Make your company extremely open
Has the question even crossed your mind on how some of the great managers and companies - which are some of the most open ones as far as talking about what it is that makes them a success - are able to stay ahead of their competition in spite of their candor and willingness to share their secrets to success?
Like one writer said, "About the only secret Southwest keeps is where it will launch new services." And they are far from the only ones that communicate that way.
It's truly a paradox and difficult to understand, but I think I know part of the answer. It's the very openness itself that brings the advantage out, not only the content of that openness.
What is meant by that is all companies in the world will have people with great ideas, attitudes and skills. It's those with open business cultures that are able to tap into those skills, not by simply having an occasional meeting and asking for input, but rather through the continual battle to remove anything out of the way that would hinder that communication.
Kelleher was this way from the beginning with Southwest Airlines (LUV). He rarely missed an opportunity to tell what it was that made Southwest so successful.
The reason this is so important is that openness can't be simply shut off and on like a light switch. It's either a part of who a company is or it isn't. The benefits far outweigh the potential consequences as the openness in a business culture taps a continual flow of insight and wisdom from its people that simply isn't reproducible. That's why some of the greatest companies in the world are open like this.
Openness across a business is one of the greatest tools of success that exists anywhere today. Don't be afraid to employ it.
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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