Travels from Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Patrick Houlahan's speaking fee falls within range: $15,000 to $20,000
“Grit and determination” are not always the right answers to overcoming obstacles and achieving goals. Often it takes the right mindset, coupled with the right skillsets to push through barriers, conquer challenges, and win every day. Having gone through the highs and lows of winning and losing, Patrick brings dynamic stories that are relatable and teaches practical lessons that your teams can use every day. His entertaining and thought-provoking keynotes teach audiences how to develop the mindsets and skillsets necessary to win in today’s high-stakes environments.
Patrick grew up in Charlotte, NC, Jackson, MS, and Leawood, KS and is a graduate of The Citadel. Patrick accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps and spent a combined 27 years on active duty and in the reserves in San Diego, CA. Patrick rose to the rank of Colonel, was the Instructor Pilot of the Year in the F/A-18 Hornet, and graduated from the United States Fighter Weapons School – TOPGUN. Patrick earned his Master of Strategic Studies, “Distinguished Graduate,” from the Unites States Army War College and served as a Reserve Chief of Staff.
Patrick started his speaking and consulting career after leaving active duty in 2004. He was the Director of Seminars, MPI speaker of the year, and has led over 600 keynotes, breakouts, and workshops from the Fortune 100 to individual teams. In addition, Patrick has been a Regional Account Manager, Director of Business Development, Organizational Development Executive and has Founded or Co-Founded three start-ups.
Patrick’s keynote presentations and breakout workshop sessions on Execution, Debriefing, Accountability, Safety, Team Dynamics, Change Management, Leadership, and Resiliency are always customized to your messaging and participants. His goal is to not only inspire the audience, but to teach practical tools, techniques, and procedures that can be utilized long after the event has ended.
In 2019, Patrick’s military and business experiences led him to start Strategic Leadership Consultants to address a gap in leadership, execution, and operational excellence. In 2025, Patrick partnered with Jake Duffy and launched Strategic Leadership Partners (SL Partners.) With a primary focus of “Doing Work that Matters,” SL Partners’ goal is to scale and expand the capabilities of every company and every team member they engage.
TOPGUN Principles for Mission Success: Be the Top 1% in Business: Elite Leadership Lessons from the World’s Premier Fighter Pilot Training Program
What does it take to lead at the highest level under pressure? In this dynamic session, Patrick reveals the six core principles behind the success of the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School—TOPGUN—and how those same principles can transform leadership, improve teamwork, and increase performance in any organization. Through captivating stories and actionable insights, audiences will discover how TOPGUN’s legendary training creates a culture of excellence, trust, and relentless improvement.
Core Principles Explored: • Purpose – Why clarity of mission drives every decision. • Dedication – What it truly means to commit to the mission and the team. • Humility and Honesty – The essential mindset for continual growth. • Tough Love – Accountability at the highest level. • Teamwork – Building trust and interdependence that enable elite performance. • The Debrief – Fostering safe, open, and honest feedback to accelerate success.
Audience Takeaways: • The six essential leadership lessons from TOPGUN’s high-performance culture. • How to translate these principles into action for any team or organization. • Why adopting this mindset transforms culture, improves execution, and increases long-term results.
Perfect For: • Senior Leadership and Executive Retreats • Sales, Ops, or High-Performance Team Events • Organizational Culture and Strategy Sessions • Leadership Development and Training Programs
Accountability is Key: The Art of the Debrief Create and Teaching and Learning Environment
Most organizations talk about productivity—but few take the time to truly understand what’s driving outcomes. In “The Art of the Debrief,” Patrick teaches your team how to move beyond surface-level reviews and into the kind of honest, open, and structured communication that drives real performance.
Drawing on lessons from high-stakes military missions and business transformations, this session explores the mindset, methodology, and culture required to hold debriefs that actually make a difference. Patrick teaches the mindset to create a safe, honest, and open environment where Teaching and Learning are the focus and the skillset to conduct debriefs that generate valuable, game changing best practices and lessons learned.
