Responding to LO 15280:
It was suggested that Southwest Airlines would be a good model of large
group creativity. Recently I read "NUTS!" by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg,
Bard Press, Austin, 1996. For our school district's staff, I often excerpt
quotes from books for learning leaders. What follows is a brief
introduction I wrote followed by quotes from "NUTS!" [If LO members are
interested in other book excerpts, I will be glad to e-mail you a list of
the books I've done so far and how you can get the excerpts.]
[Intro by Scott Ott]
When you experience great customer service, you know it. What you may not
know is what goes on behind the scenes to make extraordinary service
possible. As teachers and learners we benefit from studying excellent
customer service in any industry. In fact, we may learn more from other
businesses because we get outside of our traditional preconceptions about
what is possible. Southwest Airlines has achieved remarkable things in
the past 26 years. Customer service in this heavily-regulated industry is
measured in many ways but the best-known indices are baggage handling,
on-time record, and customer satisfaction record. This be came known as
the Triple Crown after Southwest became the first to win it since the
Dept. of Transportation (DOT) began compiling these statistics in 1987.
Since then Southwest is still the only airline to accomplish the triple
crown in one year, and they have done it five times. What makes Southwest
different, and in most ways better, than many other airlines? Southwest
has a specific market niche --- they aim to be the low fare in every
market for all of their relatively short flights. They thrive on offering
Positively Outrageous Service. If you have ever flown with Southwest, you
know that its employees seem to be having more fun than those at other
airlines. This spirit of fun, sticking to the mission and offering
incredible service has also made them the only airline that has been
profitable in each year since 1973. From 1990 to 1994 the airline industry
lost more money than it had made in the previous 60 years. Yet, Southwest
was profitable. Interestingly, Southwest didn't start out to compete with
other airlines. It competes with train and automobile transportation.
Many other airlines have sprouted up trying to imitate Southwest, but none
have put together its combination of economy, efficiency and excellence in
customer service.
Below are a few quotes from NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for
Business and Personal Success, by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, Bard Press,
Austin, TX, 1996.
As you read these, see if you can make a connection with what we do here
in The North Kansas City School District.
Exec-cerpts:
"One of the reasons Southwest Airlines can adapt so quickly is that the
company trusts its employees and gives them the latitude, discretion and
authority they need to do their jobs. Each station functions like an
independent business unit, and managers are responsible for setting the
tone of the station and ensuring that Southwest's culture is protected and
promoted." (p. 87)
"The Southwest story demonstrates over and over that people will act
responsibly and do more than expected when they are given freedom to act
on their own." (p. 89)
"I think any company that's trying to play in the 1990's has got to find a
way to engage the mind of every single employee." ---General Electric, CEO
Jack Welch (pp. 103,104)
"The only way to change people's minds is with consistency...Consistency,
simplicity and repetition is what it's all about." --- GE CEO Jack Welch
(p. 107)
"...the chairman and CEO owns passionately and enthusiastically those
ideas he asks his people to embrace." (p. 111)
"The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It
will be the person who does not know how to learn." --- Alvin Toffler
(p.112)
"The people of Southwest Airlines have chosen to create an atmosphere in
which the childlike curiosity and enthusiasm in every employee is not only
welcomed, it is sought after and drawn out. In an environment in which
intuition is trusted and seemingly crazy ideas are routinely explored,
learning has become a way of life." (p. 127)
"At Southwest, every employee is a steward of the company's mission. If a
policy or practice appears to violate the intent of the company mission or
is inconsistent with its values, people are expected to speak up." (p.
130)
"The attitude and the feel of corporate communities are determined by
corporate philosophy. Southwest Airlines' philosophy includes eleven
primary attitudes:
Employees are number one. The way you treat your employees is the way they
will treat your customers.
Think small to grow big.
Manage in the good times for the bad times.
Irreverence is okay.
It's okay to be yourself.
Have fun at work.
Take the competition seriously, but not yourself.
