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

Who had Access to Kelleher

In a somewhat funny story, a vice president in the company came to Kelleher complaining that customers, baggage handlers, pilons and gate agents had more access to him than he did.

Kelleher's response was, "Let me explain this: they're more important than you are."

The proof of whether this type of mentality is successful, was shown in the metrics that the FAA used to measure airline performance. Southwest (LUV) under Kelleher lead the industry in all the metrics used.

It was the simple focus on their core business of low costs and higher customer satisfaction that brought it about. For Kelleher, that didn't include vice presidents of the company as a major factor in making that happen.

The point Kelleher was making was that he wasn't going to play the corporate games that other companies did by wasting a lot of time with special meetings and getting together with those trying to move up in the company. In other words he wasn't going to babysit his executives.

They knew what needed to get done and what the company stood for, they didn't need to have consistent access to him for any reason other than some personal agenda by the one wanting to talk with Kelleher.

Kelleher knew this, and it was the reason why he said focusing on customers and their people that were serving them was what was important, not ego-stroking and pampering one another.