Audience Takeaways • Lead with Clarity: Learn the step-by-step framework and mindset behind a powerful, effective debrief. • Create Psychological Safety: Build an environment where team members feel safe to speak up, share lessons, and grow together. • Drive Performance: Use debriefs to uncover root causes, establish best practices, and boost agility and effectiveness across the organization.
Perfect For: • Leadership Teams and Cross-Functional Groups • Sales and Ops Teams Focused on Continuous Improvement • Organizations Seeking a High-Performance Culture • Post-Project or Post-Event Reviews
Safety Culture: It’s Just What We Do How to Build a Culture Where Safety Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Safety isn’t a department - it’s a mindset. In this compelling and story-driven keynote, Patrick, a decorated Marine F/A-18 fighter pilot and instructor, shares powerful lessons from the high-stakes world of naval aviation, where there is no room for error and the cost of complacency can be catastrophic.
In 1954, Naval Aviation recorded 2,213 major mishaps. In 2024, that number dropped to just 13. This transformation wasn’t driven by policy - it was driven by culture.
Drawing from nearly 3,000 mishap-free flight hours and his award-winning leadership in safety and force preservation, Patrick equips organizations with the correct mindset and the tools, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to build a safety culture that goes beyond checklists and compliance.
Audience Takeaways: • Safety is Culture, Not Compliance: Why safety must be embedded in every level of the organization - from leadership to the front line. • Mindfulness in Action: How focus, situational awareness, and mental discipline reduce error in high-risk environments and the TTPs utilized to create this mindset. • High-Energy Safety: Insights from extreme operational contexts where the consequences are life or death—not just OSHA citations. • Human and Organizational Performance: Learn how to fight complacency, empower accountability, and build feedback loops that stop incidents before they happen.
Perfect For: • Safety Conferences and Industry Events • Manufacturing, Aviation, Construction, and Energy Sectors • Risk Management and Operational Excellence Teams • Leadership and Frontline Worker Training Programs
Resiliency: Build and Lead Resilient Teams How to stay focused, recover fast, and win every time
"Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it." - Charles Swindoll
In this powerful and interactive keynote, Patrick draws from real-life experiences—both on the battlefield and in the boardroom—to explore what it truly means to be resilient.
Patrick shares how he overcame setbacks that nearly grounded his dream of becoming a fighter pilot, threatened his place at Top Gun, and challenged his identity in the corporate world after being let go. Through each challenge, the lesson remained the same: resiliency isn’t just a trait - it’s a skill that can be developed and is imperative to lead in a fast pace ever changing world.
Audience Takeaways • Lead Through Adversity: Proven strategies for leading teams with strength, empathy, and clarity during tough times. • Personal Perseverance: Discover the mindset shift and single key step that turns failure into fuel. • Tools for Resilient Teams: Tactical frameworks and processes that ensure your team never hits rock bottom—even when times are hard. • Teamwork and Tough Love: Operating as a team and a little tough love in a respectful way, builds character and the ability to pivot and succeed.
Perfect For: • Leadership Development Events • Sales and Strategy Kickoffs • Company Offsites and Retreats • Organizational Change and Growth Initiatives
Simplifying Leadership: Keys to Leading a Successful Team Timeless Leadership Lessons for Today’s Dynamic Workforce
Leadership doesn’t need to be complicated—but it does require consistency, clarity, and commitment. In this high-impact session, Patrick distills over 30 years of leadership experience into actionable, timeless principles that empower leaders to elevate team performance and morale—whether leading top executives or the next generation of emerging talent.
Through engaging storytelling and interactive discussion, Patrick shows how great leadership isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing the right things, better.
Audience Takeaways: • Lead with Purpose: Learn and apply the core principles that inspire mission-driven, high-performing teams. • Boost Morale and Productivity: Discover how foundational leadership behaviors directly impact team engagement and output. • Retain Top Talent: See how clarity, consistency, and a team-first mindset help retain your most valuable people.
