Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines came out with their “40 Lessons To Learn” on their 40th anniversary.  Southwest is famous for their culture, and their leaders attribute their unmatched success in the airline industry to this. As you can guess, there were a number of lessons on the importance of culture.

Here is Lesson # 15: Invent your own Culture and put a top person in charge of it.

“The person behind Southwest’s unique culture is Colleen Barrett, the airline’s former president. A native of tiny Bellows Falls, Vermont, and a graduate of Becker Junior College, Colleen (no one calls her “Ms. Barrett” and gets away with it) was Herb Kelleher’s legal secretary when Southwest got its start. She started as the corporate secretary in 1978, rose to VP of administration in 1986, and became president and chief operating officer in 2001. By the time she stepped down in 2008, she had crafted the tone and SPIRIT that defines Southwest today, from the legendary annual Halloween party to the way a gate agent treats a Customer.

Sporting a long white ponytail, she looks more like a sweet grandmother (actually, she is a grandmother) than a corporate titan. But anyone who acted against the Southwest way of doing business—who, in other words, behaved in a way that seemed less than heartfelt—were immediately set right.

Heartfelt. If one word defined Colleen and the Culture she worked to create, that’s it. We love that Forbes rated her above Queen Elizabeth II in its 100 Most Powerful Women ranking in 2005. She didn’t make No. 1., but only because Forbes doesn’t grade people by the size of their hearts.”

Point # 1: Invent your own culture.

Southwest is unique. There is no airline like them. There is no company like them. They stand in a class of their own. Why? They had leaders like Herb Keller (founder) and Colleen Barret who recognized that one of their main jobs as a leader was to  build and lead a company that never strayed from their purpose and always stuck to their values. So they designed Southwest airlines around these principles. And by doing so, became a unique company.

So many companies are the same. They share the same, boring, old core values. They have a mission statement that is a paragraph that no one (even the founder and CEO) can communicate. And most of all, even if their values aren’t old and boring, they don’t know how to live them. So they never form a unique identity with their culture. And they never form a unique identity in the marketplace, either.

Point # 2: Put a top person in charge of it

How many examples of great brands can we name that started to fail once the founding CEO left the CEO position? Lots. Apple, Dell and Starbucks are the first 3 that come to mind. Why? Because the spirit of the company also left with the founding CEO. Sure they hired super smart people. But super smart people don’t always have the heart and the spirit that the founder embodies. And when this disappears, so can your culture. When the company’s purpose isn’t truly embodied (read blog post “Making Tough Decvisions to Preserve Your Core: Learning From Starbucks), that is when your brand will start to falter.

Southwest did it right. They hired someone from within that embodied the spirit of the company. Colleen certainly wasn’t the smartest CEO out there. But she was someone who would champion the cause.  Apple learned the hard way. This time, they promoted from within. I bet after Howard Schultz turns Starbucks around, that he will appoint someone from within as the CEO.

 Even if you cant do this, (as with most fast growth, entrepreneurial companies like Nurse Next Door) you better make sure that your person at the top embodies the spirit of your company, and they champion the cause.

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Posted in Brand core values Culture by admin 4 Comments