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

"Where we see a competitor that appears to have the ability to operate effectively long term, we regularly take a look at what they do and any advantages they may have over us."

There are several important points to look at in Kelleher's statement. The first is he didn't look at ideas that would only deal with short-terms fixes. He knew that competitors that had a long-term outlook and built the business around that mentality, would be a strong competitor. It was the long-term that was important, and would be valuable to get ideas from.

Second, Kelleher didn't care about originality, he's said that in a number of ways in the past. What was important was ideas, no matter where they came from.

One thing that makes originality so important in the minds of people is that it's what's talked about a lot in books and in the press: it relates to the "cool" factor of a company. While there is a little legitimacy there, don't think that the "cool" companies like Apple (AAPL) don't get ideas from sources outside itself. It's knowing what to do with them and how that makes the difference.

Last, it didn't bother Kelleher to steal ideas from other companies and incorporate them into Southwest (LUV). We talked in the last Kelleher post how it didn't bother him in some cases to let other companies do all the research concerning new areas, and come behind and adapt it to Southwest's model.

In the end, companies that are leaders in various areas, in reality draw ideas from many sources to come up with new ways of doing things. It's not wise to neglect good competitors and look at how they're doing things. The key to adding value in our companies is making sure it's connected to long-term success and fits into who we are.

Other Herb Kelleher Sources:

A Culture of Commitment

HERB KELLEHER

The wild turkey

Herb Kelleher on the Record, Part 1

Herb Kelleher Talks about How Southwest Airlines Grew from Entrepreneurial Startup to Industry Leadership

Belief Model for The Leadership of Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines)

Herb Kelleher, Chairman, CEO and President, Southwest Airlines

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