Hindsight Always Makes Things Look Easier
Like a number of the managers we talk about here, when you look at the businesses they started or ran, many times talking about their impact and successes can make the process look easy and in no doubt. In fact, just about every highly successful business has extraordinary times when it isn't really known if it will succeed or not. Southwest Airlines (LUV) was no exception to that rule.
At the time when Texas businessman, Rollin King, developed the idea for an airline which would fly passengers at discount rates and fast across short distances, it was thought of as almost impossible and highly improbable.
To give it a realistic chance at success, King went to the one person he felt would 
be nutty enough to make it work or even give it a try: Herb Kelleher.
We talked recently how the airline almost immediately had to sell one of their four planes just to keep the company running and retain goodwill with its people from the start. There was absolutely nothing guaranteed when they made that decision.
When we look back at these difficult types of circumstances, it's never as easy as when you read about it later. History and how it works out makes it look like the solution and outcome was obvious. The truth is that it never is like it looks in hindsight.
The struggles and unsureties were real, and the outcomes were never guaranteed. With our struggles it can be encouraging to understand that these great managers and business leaders struggled just as much as we do today, and that they didn't have it any easier than we do.
Every person that is highlighted on this blog has went through the same types of struggles that King and Kelleher went through, with no guarantees of success. It's a testament to their willingness to stick through and keep on with what they truly believed was a great idea.
Other Herb Kelleher Sources:
ENTREPRENEURS: BORN OR MADE? A CONVERSATION WITH HERB KELLEHER OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
Herb Kelleher An Entrepreneur For All Seasons
Herb Kelleher: The Thought Leader Interview
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