Herb Kelleher + Richard Branson Primary Attitudes
April 24, 2010 1 Comment
I just started reading Richard Branson’s new book Business Stripped Bare and am enjoying learning about his approach to business. Richard Branson exudes such a passion for creating new products and businesses, while ensuring an outstanding customer experience. In the book he mentions that he believes in Herb Kelleher’s primary attitudes espoused at Southwest Airlines. Here are those 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 OK.
- It’s OK to be yourself.
- Have fun at work.
- Take the competition seriously, but not yourself.
- 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.
These are strong primary attitudes and I believe in them as well.
Do you agree? What attitudes would you add?
About David Cummings
These are great attributes. For point #9 I would add — as long as it’s morally and ethically correct. Or the simple rule to apply … Ask yourself: Would your mom would approve?
I think these attributes imply and infer that people should be accountable, but I think it should be called out. It’s so prevalent and insipid in today’s businesses to generate excuses and blame others. At some point people just need to fess up and take responsibility for their own actions.