Kevin is a principal of the San Diego Consulting Group, Inc., a professional speaking and management consulting
firm whose clients include Merrill Lynch, the United States Marine Corp, Arthur Andersen, GTE, and Southwest Airlines.
Freiberg, Jackie :
Jackie is a principal of the San Diego Consulting Group, Inc., a professional speaking and management consulting
firm whose clients include Merrill Lynch, the United States Marine Corp, Arthur Andersen, GTE, and Southwest Airlines.
Sample Chapter
EXCERPT
"Professionals" Need Not Apply: Hire for Attitude, Train for Skills
When Kelleher became chairman in 1978, he charged the People Department with the responsibility of hiring people
with a sense of humor. "I want flying to be a helluva lot of fun!" he always says. "Life is too
short and too hard and too serious not to be humorous about it." Fun is taken very seriously at Southwest
Airlines, and the company's recruiting and hiring practices are built on the idea that humor can help people thrive
during change, remain creative under pressure, work more effectively, play more enthusiastically, and stay healthier
in the process.
In a world where change is one of the true constants, most people are having to work smarter and harder and faster
than ever before. As the pace and intensity of our work lives have picked up, it's no wonder we've lost touch with
the lighter side of life and become very serious. Many organizations expect their employees to be serious and businesslike,
to check their personal and emotional baggage at the door before coming into the office.
"Terminal professionalism" is the term coined by Lighten Up authors C.W. Metcalf and Roma Felible to
describe the way today's overworked, overstressed, underpaid, and underplaying individuals work. Terminal professionals--and
the organizations in which they work--have come to believe that humor is unprofessional and silliness is for children.
Southwest Airlines believes that failure to nourish and encourage lightness in the workplace not only undermines
productivity, creativity, adaptability, and morale, but also can drive people crazy. By putting humor at the top
of its list of recruiting and hiring criteria, Southwest has found a way to nourish joy, pride, and just plain
fun in people on and off the job. The company's healthy alternative to terminal professionalism has restored the
faded dream of satisfying work and job security for thousands of people.
A New Kind of Professionalism
At Southwest, "professional" and "businesslike" alone just won't cut it. In fact, these are
terms Kelleher despises; he believes they have lost their meaning. "Anybody who likes to be called a 'professional'
probably shouldn't be around Southwest Airlines," he says. "We want people who can do things well with
laughter and grace." The point here is not to offend people who think of themselves as professionals. Southwest
Airlines is bursting with professionalism, but it is a unique brand, practiced with flair. The type of professionalism
people experience and express within the Southwest culture is not the stuffy, serious professionalism guarded by
the philosophy that "the business of business is business." Instead, the professionals that customers
encounter at Southwest are remarkably uninhibited and empathetic individuals who believe that the business of business
is to make a profit by serving people and making life more fun.
An example of this new kind of professionalism is captured in a customer letter applauding a memorable flight and
an entertaining announcement routine:
I flew in early May to Albuquerque, on a flight that began with the flight attendant welcoming us and then telling
us that we had a VIP on board. He welcomed Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock on "Star Trek."
We all clapped and turned to see him--we were told this was all in fun. Instead, we were the VIPs on board! Then
he graciously welcomed each of us to Southwest Airlines as the most important person.... He then treated us to
the most entertaining flight announcement routine, telling us we were flying over 7,943 hot tubs, swimming pools,
etc., so here was the water evacuation information. Please wave to his mother on cue. He had a great sense of humor
and mixed fun several times into our flight. On arriving, he and the crew sang a song, and he closed by saying
if we enjoyed our flight, their names were Reggie, Sam, and Pete. However, if we didn't enjoy his foolishness,
their names were Fred, Tom, and Harry. Everyone was laughing and in a great mood by the time we deplaned.
Now I realize that not everyone has Reggie's personality and showmanship. But I think many people don't risk this
kind of playfulness because they fear that it will be seen as unprofessional. There is a new kind of professionalism
that Southwest is becoming known for, all over the world--great service with lots of fun mixed in.
Southwest's philosophy of professionalism in no way puts a damper on personal style. Employees at Southwest are
encouraged to be authentic, to be real. They are free to express themselves in real, creative ways and encouraged
to influence the uniqueness of Southwest by projecting their own individuality. Perhaps this is one of the reasons
customers find themselves drawn to Southwest employees. Somehow they have found a way to make work fun in spite
of the intense pace of the airline business.
