We've Always Believed That Business Can and Should be Fun
Why is it that every great manager always says that one of the key elements of their success is that they believe the workplace should be a fun place to be? The answer is that nothing can substitute for the impact that comes from a place that people love to work at.
Sometimes overusing the words can make the truth of its importance undervalued. That is a huge mistake we must resist.
Like Kelleher has said, "We've always believed that business can and should be fun." The results that he garnered from the culture that permeated Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been phenomenal.
Not only did the atmosphere give a charge from everyone involved; including the customers, managers, pilots, and everyone up and down the company ladder (if there had been one). It resulted in tremendous profits for the company and the workers. Time would hardly go by when someone wouldn't have the company in a magazine story, TV interview or any form of media available at the time.
The publicity they received would have cost a fortune if the company would have had to pay for it. People were knocking on the doors of the company for access to be able to tell the story. Very few people got tired of hearing about it either.
All of this from simply creating a fun place to work and making it a place where almost everybody that came into contact with it wanted to connect again and again.
The truth is that it's another one of those simple truths that very few leaders and companies get right. That means that those that get it right can make it a huge differentiator even in some commodity businesses.
Other Herb Kelleher Sources:
Leadership: The Essential Herb Kelleher
Speeches and Presentations from Southwest Leaders
Southwest Airlines: The Hottest Thing in the Sky
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