Southwest’s Kelleher gives Lindbergh Lecture

[Midnight Mike]

Employees come first, Kelleher said. “If you honor, respect, care for, protect, and reward your employees . . . they will treat each other and their customers with caring, respect, and hospitality.” Any airline can buy planes, but the “Southwest Spirit” is an intangible that cannot be purchased. It has to be cultivated deliberately. For example, Kelleher could be found answering the phones at Southwest, loading baggage, serving drinks onboard, checking passengers in — sharing the work of the employees. He argued that putting employees first and investing them directly in the company’s mission is a winning strategy: “Esprit gets things done, fast and well — just ask the U.S. Marine Corps.”

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