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

Work Within Core Values

In reference to core values, there is a lot of advantage in defining and maintaining them across any business.

So many in management and business leadership are surprised when competitors are able to move quickly and always seem to be ahead of the game. One key reason for that is the business knows exactly who they are and what they represent and so are able to make decisions based upon those core values.

What this does, as Kelleher says, is to "...help us to move quickly. Everyone asks how we’ve been able to move so fast and one of the reasons is that this simple set of values enables us to move more quickly."

He gives an example of when he's had some of the Southwest Airlines (LUV) workers propose ideas for new services. He said that the decision to do or not do something is relatively easy as all of it's based upon the core values of the company. If it doesn't fit with their values, the answer is always no and they pass on it. On the other hand, if it doesn fit in, the answer will be yes.

Because of this, Kelleher always made sure the mission of Southwest was kept simple and easy to understand. He considered it imperative that the people working for Southwest understood what it was and what it meant.

It helped everybody to be on the same page and for most ideas that came forth to be relevant and welcome.

I've seen a lot of complex ideas thrown around concerning decision-making in business. It's not that complicated at all. Define the core values of a company, communicate them so everyone understand them and never move outside of them no matter how tempted you are.

The result is a highly focused company that is nimble and quick, and understands who they are and where they're going. A very difficult company to compete against. Southwest was one example that shows how good it worked.

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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