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Get Real, Get Better is not just about identifying what’s wrong; it’s about having the courage to face reality, the discipline to learn from it, and the commitment to improve—every day, in every way.
Get Real Get Better (GRGB), or GRGB, is a call to action for every Navy leader to apply a set of Navy-proven leadership and problem-solving best practices that empower our people to achieve exceptional performance. The Navy has teams with great culture and great performance, but we also see examples of teams with poor culture and weak performance. The gap between our best and our worst performers is too large. To remain the world’s strongest Navy, we must have consistently strong performance. Get Real, Get Better is the mindset consistently used by our best performers. This approach empowers our people to find and fix problems – and innovate – at their level, from the deck plate to senior leaders. We reward ownership and ingenuity, and we help each other remove barriers. We are committed to accelerating our warfighting advantage by unleashing our people, not by burdening them with extra requirements, policies, or bureaucracy. Principles here and in the Charge of Command make our Navy more ready for competition and combat.
The "Get Real Get Better" approach builds on the strong foundation of the Navy Core Values—honor, courage, and commitment—by integrating a continuous cycle of self-assessment, self-correction, and lifelong learning. This mindset encourages individuals to be honest with themselves, recognize areas for improvement, and take proactive steps to address them. By applying these principles, the process fosters behaviors that are crucial for growth and effectiveness: acting transparently, ensuring that actions align with values, focusing on what matters most to drive success, and creating an environment where learning teams collaborate to improve together. The "Get Real, Get Better" philosophy goes beyond individual growth, emphasizing the importance of mutual accountability and collective progress, reinforcing a culture of constant improvement within teams and organizations. Through this iterative process of reflection and adjustment, individuals not only improve their own performance but also contribute to the overall success and resilience of the team.
We are pursuing "Get Real, Get Better" because, while we are a world-class Navy, our performance is not consistently world-class across all areas. Despite our strengths, there is still significant variability in outcomes, seen in issues like shipyard delays, failures in force development, operational and safety incidents, and challenges related to pay and personnel management. These gaps in performance create vulnerabilities that hinder our ability to maintain readiness and effectively meet our objectives. At the same time, the demands of our pacing challenge continue to grow more complex and formidable, requiring a Navy that is not only capable but also agile and continually improving. The status quo, marked by inconsistent results and a reliance on outdated methods, is not a sustainable or winning strategy in the face of evolving challenges. "Get Real, Get Better" is our response to these shortcomings—a commitment to confront the reality of our current performance, address our deficiencies, and drive continuous improvement to ensure we are always prepared for what lies ahead.
What’s different about 'Get Real, Get Better' is its emphasis on practical, measurable actions rather than abstract concepts. This approach isn’t just theoretical; it’s rooted in clearly defined leadership and problem-solving behaviors that can be tracked, assessed, and improved upon. The six core standards that guide this initiative are: first, aligning on standards and goals to ensure everyone is working toward the same objectives; second, finding and embracing the “red”, meaning acknowledging and confronting difficult issues head-on; third, using Navy problem-solving methods to identify and address root causes, not just symptoms; fourth, fixing or elevating barriers that impede progress, ensuring that obstacles are either resolved or removed; fifth, encouraging learning through trust and respect, which creates an environment where people are empowered to grow and share knowledge without fear of judgment; and finally, specifying ownership, ensuring accountability and clarity in roles and responsibilities. These standards set the framework for a culture of continuous improvement and measurable outcomes, making 'Get Real, Get Better' distinct in its focus on practical application and real-time impact. To gain a deeper understanding of these behaviors and how they can be applied within your team or organization, we encourage you to explore further details on the standards and their impact through the following link.
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