Inside Southwest Airlines: With CEO Gary Kelly

The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas hosts a monthly VIP Distinguished Speaker Series.  These events aim to give all UT students access to the leaders of business across many industries. 

On October 27th, the CEO of Southwest Airlines Gary Kelly shared insights into his leadership experiences at Southwest.  The one hour long event was held in a packed house at UT's AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center ballroom.  To those familiar with the GT Hotel and Conference Center, this venue is very similar to the Grand Ballroom that often hosts banquets and seminars.  Several hundred students from a wide range of disciplines at UT took advantage of hearing the local airline favorite CEO and UT Distinguished Alumnus.  The McCombs Business School Dean Thomas Gilligan lead the first 30 minutes of interviewing and then the floor was opened to students to ask questions to Mr. Kelly. 

Southwest Airlines is the largest airline carrier in the US based on the number of domestic passengers.  The company carries about 25% of the countries' air travelers.  Everyone that has experienced Southwest has not only been treated to their signature low-cost flights but to a friendly and personable flight crew.  And while the results of Mr. Kelly's leadership are apparent, Thursday night's event was a great way to get an insider's perspective on his leadership style.    

Gary Kelly seems like a pretty down-to-earth dude.  He went to college at UT, majored in Business, and became a CPA.  His Southwest career started when working at the Dallas, Texas based airline company as a 'Controller', which is a role in the financial/business side of things.  He has worked his way up the ranks over the last 20 years.  He was CFO, Vice President, and now he's CEO.  He's been named one of the best CEOs by Institutional Investor Magazine in both '08 and '09.  So, what did it take?  What makes him special?  What makes him qualified, with a Bachelor's in Finance from UT, to run the largest airline company in the US?  Turns out, it boils down to a few key ideals: humbleness to the dependency on those around him, persistance and hard work, passion, and caring for his 'family'.  

Obviously, Mr. Kelly has a lot of people working for him.  He says it is a humbling experience realizing how dependent you are on others.  Like many successful leaders, throughout his career he has been the beneficiary of support and mentoring.  He says that we are not alone, and not independent, when it comes to leading businesses.  He forever seeks input from his executive officers when dealing with what he calls the most challenging issues in business: people.  He has mastered nothing, he says, but is more an orchestrator of talent. 

Hard work and passion are two traits the airline leader deems critical to his success.  He was quick to bring up the underlying factor in any role he has had throughout his career was that he simply worked his butt off.  And, he says, the best advice he has been given is to never give up.  Who hasn't heard that before, right?  But pairing this advice with the belief that if you're really passionate about something, you'll be good at it, he says, will take you a long way.  In a roundabout way, it almost seems like he claims he doesn't focus on making money.  But that, making a profit is the by-product of being passionate about serving his customers.  A CEO not focused on making money is a hard idea to grasp, but, his take-home message to students is very clear:  Work hard on something you're passionate about and good things will happen.

Garry Kelly enjoys having a large family and is the father to almost 35,000 people (...2 of them are biological).  Seriously.  The man has his family values down pat.  It's his goal to treat everyone, including his employees, like customers.   He feels it's his duty to take care of his employees and is extremely proud of the fact that Southwest has had NO layoffs or pay-cuts in the last 40 years.  This quote from Garry Kelly sharing news about the birth of his first grandchild sums up the Southwest attitude:

"As I have shared the many joys in our Employees' lives over my 24 years at Southwest, it is a treat to share mine with them, too.  It just reminds me, again … that is what families do—share with each other.  And at Southwest, truly, we are Family."

 -Southwest Blog

In May of this year, Southwest acquired AirTran Airways.  To welcome the recently-acquired AirTran crew, what did Southwest do?  Throw a bar-b-que, of course.  Good 'ole southerner hospitality at it's finest.  And, in fact, according to Southwest's website, their stock exchange symbol, LUV, part represents their home at Dallas Love Field and part represents the theme of their Employee - Customer relationship.   

It was encouraging and refreshing to hear that the ideals many try to live their lives by can be the pillars of a successful company.  Oftentimes business success can come at a price in cut-throat competition and difficult ethical decisions.  Southwest is a prime example that a little bit of hard work and a little bit of 'luv' really can get you to the top of the game.