The Ruthless Southwest Airlines
September 15, 2008
How sticky are your ideas? When people hear your vision for impacting kids, is it burned into their minds, hearts, and souls? Or is it In-One-Ear-And-Out-The-Other?
This is my second blog summarizing insights from Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, two leadership and management researchers. Last time we talked about JFK and Bill Gates. This time we’ll look at the Heaths’ analysis of Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines has defined themselves as THE low-fare airline. Apparently Herb Kelleher, a long-term CEO of Southwest, once told someone, “Once you understand that fact, you can make any decision about this company’s future as well as I can” (page 29).
If Southwest’s marketing department comes up with the idea of serving special snacks on a particular route, the question is: will that make us THE low-fare airline? If not, Southwest doesn’t do it.
Southwest knows its mission. It doesn’t let itself get cluttered with good ideas that are not part of the core of what they do. It is ruthless.
There are so many good—very good—ways to serve kids and their families. Are you and I as solid as Southwest in our sense of how God has called us specifically to see God’s kingdom done on earth as it is in heaven? Do we have the courage to say NO to a good ministry opportunity that keeps us away from the best?
When it comes to the good but not the best, just say NO (hey, that’s catchy, maybe I should make up some bumper stickers).
©2008 Fuller Youth Institute
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