It's difficult to change someone's attitude, so hire for attitude and
train for skill.
Think of the company as a service organization that happens to be in the
airline business.
Do whatever it takes.
Always practice the Golden Rule, internally and externally." (p. 150,151)
"The people of Southwest Airlines are 'the creators' of what we have
become --- and of what we will be." (p. 158)
"When people receive affirmation, they develop the courage to change and
the confidence to succeed when they try something new ---- When we know
how much we are loved, only then can we love others." (p. 223)
"People who feel an overwhelming sense of appreciation are compelled to
act more responsibly." (p. 227)
" 'I probably shouldn't admit this, (Executive Vice President and Chief
Operations Officer) Gary Barron says, "but I really think we could
eliminate all the officers and it would be weeks before they (the
frontline people) felt any effect from it. I suspect that if you left our
people to their own devices, it would run pretty smoothly out there,
without us messing with it. Maybe it runs despite us messing with it.'
After pausing for a moment, Barron finishes his thought. 'Maybe it would
run better without us messing with it'." (p. 232)
"Many organizations will fail in their quest for total quality service,
not because their leaders don't understand the concept or technical
requirements for achieving it, but because they don't realize that the
heart of the service journey is spiritual ra ther than mechanical." ---
Karl Albrecht, "The Only Thing That Matters" (p. 271)
"Service is not the result of teaching employees to act like customers are important; it comes from employees who genuinely feel loved and who work in an environment that dignifies them by valuing their contributions." (p. 271)
"The company's job...is to maintain a culture that draws from its
employees that which is already in them." (p. 272)
"The crisis of modern society is precisely that people no longer feel heroic." --- Ernest Becker, "The Denial of Death" (p. 276)
"Southwest expects employees to express their personalities in their work;
the company wants employees individuality to flourish. Consequently, a lot
of Southwest people don't see their work as work; they see it as a stage
on which they can use their gift s and talents to make a difference in the
lives of others. " (p. 278)
"...passion, not techniques, is the key to legendary service." (p. 281)
"When the systems, structures, policies, procedures and practices of an
organization are designed and lived out so that employees genuinely feel
that they come first, trust is the result." (p. 282) Southwest's Mission
Statement: "Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of
Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, and Company Spirit. "We are committed to provide our
Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning
and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for
improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees
will be provided with the same concern, respect, and caring attitude
within the Organization that they are expected to share externally with
every Southwest Customer." (p. 284)
"People will work hard when they have the freedom to do their job the way
they think it should be done. But take away their independence and choke
them with rules --- zap! You've stifled, it not killed, their creativity."
(p. 289)
"An organization rises to greatness when the otherwise latent talents and
energies of its people are evoked by the power of leadership." (p. 298)
"Leadership is getting people to want to do what you want them to do
because they share your purpose, vision and values." (p. 299)
"If your case is strong enough, if you present it with contagious
excitement, you can often persuade people and build commitment." (p. 307)
"Motivation comes from showing people that you believe in them." (p. 314)
"Leaders are learners who teach. In order to equip employees to serve the
common good, a company must become a learning community that taps into
people's natural inquisitiveness. This means encouraging them to ask
questions and challenge the system. Leaders understand that teaching
people how to learn is much more important than conveying content." (p.
318)
"Find a purpose that you're crazy about, a purpose to which you are
willing to give the totality of who you are, and who knows?...You may
recapture your idealism in a world that often gives little reason for
being idealistic. You may even find a purpose s o captivating that it
awakens the collective energies of the people with whom you work and
inspires them to soar." (p. 321)
"NKCSD Exec-cerpts" is researched and compiled by Scott Ott
(sott@nkcsd.k12.mo.us) for The North Kansas City School District --
www.nkcsd.k12.mo.us
Web surfers read back issues of "Exec-cerpts" and other resources at
http://www.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/reformarchive.htm (816) 453-5050
Grace & Peace,
Scott Ott
--Scott Ott <SOTT@nkcsd.k12.mo.us>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>