Perfect For: • New and Emerging Leaders • Leadership Development Programs • Company Offsites and All-Hands Meetings • Cross-Generational and Hybrid Teams
Change Management How to Win and Lead in a Dynamic Environment
In today’s fast-moving world, agility is the competitive edge. In this high-impact session, Patrick shares the same tools and mindset that Fighter Pilots use to stay sharp, adaptable, and mission-ready—no matter how unpredictable the environment.
These field-tested principles have been successfully applied across industries, helping leaders and teams execute at a higher level, navigate change with confidence, and build organizations that thrive under pressure.
Audience Takeaways • Lead Through Change: Proven frameworks to plan for, respond to, and succeed during organizational transformation. • Build a Culture of Agility: Establish trust, open communication, and rapid feedback loops to stay aligned and adaptable. • Drive Unified Action: Align cross-functional teams around a clear mission, defined roles, and foster mutual support across departments. • People First: Keep teams on track by developing and communicating a clear purpose of how their Tactical Actions contribute to the Strategic Direction.
Perfect For: • Executive Leadership and Change Initiatives • High-Growth or Rapidly Scaling Teams • Transformation Projects and Strategic Planning Offsites • Cross-Functional Collaboration Events
Fast and Effective Planning Drive Alignment, Agility, and Execution Across Your Organization
Too often, organizations struggle to connect day-to-day execution with high-level strategy—leading to misalignment, inefficiencies, and stalled progress. In this engaging and practical session, Patrick teaches your teams how to plan with purpose, build alignment from the top down, and ensure that every tactical action directly supports the company’s strategic direction.
Audience Takeaways: • Start with the Why: Reinforce strategic direction and ensure every plan is rooted in organizational purpose. • Build Alignment: Learn how to gain buy-in across teams and unite efforts behind the CEO/President’s vision. • Make Strategy Actionable: Master the critical steps to create executable plans that link daily actions to long-term goals. • Plan Under Pressure: Understand how to develop and adapt plans during crises without losing strategic focus.
Perfect For: • Operations, Strategy, and Cross-Functional Teams • Senior Leaders and Department Heads • Strategic Offsites and Annual Planning Sessions • Organizations Seeking Greater Alignment and Execution
Cross Communication: Break Down Silos Build an Organization that Communicates and Executes as One
Even the most talented individuals can’t win alone. True success comes from mutual support, alignment, and execution as a unified team.
In this powerful and interactive keynote, Patrick draws from his military and corporate experience to show how to tear down silos and create a high-functioning, cross-communicating team. From combat zones to boardrooms, Patrick has led and transformed diverse teams under pressure—and he brings battle-tested Tools, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) that can be applied in any organization.
Audience Takeaways: • Strategic Planning with Purpose: Build inclusive, contingency-aware plans that align with organizational goals. • Briefing for Clarity: Learn how to clearly communicate the “why,” account for hidden assumptions, and ensure shared understanding across teams. • Execution Rhythm: Establish a cadence that keeps teams informed, aligned, and accountable from start to finish. • Debrief with Impact: Foster a culture of safe honest feedback that breaks barriers, builds trust, and accelerates performance. • Build Situational Awareness: Create a common mental model that builds daily standards to mitigate miscommunication and building silos.
Perfect For: • Cross-Functional Teams & Department Leaders • Executive Leadership Offsites • Organizations Struggling with Communication & Collaboration • Any Team Looking to Improve Cohesion, Trust, and Execution Speed
Breakouts / Workshops
Great message! Now let’s make it stick!
Thank you for being part of that dynamic general session—we’ve just explored some powerful insights and actionable tools, techniques, and procedures (TTP’s.) My goal is to leave behind TTP’s that can be implemented long after I’m gone. But here’s the thing: too often, organizations bring in a great speaker, have an inspiring talk, and then the momentum fades as soon as people walk out of the room.
