Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Create a Cause

There was a time when Kelleher was giving a talk at a college business school when an attendant got up and commented on the answers that he was giving to questions being asked ... the student stated: "It seems to me you're talking more about a religion than a business."

Kelleher responded, saying, "If you feel that way about your business, I think that's good. That's a plus."

What is even more important is that your customers feel the same way, which is what Kelleher is really saying. If you believe your business is a cause - has a purpose bigger than itself - then those that you do business with will feel that dripping off of you and your people.

People start to become more than simply consumers of your products or services, they have become believers - something of what your business represents has permeated their consciousness and they now think of you more than what you put out in the marketplace. You have become an experience to them, a way of life and something they consider as an important part of living.

When you think of the many brands out there, it's those that capture the imaginations of consumers that you always end up hearing about through the media. Many don't even think of you as being a business anymore, but a cause that they can put their money into. Sure you provide a product, but that's beside the point to true believers; they think of themselves as people that contribute to you what you are. You have become a symbol to them.

That is something that is simply impossible to compete with if you maintain who you are. Maintaining the culture and core values of what the company represents is always the most difficult thing to do when a business wants to grow,  It's at those crucial times that the future of the business is determined.

Kelleher was able to keep that during his entire tenure at the company.

Other Herb Kelleher Sources:

Special Event

Leadership: The Essential Herb Kelleher

The CEO as Brand Guardian

Herb's way

Speeches and Presentations from Southwest Leaders

Southwest Airlines: The Hottest Thing in the Sky

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