No one at Southwest doubts that the company's playful work style enriches the lives of customers and employees
alike. Fun, humor, and laughter are treated as life-enhancing gifts for everyone. So how does Southwest go about
creating the kind of relaxed and accepting atmosphere that grants people the freedom to play and have fun? The
company is religious about hiring the right people.
Hiring for Attitude
The People Department is Southwest's equivalent of a human resources or personnel department. To Southwest, employees
are more than just resources; they are real people, with real needs and real emotions, whose satisfaction is valued
and respected. Libby Sartain, vice president of people, told us that fun counterbalances the stress of hard work
and competition. Fun is about attitude, so Southwest hires for attitude and trains for skills.
The First Cut
First and foremost, Southwest Airlines looks for a sense of humor. As "The High Priest of Ha Ha"--Fortune
magazine's nickname for Kelleher--frequently says, "We look for attitudes; people with a sense of humor who
don't take themselves too seriously. We'll train you on whatever it is you have to do; but the one thing Southwest
cannot change in people is inherent attitudes." Although each department has a unique hiring process, there
is one fundamental, consistent principle--hire people with the right spirit. Southwest looks for people with other-oriented,
outgoing personalities, individuals who become part of an extended family of people who work hard and have fun
at the same time.
Southwest has tailored the general principles of Targeted Selection to hire people with this special kind of spirit.
In the interview process, prospective employees are typically asked, "Tell me how you recently used your sense
of humor in a work environment. Tell me how you have used humor to defuse a difficult situation." The People
Department also looks for humor as well as unselfishness in the interaction people have with each other during
group interviews.
To test for unselfishness, Southwest uses an exercise that's not all that creative in itself; it's the analysis
of the applicants' approach to the exercise that makes it a powerful hiring tool. The interviewing team asks a
group of potential employees to prepare a five-minute presentation about themselves and gives them plenty of time
to prepare. As the presentations are delivered, the interviewers don't watch just the speakers; they watch the
audience to see which applicants are using this time to work on their own presentations and which are enthusiastically
cheering on and supporting their potential coworkers. Unselfish people who will support their teammates are the
ones who catch Southwest's eye, not the applicants who are tempted to polish their own presentations while others
are speaking.
Passing Through the Screen
Not everyone makes it through the screening process. Even with pilots, whose technical proficiency is supremely
important, attitude also plays a major role. A highly decorated military pilot--on paper, he ranked among Southwest's
all-time best applicants--applied for a position. On his way to Dallas for the interview, this pilot was rude to
the customer service agent at the ticket counter where he received his transfer pass. When he arrived for the interview
he seemed cold and arrogant to the receptionist. These episodes suggested to the interview team that, although
the pilot was highly qualified on the technical side, he didn't have the right attitude for Southwest. He was automatically
disqualified.
Another example of hiring for attitude involved a group of eight applicant pilots who were being kidded about how
they were dressed--dark suits, black shoes, and dress socks. They were encouraged to loosen up by changing into
Southwest's standard-issue Bermuda shorts. Six of the applicants accepted the offer and interviewed for the rest
of the day in suit coats, black dress shoes and socks, and Bermuda shorts. They were hired.
By hiring the right attitude, the company is able to foster the so-called Southwest Spirit--an intangible quality
in people that causes them to want to do whatever it takes and to want to go that extra mile whenever they need
to. In spite of (or maybe because of) such high expectations, people who go to work for Southwest Airlines tend
to stay with the company for a long time.
Act Like an Owner: Ask Questions, Think Results
People who think like owners have a unique perspective. They ask provocative questions. And the answers they come
up with influence their attitudes and behaviors, which, in turn, determine the company's performance. It's not
unusual to hear someone who is thinking like an owner ask, "If this were my company, how would I handle a
customer in this situation? Would I buy this piece of equipment or make that investment? If I personally owned
this business, how would I treat my employees? Would I establish this committee, attend that meeting, or make that
trip?"
What does it take to get employees to assume ownership for a business, to truly take personal responsibility for
its success? This is one of the most frequently asked questions in business today. Finding an answer to this question
is critical because, as Southwest has learned, ownership is a powerful catalyst for organizational change. It seems
that if only we could get employees to show more initiative for cutting costs, serving customers, and improving
productivity, we could gain the advantage we need to excel in a highly competitive business environment.