That’s not what I’m about.
Now it’s time to take that energy and turn it into action. My Breakouts and Workshops are where the message really starts to stick. These sessions are built to reinforce what you just heard, but more importantly, to help you apply it—directly, practically, and personally.
This is your chance to dive deeper, roll up your sleeves, and translate today’s big ideas into tools and techniques you can take back to your own team or role. Whether it’s refining your mindset, sharpening your skills, or tackling real-world scenarios—this is where learning turns into lasting impact.
So, let’s get started—and let’s make it stick."
Sales Execution Training Workshop- Accelerate performance by putting proven Tools, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) into action. This hands-on workshop is designed to build your team’s Knowledge, Skill, and Ability by applying a selected TTP to a real-world scenario. Whether it’s mastering our Pre-Sales Call Planning Tool or conducting a structured Debrief on a recent Closed-Won or Closed-Lost deal, your team will leave with a scalable, repeatable process they can implement immediately. We don’t just teach—we execute together.
Stop, Start, Continue Workshop - Get real-time feedback on what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to change. This session uncovers team roadblocks and reveals actionable opportunities to drive success.
Team Development Training and Team Maturity Workshop - Explore what’s helping—or hindering—your team from becoming a unified, high-performing force. Discover how to increase openness, trust, and momentum toward shared goals.
Communication Training Workshop - Master the tools, techniques, and procedures for effective communication—within your team and across organizational boundaries—to reduce friction and increase clarity.
Critical Thinking Training Workshop - Identify the hidden mental traps—biases, assumptions, and inferences—that affect decision-making. Learn how to avoid these pitfalls to make clearer, smarter choices.
Rapid Planning Training Workshop - Learn how to build and execute a fast, tactical plan that delivers results. Ideal for short-term goals or time-sensitive initiatives requiring speed and focus.
Extended Planning Training Workshop - Develop a structured operational plan that connects quarterly and annual objectives to strategic goals. Walk away with a roadmap that aligns actions with long-term direction.
Leader’s Intent and Prioritization Training Workshop - Learn how to clearly communicate intent so it’s understood across all levels. Then, build a prioritization matrix to help your team focus on what truly matters.
Debriefing Training Workshop - Using real-world, client-specific scenarios or a generalized exercise, learn how to efficiently debrief both wins and losses. This session teaches how to extract lessons learned and turn them into best practices that drive continuous improvement and future success.
“Patrick, Thanks again! Here are a few short comments about the program…. -Extremely exciting and informative -You gained instant credibility with your background and ability to tailor your message to our sales reps by speaking our “company” language. – Easy to see that you took the time to get to know how our organization works. – Well organized, entertaining, great content. Strategies that our work force can use. You delivered a clear and precise message.” –VP Marketing, 3M Industrial and Transportation Business
“Patrick really delivered for us. Excellent energy! He arrived at our conference prepared with industry specific language and scenarios directly applicable to our audience. Not only do he motivate, he presented new concepts and reinforce core principles of management in a high impact way.” –Director Meetings and Conventions, Grocery Manufacturers Association
“We were holding an annual kick-off meeting for our Team Members and needed a speaker that would deliver a strong message along with motivation. We found the right speaker when we chose Patrick Houlahan. From the beginning, Patrick was engaged and wanted to learn about our business and the audience for the meeting. After a few discussion on the phone and I am sure several hours of prep work on his end, he killed it. He hit the mark and then some because he could speak to our business and the audience was extremely engaged and wanting to learn more. We were so impressed with Patrick, that we will be working with him in the future.” –Director of Training, Regional Management Corporation
“I wanted to thank you for the presentation and information given to our key brokers, internal team, and the way you related to our industry. You did a great job making it meaningful to them while providing some needed “entertainment” in your discussion. We are always looking for ways to kick off a successful symposium and your execution was superb and right on point. Thanks again and best of luck in the future.” –Texas Divisional Vice President of Local Group Markets, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas
