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

"People who share a common direction get to where they are going more quickly by using each others thrust."

There are a number of ways to take the statement be Kelleher above and apply it to our businesses. It could be inspirational, motivational, encouraging, speed, unity and removing of obstacles. All of those and more could be learned from it.

What I think is more imporatant than any of it is how it applies to hiring for character and values.

Any company that doesn't make a prerequisite for hiring a person that lines up with the values in a company, and has a strong character, is destined for an unpredictable ride that could end up anywhere.

While a common direction of course comes from a powerful vision of what a company represents, it is having people that are able and willing to enter into that vision, while embracing the values of a company, that will always be the most important assets of a company.

Again, much of what a company becomes is determined before a person is hired. And the profile of what we want in an employee should be so simple and easy to identify, that our people or human resources departments shouldn't have that hard of a time separating the wheat from the chaff.

When we have a profile to work from, and with discipline hire from it, then the speed factor of how to work and flow together will kick in without a lot of interference.

The importance of hiring for the values and attitude that will fit a company is one of the most important parts of a business, and in many cases one of the most underappreciated. It's better to not fill a position than to fill a position with the wrong person. 
 
The speed and thrust that Kelleher desired for Southwest Airlines (LUV) came because his people were all going in the same direction. That comes from hiring right in the first place.

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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