Herb Kelleher

Herb Kelleher: An Inspiring Leader In 2007, Herbert “Herb” David Kelleher, co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines was ranked #5 on USA Today’s “25 Most Influential Business Leaders” in large part for his personality, work ethic, management strategy and genuine concern for his employees. Throughout this paper you will read about Kelleher from a young child developing a work ethic to a man who came up with a new business plan most people would of thought of as impossible. Herbert Kelleher’s

people whose natural warmth and compassion contributes to superior customer service. This is the reason why Southwest particularly takes the pledge of hiring employees for “attitude” prior to “skills” as corroborates this quote from the former C.E.O Kelleher “At Southwest, our People are our greatest assets, which is why we devote so much time and energy to

other airline (Gittel, p. 28)". Southwest Airlines primary focus is on its employees, and it shows. Q Stories, Legends and Myths There are many stories that support Southwest Airlines dedication to its core values of humor and altruism. Herb Kelleher has appeared as the Easter Bunny while passing out pretzels on flights and dressed up as a leprechaun on St. Patrick 's Day to entertain customers. At Southwest, altruism is a corporate value that begins at the top and filters down. One way

Gates of Microsoft, Andy Grove of Intel, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, Jack Welch of General Electric (GE), Sam Walton, formerly of Wal-Mart (now deceased), and Lou Gerstner of IBM. Krames uses interviews and expert analyses to describe their

According to Thompson et al. (2016) one of the traits of high-performance company is a “can-do” spirit (p. 351). Southwest’s can-do spirit derived from the company’s legal, regulatory, and competitive struggles during its formation, which was led by Herb Kelleher and supported by employees who were driven to assist the airline to succeed despite these oppositions and this attitude has endured within the company (Thompson & Gamble, 2014, p. C-344). This is supported by Colleen Barret’s, Southwest’s former

Southwest Airlines - Effective employee relations program/ Career development Southwest Airlines Southwest is a major player in the airline industry, which employs nearly 35,000 individuals. According to an article, (Hollis, 2003), Southwest Airlines has taken a different approach to building interactively relationships with the company, with employees, and with its customers to ensure the success of the business. As a result, Southwest has sustained an enhanced growth and profitability when most

Southwest Airlines is currently facing a multitude of challenges to its historically successful business strategy that have created concerns about its ability to grow in the future. These challenges are both external and internal. External challenges include leaner competitors. External challenges include leaner competitors, higher gas prices, and limited growth opportunities. Internally the company face challenges such as reducing costs, keeping its unique culture intact, changes in the

Southwest Background Southwest Airlines was founded and incorporated in 1971 in the State of Texas by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. These two men identified a target market of potential customers serving the Dallas, Houston and San Antonia regions who would normally drive rather than fly to locations that was less than 500 miles (Smith, 2004). Therefore, Southwest first home office was in Love Field, Texas, which was befitting as the organization’s name on the New York Stock Exchange is

The company has done a super job with using LUV to create a supportive culture and to nurture achievement of the company’s customer satisfaction objectives. They have a cost-saving approach to operating, both management and employees are attentive to keeping costs down and to operating in a lean fashion. This is a major reason for Southwest’s success in implementing and executing its strategy. Southwest formed a Culture Committee in 1990 to promote “Positively Outrageous Service” and devise tributes

the success of Southwest uncovered. Reading these case studies it brings a different approach to management. With this case, it shows how we have to be brave enough to step out of the normal and go with our passion and calling in life. Herbert Kelleher was not your typical CEO. It was fun, outgoing, witty and goofy. 1. a. Airline customers are segmented in different groups: airlines must use the following criteria in order to target their specific customers: identifiability, size, accessibility