Top Gun:
Business Movie Review

Movie Ticket for Top Gun Movie
Top Gun Movie (1986) is filled with business strategies for Business Owners to apply.

Learn Business Strategies of 
Confidence, Protocols, & Promises

The adrenaline-rushing blockbuster movie, Top Gun (1986) will be releasing its sequel movie, Top Gun: Maverick in theaters on May 27, 2022. This has been a long-awaited sequel to the original intimate movie when we all learned about Naval Aviation Combat Maneuvers in the 80s. Being a military family, we enjoy Top Gun and have seen it at least 15 times over the decades. We just recently watched it to brush up on the storyline that will catapult some ties from Top Gun into Top Gun: Maverick. During my last viewing, I was surprised to learn that I haven’t written a Business Movie Review on the original movie. So here we go!

Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise), and his co-pilot “Goose”, become the default selection to attend Top Gun Training. Maverick comes with a haunted past. His father “Duke” was a pilot and an incident occurred, that tarnished his record. Maverick wasn’t allowed entrance into the Naval Academy because of his father’s record and has been trying to prove (gunning) that he is competent and deserves such acknowledgment. Even though Maverick is confident in his capabilities, he pushes the envelope, which ultimately costs him his best friend, self-dignity, and the love of his life, as well as the respect from his peers. This plot twists and turns as often as a Top Gun’s training maneuvers.

As you read this review and watch the movie, come back, and leave a comment – let’s learn from one another! There are numerous parallels between Maverick’s experience and what Small Business Owners experience on a regular basis. There are many more strategies to help you achieve your success than the several I mention. Enjoy experimenting and applying the different strategies to improve your business success. 

Top Gun Business Strategy #1 
Confidence

Rightly so, all students at Top Gun training are considered elite pilots. Being confident makes a life-or-death difference in a pilot’s line of work. Time and time again, Maverick is filled with arrogance throughout this movie. For starters, he insistently approaches a woman to sleep with him, makes a rogue power move to infringe upon international relations, he disregards orders, and he places his training goal in jeopardy.

After a fatal incident, Viper says to Maverick, “You feel responsible … and you have a confidence problem.” Then, Viper continues to support Maverick to find his groove again. 

NOTE: There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance; yet, when a person slides into arrogance it is obvious to everyone. 

Confidence Best Practice: 
Performance requires one to be confident – even in the face of adversity. Ernest Hemingway said it best, “Be brave enough to suck as something new.” This approach will definitely build confidence

Top Gun Business Strategy #2
Protocols

During the first day of flying maneuvers, the pilots are told not to engage below the hard deck (10,000 feet in this case). Maverick disregards the protocol so he can fulfill his goals. He does accomplish the goal AND he is disqualified because he broke the rules.

Maverick’s primary competition says, “You’re everyone’s problem. That’s because every time you go up in the air, you’re unsafe. I don’t like you because you are dangerous.” In the next scene, Viper tells Maverick, “Top Gun Rules of Engagement exist for your safety and that of your team. They are not flexible, nor am I. Either obey them or you are history.”

Protocols Best Practice:
 Protocols are to help everyone understand the necessary guidelines so we can perform well. Do you find yourself wanting to manipulate the appropriate performance rules? Don’t do it – others will see it as dangerous and not want to engage with you.

Top Gun Business Strategy #3
Promises

Repeatedly, Maverick makes promises to his co-pilot Goose that he’ll stop taking risks. Promises are commitments that something will be done. Maverick doesn’t deliver and he isn’t the only one who pays the price. (No spoiler here.)

How often do you make promises? In business, an appointment, customer service, or deadline is a promise. If you aren’t prepared for what you committed to, you are breaking a promise. Business is filled with promises. Working on just this one point will help you align with integrity. It’s easy for people to notice who is and isn’t delivering promises. Wouldn’t it be great to create a reputation of trust and be know as dependable?

Promises Best Practice:
Do your best to NOT overextend yourself. Push back appointments and dates to assure you have enough cushion between all your deliverables. This will help you keep your integrity and fulfill your promises.

FYI: You’re reading one of my innovations. Watching movies is my thing. I have the gift of seeing endless business strategies in movies. I’ve mashed sharing business strategies of movies into content to help my readers look at their business from a fresh perspective. It’s a great experiment! What’s yours?

Feel free to share in the comment section which one of the Business Strategies from the “Top Gun” movie would serve YOU and YOUR Business best right now?

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO
GUIDE & SIMPLIFY
YOUR BUSINESS BRILLIANCE
Call Maggie (262) 716.7750 for 
YOUR No-cost Consultation

The Brilliant Breakthroughs Business Movie Review courtesy of:
Maggie Mongan, Small Business Thought Leader
Founder & CEO of Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc.
#1 International Bestselling Business Author & Business Transformation Guide 
LinkedIn: MaggieMongan

Copyright: This article holds copyright permissions by Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc. The internet is about sharing. Please share this post with full attribution to Brilliant Breakthroughs, Inc. at www.BrilliantBreakthroughs.com. Thank you.


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