Think Like an Owner
Owners think differently from nonowners because ownership is a state of mind. It's about caring, about becoming
fully engaged in the active pursuit of organizational objectives. For example, nonowners are more apt to worry
about how their actions are being perceived by their superiors. Owners focus on the business results of their actions,
regardless of who's watching. Nonowners may be more inclined to protect functional areas, pursue self-interest,
and approach the business from a parochial point of view. Owners transcend functional boundaries. It doesn't matter
where an idea comes from, owners evaluate its merit based on whether it contributes to the ultimate objective of
delivering customer value.
Nonowners have a greater tendency to live by the rules, even when the rules run contrary to common sense. Owners
bend, stretch, and even break rules that don't serve the organization's purpose. If breaking the rules is not an
option, owners take the initiative to change them. Owners pay attention to details others fail to notice. When
people have a vested interest in the outcome of a business, they become more cost-conscious, industrious, and imaginative.
Owners are also different from nonowners in their willingness to take action without being asked; they are rarely
spectators. An owner takes the time to follow up with a customer who expresses a concern during a casual meeting.
An owner picks up the piece of trash that others have been ignoring for hours. An owner makes the extra phone call
to pass on a small but important piece of information that could be helpful to another employee.
"Our people think like owners and have for a long time," says Gary Barron, who offers retired skycap
Tommy Perryman as an example. Perryman, one of the original employees, worked at Southwest for fifteen years without
missing a single day. "When I was in San Antonio back in the early days, I would go to the airport to catch
a flight to Dallas. Inevitably, when I got out of the parking lot and started to walk into the terminal, I would
run into Tommy. Every time, he would pull clippings out of his pocket about Southwest Airlines and the legal battles
we were having, and there were a bunch of them. Tommy always wanted to know what was going on and how we were doing.
He cared and he thought about it. Being a skycap wasn't just a job to him."
What sets Southwest apart from the competition is thousands of employees like Perryman, who exemplify the dedication
and consistency that come with ownership. Chic Lang, a Southwest captain, says, "It amazes me how you go talk
to a ramper or a flight attendant and they'll tell you what the stock price is that day. There are articles all
over the wall about what's going on with the competition and they're all reading them." Ownership is a very
powerful incentive because it inspires motivation and encourages the kind of loyalty for which Perryman was so
well known. Here are some of the ways Southwest Airlines encourages people to assume ownership of the business.
Hire Entrepreneurial Self-Starters
Southwest not only attracts people who are fun and like to have a good time; the company also looks for self-starters
who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Previous airline experience doesn't carry a lot of weight at Southwest. The
company is much more interested in ordinary people who are driven to do extraordinary things, people who are not
afraid to step outside the routine and use their initiative to challenge the status quo. Southwest doesn't worry
about hiring people who are mavericks. A new applicant who didn't fit in a large bureaucracy or who shuns a profession
that requires specific, formal education may be just the right fit for Southwest.
The hiring process for pilots is a good example of how Southwest attracts people with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Southwest Airlines is the only company in the airline industry that requires a pilot to have a 737-Type Rating
before he or she is considered for hire. This rating, given by the Federal Aviation Administration, essentially
says a pilot is qualified to be the captain of a Boeing 737. This means that all first officers are qualified to
fly as captains.
Terry "Moose" Millard, a Southwest captain, explains how this hiring policy attracts pilots who have
an entrepreneurial spirit: "The average person will pay about $10,000 to get this qualification. It's interesting
because this is another part of the equation of hiring entrepreneurial people. There is about a one-in-five chance
that one of these pilots will be hired at Southwest. Each one of these people is taking a risk. Some of them are
borrowing money to get $10,000 so that they can compete--just so they...
Twenty-five years ago, Herb Kelleher reinvented air travel when he founded Southwest Airlines, where the planes
are painted like killer whales, a typical company maxim is "Hire people with a sense of humor," and in-flight
meals are never served--just sixty million bags of peanuts a year. By sidestepping "reengineering," "total
quality management," and other management philosophies and employing its own brand of business success, Kelleher's
airline has turned a profit for twenty-four consecutive years and seen its stock soar 300 percent since 1990.