Sticking With It
Herb Kelleher was no different than anyone else when it came to making a business successful. When the company took its first order for a Boeing 737, it began a four-year legal battle to get the company off the ground.
The response from the airline industry obviously confirmed that they were on to something, but that didn't make the process any easier or quicker. The problem with the industry was that they tried to snuff out Southwest Airlines (LUV) completely, rather than delay and offer something else in its place.
While they've since started doing that at some level, it wasn't a part of their overall plan at the time.
The point is that there will always come opposition from our competition, and it can come on many levels. It can be direct, legal, delaying tactics, innuendo, marketing or any tool in the arsenal they have.
On the other hand, it can also be turned into a rallying point for the troops as the huge competitor tries to crush you into oblivion. Southwest did most things right here in gaining the loyal and passionate support of their people, when at a crucial time they decided to get rid of one of their planes instead of their employees. The workers remembered it and paid the company and Kelleher back many times over.
It's one of the reasons that for many years Southwest Airlines was named as the number one company to work for in America.
All of it came from sticking with it when everything seemed to say quit and making tough decisions that hurt in the short-term, but paid off huge in the long. Kelleher knew how to stick with it and do it right.
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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