He Knew How to Get Publicity
There's one thing that occurs over and over again with some of the great business leaders that are presented on managersrealm, and that is that they knew how to get free publicity. It wasn't only free though, it was stuff of interest that people wanted to know about. Other times its was just plain funny or outrageous.
That brings up the funny time that Kelleher and rival CEO from Stevens Aviation were using the same advertising tagline for the companies,"Plane Smart." To settle the matter, Kelleher suggested that they partake in an arm-wrestling match to decide which company got to keep it.
What was fascinating about the whole incident is that Kelleher lost the bout, but the publicity and good will generated from the match promted Stevens to allow Kelleher and Southwest Airlines (LUV) keep on using the tagline.
What was amazing about it all from the marketing way of looking at it is that the publicity from the match, was greater than the publicity they got from the tagline itself. All sides were winners here; even the general industry.
All the best business leaders know how to generate this type of publicity. Not necessarily the outrageous stuff like this, but the type of stuff that represents what the company embraces as a culture. Kelleher was great at pushing the right buttons at the right time. Southwest's continuous quarterly profits showed how good he was at it.
Other Herb Kelleher Sources:
Herb Kelleher on the Record, Part 1
Belief Model for The Leadership of Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines)
Herb Kelleher, Chairman, CEO and President, Southwest Airlines
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