John Flynn has had many roles all through his life – together with as a soccer participant, serviceman within the Air Pressure, adviser to then Vice-President Joe Biden as part of the Obama Administration, and he at present is the senior vice chairman of administration and aviation for MGM Resorts Worldwide. Whatever the place he has held or the folks he has labored with in these positions, there are two widespread traits – service and management.
Flynn mentioned about MGM Resorts International Aviation Division, “I’ve bought a few totally different departments I get to guide and handle. We’ve bought a number of planes and a pair dozen pilots.” He additionally works with the Safety Operations Division and their Army and Veterans Program (MVP) with different navy members. In complete, Flynn works with over 2,000 folks in his a number of roles within the company world. Which may seem like very totally different in comparison with his navy profession, however he discovered that the 2 fields have extra in widespread than one might imagine.
“A number of the issues we discovered within the navy are what we worth within the personal sector. I believe a few these issues are you study to be versatile, proactive, how you can reprioritize totally different targets such as you would with the navy, and also you fail so much. But it surely’s not a matter of failing. It’s a matter of whether or not you get again up.”
John Flynn’s dedication to management and the betterment of others might be traced again to his childhood. Flynn was the youngest of two youngsters rising up in Irvine, California. Sports activities was a giant a part of his life because of being round groups such because the California Angels (MLB), Los Angeles Rams (NFL), and others. He wasn’t only a fan of these sports activities, however he performed them as effectively.
“I grew up taking part in baseball, soccer, and basketball, whether or not it was in my faculty or in Irvine.”
Soccer was the game that Flynn succeeded on the most. He began as quarterback for Mater Dei Excessive Faculty for 3 years, they usually completed because the primary group within the nation. That led him to pursuing alternatives to play for Vanderbilt or the US Air Pressure Academy. He felt that prime faculty was an essential time for him as a result of a number of the classes he discovered on the sphere might be utilized off the sphere.
“It’s the place I first discovered how you can efficiently get better from failure on a play-by-play foundation,” he mentioned with fun. “It was lesson for all times.”
He was in a position to study different classes from those who served as mentors similar to his dad and mom, coaches, and academics throughout his childhood as effectively.
“You don’t absolutely admire these mentors till you’ve type of moved away, grown up, matured extra in life.”
As he was ending highschool, Flynn had thought he was going to go to Vanderbilt, however a change within the head coach place there shifted his sights to the Air Pressure Academy. One journey to Colorado Springs, Colorado later, and he knew the place he was going. In hindsight the selection is smart for him as a result of he grew up in an space the place it was widespread to see Marines and Members of the Navy. His father served
within the Marines and his grandfather was within the Navy throughout World Struggle II. Regardless that he was becoming a member of a unique department, the navy might have been future within the making.
“The thought of flying planes, graduate, and mainly go do no matter you needed to do this the navy gives had been actually interesting to me.”
He could be a backup quarterback in his soccer function, however he bought to take pleasure in a number of moments together with his teammates and discovered precious classes on the faculty stage as effectively. He additionally labored as a coach on the again half of his senior season. He remembered that yr fondly as a result of his group completed within the high ten in rating within the nation.
“For a service academy soccer group to complete within the high ten within the nationwide rankings, it was a fairly large deal.”
As soon as his faculty profession ended, he dedicated to the Air Pressure full-time, the place he accrued greater than 3,100 hours as a C-17 Evaluator Pilot. A part of his profession was spent in Afghanistan in addition to in Baghdad, Iraq and different areas. He was proud to be part of that effort, however he acknowledged that missions of the magnitude he was concerned with took the assist of quite a lot of teammates and fellow servicemembers.
“Preventing within the early days of the Struggle on Terror within the mid-2000’s was fairly unimaginable. Being within the navy and pulling off these profitable missions required working with lots of people.”
In addition to working below nice leaders and as part of management in each sports activities and the navy, one other widespread theme is being bodily prepared always. That’s why health has been an essential a part of his life, and it nonetheless is immediately.
“As soon as once more, there’s much more similarities than variations,” mentioned Flynn on the subject of health stage for each fields. “Usually, I believe staying match, maintaining your cardio going, maintaining your muscle tone going is essential. Generally, it’s important to carry 150 kilos in your again on these missions, and it’s important to be in fairly unimaginable form to do this.”
John Flynn would transfer on to work in Washington, D.C., the place he labored for the Division of Protection as a Legislative Fellow below Senator Invoice Nelson, on the Pentagon, and finally could be concerned with the last word type of management – a Presidential administration. Flynn served as a Particular Assistant to the forty fourth President of the US, Barack Obama and as an adviser to then Vice President Joe Biden. After flying for ten years, that change in dynamics might be a shock for most individuals at first, however Flynn adjusted and located one more solution to contribute to his nation.
“It was actually academic and insightful after being on the tip of the spear to be on the tail finish of coverage after which the orders come down and also you comply with, operationally, these orders,” he recalled. “That was extremely academic for me.”
Following his time in Washington, he moved on to the place he holds now with MGM Resorts. He’s nonetheless concerned with the Air Pressure as a reserve assigned to AFWERX. He additionally commits time to staying in form as a result of it’s a variable that permits him to be his greatest for everybody round him in addition to himself.
“You can also make clear selections, you may make higher selections, and be extra assured in what you’re doing,”
John Flynn desires to verify the following technology of Individuals are conscious and positively impacted by the navy as effectively. He took his son to a Veteran’s Day occasion known as Salute to the Troops that paid homage that had been keen to offer their all to freedom.
“Essential this subsequent technology sees us celebrating service members,” he mentioned.
Regardless that he’s within the personal sector now, he feels the navy can nonetheless be an awesome possibility for younger those who wish to set themselves up for nice success sooner or later. He advises to take a look at all choices fastidiously earlier than making a closing determination.
“It’s a very thrilling time to be a 17 or 18-year outdated graduating from highschool as a result of there may be a lot for you on the market that may assist you to obtain your targets,” he defined. “Do your analysis, and you need to be trying into corporations and the navy, and even faculties or universities to seek out the very best choices for them.
You may study extra about Col. Flynn by following him at John S. Flynn on LinkedIn
