"When someone comes to me with a cost saving idea, I don’t immediately jump up and say yes. I ask:'what’s the effect on the customer?'"
This is a great thought coming from Kelleher because he built Southwest Airlines (LUV) as a low cost alternative to other airlines; thus creating a new market and enlarging the overall airline industry.
What is really good about it to me is that he didn't just go with anything based solely on cost, even though cost was their underlying strategy.
This shows he wasn't in a panic and didn't just say yes to say yes or because something could be done for less.
It still comes down to the customer experience, and Kelleher wouldn't sacrifice that for any cost savings.
The idea is simple here, but many times the question isn't asked first on what it would do to the one who counts the most: the customer.
Even in the low cost service field that Southwest inhabits, the customer was still number one, and simply lowering costs for their own sake wasn't enough for an idea to pass muster. It had to have a positive result in all ways for the customer in order for it to go ahead.
We need to take this out of the low cost realm and bring it into any customer base we serve. No matter how good an idea seems, we need to filter it through the customer experience and how it will affect them before any affirmative answer is given.
Just having open communication and ideas flowing doesn't mean they will work. That needs to be in place, but in the end, if it's connected to the people we serve, we need to only say yes if it makes sense for them.
Other Herb Kelleher Sources:
Leadership: The Essential Herb Kelleher
Speeches and Presentations from Southwest Leaders
Southwest Airlines: The Hottest Thing in the Sky
Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview