Insights
Our thinking on high-performance in individuals, teams and organisations
The resources on this page include client case studies, thought leadership from ourselves and others, plus our own showreels. We hope you enjoy.
Featured
Feb 2018 - In this podcast, Justin Hughes joins LID Radio to talk about what we all need in order to have great and objective decision making plus how to control the factors, risks and culture that come with decisions in order to create authentic and...
Most popular
May 2017 - Operations Director, Jas Hawker offers an insight into how organisations can adapt approaches used in the military to improve their ability to successfully execute winning business strategies in constantly changing environments.
Jun 2017 - NATO Communications and Information Agency engages us for Executive Development NATO is an inter-governmental military alliance with 28 member states. Its Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for all elements of communications...
Jul 2017 - Mission Excellence's Justin Hughes dissects the team 'debrief'. Using examples from a Red Arrows debriefing session, Justin highlights how it can be used in a highly constructive and objective way to improve team performance.
May 2017 - In the wake of the VW emissions scandal, the latest white paper from Mission Excellence explores how leaders can grow their business with good ethics at the core of the company's culture.
Insights library
What I've learned about improving team effectiveness fast
Oct 2017 - While at business school (some might say a competitive environment – indeed some would say that might suit me…), I took part in a marketing strategy exercise. The basic concept was that each team was given a lot of background context and data, on...
Former Red Arrows executive director on how YOU can build a high-performance team
Sep 2017 - Justin Hughes, a former fighter pilot and executive director of the Red Arrows – shares the principles you can instil in your people and your personal leadership to make your team greater than the sum of its parts There’s a teambuilding offsite...
Get Active With Apps - 3 Team Tech Tactics For Peak Productivity
Sep 2017 - SMALL STEPS You may have seen a report recently that just 10 minutes per day of brisk walking reduces the risk of early death by 15%. Despite my general scepticism of any catchy statistic that hits the press[1], the principle of getting people to be...
"Learn Or Die: Using Science To Build A Leading-Edge Learning Organisation" by Edward D. Hess
Sep 2017 - While this is by no means the first or only book on business learning organisations, Learn Or Die by Edward D. Hess is a thoughtful, well-written and accessible look at the latest science of learning and how it can be applied. If you want a ‘how-to...
Developing High-Performance Teams
Jul 2017 - Mission Excellence Director and former Red Arrows leader, Jas Hawker answers the question he is asked the most - what is the key to developing a high performing team ?
Alignment in Cross Functional Teams
Jul 2017 - VP Operations at BP talks to Mission Excellence about the challenges facing cross functional project teams.
The Business of Excellence - the authors perspective
Jul 2017 - Justin Hughes, the author of The Business of Excellence (Bloomsbury), discusses the reasons for writing his book and touches on some of the themes that the book helps leaders & managers understand and address within their own organisations. The...
BBC World Business Live
Jul 2017 - Justin Hughes interviewed on BBC Business Live reviewing current events
"The Debrief" TalkingHead August 2016
Jul 2017 - Mission Excellence's Justin Hughes dissects the team 'debrief'. Using examples from a Red Arrows debriefing session, Justin highlights how it can be used in a highly constructive and objective way to improve team performance.
Bespoke Executive Development
Jun 2017 - NATO Communications and Information Agency engages us for Executive Development NATO is an inter-governmental military alliance with 28 member states. Its Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for all elements of communications...
Delivering Operational Change
Jun 2017 - Mission Excellence supports a senior leadership team Staffordshire is the UK’s 15th largest county (of 90) by population and covers a varied geographical area with pockets of significant economic challenge. In 2011 and 2012, Mission Excellence was...
Learning from the best
Jun 2017 - Discover how we created a dynamic launchpad for Prudential Assurance's change management strategy.
Leader of the Red Arrows - Leadership
Jun 2017 - Leader of the Red Arrows talks to Mission Excellence about leadership and what it means from his perspective.
High Performance Team Programme
Jun 2017 - Mission Excellence MD, Justin Hughes highlights the High Performance Team Programme , describing how it all began more than 13 years ago with his time in the Red Arrows. Justin describes the three modules: people, capability and delivery.