“This is to recommend Patrick Houlahan strongly for excellence in structuring information, presenting, and adaptability. Mr. Houlahan is a distinguished retired USMC officer and aviator who has transitioned to management consulting. After several planning meetings, he spoke to my MBA students at the University of San Diego. He listened carefully, and prepared intensely, with frequent consults to assure that his message fit the audience. He even adapted in real time between presentations based on feedback from an earlier group. Mr. Houlahan’s talk was engaging and informative. He drew the audience in with personal anecdotes and business lessons-learned, solicited questions, and gave responsive answers. Highly recommended in all the areas where I have experience.” –Professor, PhD, School of Business, University of San Diego
“On behalf of the San Francisco Region, I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend our Field Supervisor / Supervisory Examiner Meeting. Your presentation on the FDIC’s Core Values was informative, insightful and well received by the audience. Thank you for contributing to the success of our Field Supervisor / Supervisory Examiner Meeting.” –Regional Director, FDIC
“It was a pleasure to have Patrick speak at our user conference. He provided solid advice on leadership by weaving in examples from popular culture, business, and his military background. We received great feedback from the audience, which was a blend of technical and business folks, from analysts to CEOs. Patrick was able to relate his experiences approachably and in a way that didn’t alienate anyone. We really appreciated that he didn’t just speak and disappear; he stuck around and chatted with the attendees, sharing some pretty fascinating stories from his fighter pilot days!” –Director, Public Relations, Tecsys
“Patrick Houlahan recently spoke at a University of Pittsburgh’s Business and Operations Leadership Retreat. His talk was very valuable, providing actionable tips in an engaging delivery that attendees appreciated. Furthermore, Patrick tailored his presentation to our organization, personalizing his approach. In addition to a solid presentation, Patrick remained through the end of the retreat to speak one-on-one with team members. This act demonstrated his full commitment to the event and allowed for additional beneficial dialogue. In a previous marketing and communications role, I partnered with Patrick on a series of road show presentations that inspired attendees across the country. I recommend Patrick to any organization looking for a professional, compelling and results-driven presenter for their next conference or meeting.” –Director of Communications, Business and Operations, University of Pittsburgh
“Patrick recently spoke at our 2020 Sales Kickoff Meeting in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Patrick’s energy, clarity and passion was amazing; he really customized his messaging to our industry and goals, commanding the audience for the entire 45 minutes we asked him to speak. He effortlessly related his career experience as a Marine fighter pilot to the audience, sprinkling in some laugh-out-loud humor. However, the real value of having Patrick as a speaker was his ability to get the attendees to think differently about how they organize and accomplish their everyday missions at work, using real-life military team-work and leadership scenarios. Our attendees left the presentation energized to enact his top five leadership principles, debriefing methods and SMART goal strategies. Inspired by his keynote and the materials he gave us, we’ve made it a company-wide practice to debrief on all projects and have seen a tremendous positive impact in our culture and productivity level. If you’re looking for a speaker who is not only entertaining in the moment but also sincerely inspires action and improvement for your team, look no further than Patrick.” –Senior Marketing Manager, IVCi
“Let’s be honest, sales teams do not debrief enough and if they do they are not delivered in a way that adds value. What better way to learn how to debrief that provides immediate improvement to your sales process than from our military experts? The AA-ISP Atlanta chapter had the pleasure of Patrick Houlahan presenting on why and how to conduct debriefs the right way. Using a combination of his military background as a fighter pilot and several years of experience with leading businesses, Patrick provided a practical process to conducting debriefs that pulls the right intelligence to help teams improve. His approach makes debriefs not only valuable but even desirable. He finished with providing empirical evidence to the positive results that occur after following his proven debrief process. I highly recommend Patrick for training your teams on how to use debriefing to immediately improve your performance.” –VP Commercial Client Services, MarketSource, Inc.
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