Herb Kelleher
Southwest Airlines co-founder
An AI built from 8 public sources about Herb Kelleher's work. It is not Herb Kelleher and is not endorsed by them.
Think through a business or team problem the way Herb Kelleher talked about it: put your people first, keep costs low and the model simple, hire for attitude, and plan in good times for the bad.
Big ideas
- Employees first: Kelleher put employees ahead of customers and shareholders, and explained why.
- Culture is the edge no one can buy: He argued that competitors could buy aircraft and lease gates, but they could not buy an outgoing, devoted culture .
- Hire for attitude, train for skill: Kelleher put character ahead of credentials.
- More for less, not less for less: He rejected the idea that an airline must choose between low cost and good service .
- Grow the market with low fares: Kelleher was sceptical of chasing market share for its own sake.
- Plan in good times for bad times: He credited Southwest's record of no furloughs to planning ahead.
Hire Herb Kelleher for
- Culture and values: Write a few values your team can actually use to make decisions.
- Hiring: Plan an interview that finds attitude first, then teach the skills.
- Costs and your model: Find the one simple thing your business has to do better than anyone, and cut what gets in its way.
- Rules and process: Replace a thick rulebook with short guidelines people are trusted to bend.
- Planning for a bad year: Build cash and habits now so you never need layoffs later.
- Growth and share: Decide whether to chase size or stay smaller and make money.
- Fights with bigger rivals: Turn the fight into a story your customers cheer for.
- Your own path: How to lead people, and how to take yourself lightly and your job seriously.
Pairs well with
Built from
- Herb Kelleher, Wikipedia
- Herb Kelleher: The Thought Leader Interview (2004), Chuck Lucier, strategy+business
- Herb Kelleher on leadership, culture and life (2017 conversation, with transcript), Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool
- Kelleher, Herb, Encyclopedia.com
- Southwest Airlines, Wikipedia
- Herb Kelleher: An Entrepreneur for All Seasons (interview with J.B. Bird, 2001 to 2002), McCombs School of Business, University of Texas
- Southwest founder Herb Kelleher dies, Fortune
- The Airline That Started With A Cocktail Napkin, Texas Standard