High Performance Teams
Jun 2017 - Mission Excellence Director and former Red Arrows leader, Jas Hawker answers the question he is asked the most - what is the key to developing a high performing team ?
What are the key competencies required of a senior executive?
Jun 2017 - Mission Excellence MD, Justin Hughes highlights the challenges organisations face when they want leaders but they get managers. What are the key competencies required of a senior executive?
Senior team effectiveness
Jun 2017 - Mission Excellence MD Justin Hughes describes the challenges facing senior teams and suggests solutions to improve team effectiveness .
Leader of the Red Arrows - Safety Culture
Jun 2017 - The leader of the Red Arrows talks to Mission Excellence about safety culture and how the pilots are equipped to deal with operating in a very high risk environment .
Bringing the team together
Jun 2017 - Coutts & Co, the private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, provides private banking and wealth management services for clients worldwide. In 2007 Mission Excellence was commissioned to deliver a series of team development...
Risk & Safety Management Overview
May 2017 - A Cultural Approach to Risk and Safety Management For a combination of ethical, operational and legal reasons, not to mention fallout from some high-profile events, risk and safety management are rising ever higher on the organisational agenda...
Letter to America: A warning from Europe
May 2017 - This thought leadership paper by S.Bungay & R. Homkes offers a quick tour of the evolution of systems of government, bringing us right up to the UK's EU Referendum. It weighs up the impact of the Referendum, considers UK's global relationships,...
Mission Excellence Brochure: Corporate Overview
May 2017 - High performance is not a theory; it’s a practice Our vision: To be the first choice partner for organisations genuinely committed to high performance. We both consult and develop, leaving clients upskilled for sustainable performance improvement...
Performance, Culture & Risk
May 2017 - Download a white paper by Justin Hughes, Mission Excellence Managing Director, on culture and risk management.
Management, Leadership and the Team Game
May 2017 - Justin Hughes examines, from a practical perspective, the systemic weaknesses in ‘traditional’ methods of assessment, training and reward for corporate executives.
Red Teaming & Wargaming
May 2017 - Operations Director, Jas Hawker offers an insight into how organisations can adapt approaches used in the military to improve their ability to successfully execute winning business strategies in constantly changing environments.
Executing Strategy
May 2017 - Stephen Bungay takes a new look at the problem of making strategy happen and finds an old solution from somewhere unexpected.
Strategy, Leadership and Organisation
May 2017 - These three words form the basis of thousands of books, articles and executive education programmes. How do you cut through the noise? We have captured some of the key lessons and observations from our partner and Advisory Board member, Dr Stephen...
Recommendations for Building and Maintaining an Ethical High-Performance Culture
May 2017 - In the wake of the VW emissions scandal, the latest white paper from Mission Excellence explores how leaders can grow their business with good ethics at the core of the company's culture.
What Price Leadership?
May 2017 - Published in September 2016, this paper explores the relative importance of leadership as one of the key competencies required of a senior executive. The case for investment in values and leadership is explored including the correlation between the...
Insights: What you need to know about the Military Reserves
May 2017 - Government policy means that more Armed Forces reservists are being recruited by the MOD. This paper explores the benefits & dynamics of the relationship for both employers & their employees who have commitments as a reservist.
Justin Hughes' blog
Sep 2017 - When Marty McFly travelled by hoverboard in Back to the Future , it was pure science fiction. But when Jason Bradbury from The Gadget Show appeared to repeat the stunt in Piccadilly Circus in 2015 (above), the gap between fiction and reality...
Nov 2016 - The Red Arrows is an iconic brand. Will it now be utilised to help position UK plc for life after Brexit? Read on…
Sep 2016 - It’s as if it was meant to be. David Cameron resigns triggering a by-election. Sam Allardyce loses his job (sorry – my mistake – consciously uncouples by mutual agreement). The Witney selection committee is surely not required. Now I’m going to hold...
Jul 2016 - I recently met a woman whose strapline might well be ‘it’s a girls’ world’; it was certainly a phrase she used a lot, although in fairness to her, I should point out normally in the context of her daughters. However recent political events have...