When Southwest Airlines first taxied onto the runway of Dallas’s Love Field in 1971, industry gurus predicted it would be a short trip to bankruptcy for the Texas-based airline. But the first short-haul, low-fare, high-frequency, point-to-point carrier took a unique idea and made it fly. Today, Southwest Airlines is the most profitable commercial airline in the world based on domestic passengers carried. Southwest has 37,000 employees and operates more than 3,300 flights a day with scheduled service to 97 destinations in 42 states.

It took more than a wing and a prayer for Southwest to soar to such lofty altitudes—it required a maverick spirit. From the beginning, Southwest has flown against convention. Southwest’s fleet of 737s—considered by many the safest in the industry—still makes only short flights and is the largest operator of the 737 worldwide with over 550 of these aircraft in service, each operating an average of six flights per day.

The airline does not give seat assignments, and the only food it serves passengers is a “snack pack.” But what Southwest may lack in amenities, it seems to more than make up for in what could be called positively outrageous service. “Fun” is the company’s mandate. Leading the way for years was the founder and former CEO, Herb Kelleher. “Herb Kelleher was definitely the zaniest CEO in the world,” Libby Sartain, vice president of Southwest Airlines’s People Department, admits. “Where else would you find a CEO who dressed up as Elvis Presley, who was on a first-name basis with over 30,000 employees, and who still has a heart as big as the state of Texas? His style fostered an atmosphere where people feel comfortable being themselves—where they can have a good time when they work.”

Legendary for his love of laughter, Kelleher called his unique leadership style management by fooling around. “An important part of leadership, I think, is enjoying what you’re doing and letting it show to the people that you work with,” Kelleher reveals. “And I would much rather have a company that is bound by love, rather than bound by fear.” Kelleher’s philosophy has been enthusiastically embraced by the current executive staff and by a workforce that is 85 percent unionized. “Southwest’s culture is designed to promote high spirit and avoid complacency. We have little hierarchy here. Our employees are encouraged to be creative and innovative, to break rules when they need to in order to provide good service to our customers,” Sartain explains. “If you create the type of environment that a person really feels valued and they feel they make a difference, then they’re going to be motivated. That’s the type of environment we create here for our employees,” adds Rita Bailey, Southwest’s director of training.

QUESTIONS

1. Describe some of the factors needed to reengineer corporate thinking that Southwest Airlines already exhibits.

2. What specific elements of a corporate entrepreneurial strategy are apparent within Southwest Airlines?

3. How was Herb Kelleher instrumental in structuring a climate conducive to entrepreneurial activity?