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

We must stand by each other in times of need.

The idea of needing to stand together as a group of workers isn't as easy as it sounds from the statement by Kelleher, because it's not something that can be simply communicated with words. While the words are right and sound good, it's only by going through things together that this can become a reality.

What can management do to faciliate this then? There's only one thing we can do and that's wait until a difficult time comes - either in people's lives or the business. 

This could be anything personal like the death in the family of a certain worker to helping out a person maybe involved in a disaster. Once you start looking for needs of your people to help build a strong family-like atmosphere in the company, it won't be long before you discover them all over the place.

There may be no more powerful action to bring your people together than the struggles they're each going through.

The same can happen in a company or community as well. I've worked at places where we got involved with the community when storms went through and workers got together and helped out the victims in a number of ways. It helps build strong bonds between workers in the business.

Even the business can come upon hard times and people will need to pull together to keep it successful. These are the times when what a business will become - as far as sticking together goes - what it will be. It is in these moments that something beyond ourselves is offered up to us.

If we are ready to help direct or give support at these times, it can be some of the most powerful moments in the history of the business.

What we can do is have frameworks in place that workers can operate within. We should have only some type of official company strategy that everyone must adhere to. That takes away the involvement and input of workers - which is what is the most important at times like these.

When you listen to the stories of Southwest Airlines (LUV) and how they've helped each other throughout the years, it's a tremendous example and testament to the power of standing by each other in times in need can engender.

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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