantrell]

He'd be flying Hair Force One.

[@FirstLast-fr4hb]

and became an emotionally detached soft spoken sociopathic mass killer THE BEST IN THE WORLD!

[@fiyce8252]

Muphlon I’m glad I wasn’t the only one thinking it

[@vipermerge]

I would LOVE to connect with Conan O'Brian.

[@RickyNuku]

Execute and debrief got mixed up on the pie chart but apart from that it’s a great system to use for anything from sports to organisation to your work life

[@andoniconstas6591]

Great talk

[@fireflyrobert]

Awesome talk

[@docentstef257]

5 steps to keep improving. The person using these steps will decide if it's for good or bad. But the lessons are applicable for all learning

[@RealTeeroh]

what i got from this is that i need to watch my counterstrike demos more

[@christopherjensen2784]

Great advice!

[@stratowhore9051]

Good example of the Pareto Principle, if the goal is to become the best.

[@minosoBR]

Excellent video! Could you please let me input the Portuguese subtitles in this video? The automatic translated subtitles are not so good to share over here.

[@mechanicjobs]

Great talk.

[@karambit7466]

those question are similar with my ERT AAR. Thank you.

[@Meirele]

What's that? ERT AAR

[@UserName-ii1ce]

3:20 I had that painting in my room as a kid

[@laxbro021]

Great talk. Man has some serious insight, maybe more than he could share.

[@dirkbergstrom9751]

Most excellent!

[@bySterling]

Now that’s a true Human Super Hero and for One and All

[@NoName-ql1wk]

Great advice.

[@zyriab5797]

Note that in the pie-chart, he talks about the general time allowed to each of the three phases of this particular mission. Noting it because it was the first time I read or hear a military saying that preparation was less important than execution, so I gave it a serious thought (still do btw) but re-earing what he says makes me think he speaks about the hours put into that particular mission (even tho I find 24h of preparation is very fast and impressive !). Cheers.

[@root1657]

The missing piece in that chart is labor hours. It is showing you calendar hours. The execution was 2 guys times 40 hours. That planning phase was dozens or more people, which adds up real quick, and add to that they weren't starting from nothing, they were building on generations of previous plans and lessons. He did kind of barely touch that idea when he said really his own planning for that mission started years before when he was still a cadet.

[@Iseeyou67]

I want to become the best damn fighter pilot that ever was. Thanks Bill.

[@SafetyMentalst]

Stay so healthy you are very stealthy Look at yourself improve your health A healthy life a chance to be wealthy Health of body and mind your wealth Activity an working provides stealth

[@johnbrowning7623]

Excellent.

[@jimheckert5383]

Fantastic Sir. Thanks 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@jason1440]

Every good story has a shred of truth in it. No big deal. Its how stories are told and passed down.

[@techislife2843]

Its really very informative. Sumaary Plan Execute DEBRIEF