65 Herb Kelleher Quotes From The Epic Airline Businessman
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Herbert David Kelleher, an American billionaire, was born on 12 March, 1931.
He was the co-founder and later CEO of Southwest Airlines Company and a prominent lawyer. Herb Kelleher was known for earning profits for 30 consistent years, which is a rare feat in Airline Industry.
He was able to master precise cost-cutting, he had a friendly management style and he loved parties. He was highly appreciated for his attitude, enthusiasm, and sense of humor.
He developed great ethics for business. He was honored with over 100 awards: the Distinguished Achievement Award, Wings Club; CEO of the Year, Chief Executive; CEO of the Century, Texas Monthly, Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, Aero Club of Washington.
His lifetime efforts and quotes are a great inspiration for others. These are Herb Kelleher's best quotes that are bound by love rather than by fear.
If you like these Herb Kelleher quotes, check out Howard Schultz quotes and John D. Rockefeller quotes.
Herb Kelleher Quotes On Inspiration
Your power should be reserved within your hands; these best and inspirational quotes from Herb Kelleher will inspire you with a strategic plan to retain and grow.
Herb Kelleher quotes can really work as an inspiration for many budding entrepreneurs and so, if you are someone who wishes to grow as an entrepreneur, you should go through these Herb Kelleher quotes
1. "We have a strategic plan - it's called doing things."
- Herb Kelleher.
2. "It is my practice to try to understand how valuable something is by trying to imagine myself without it."
- Herb Kelleher.
3. "The essential difference in service is not machines or 'things.' The essential difference is minds, hearts, spirits, and souls."
- Herb Kelleher.
4. "Think small and act small, and we'll get bigger. Think big and act big, and we'll get smaller."
- Herb Kelleher.
5. "If you're crazy enough to do what you love for a living, then you're bound to create a life that matters."
- Herb Kelleher.
6. "Just because you don't announce your plan doesn't mean you don't have one."
- Herb Kelleher.
7. "I forgive all personal weaknesses except egomania and pretension."
- Herb Kelleher.
8. "If you don't treat your own people well, they won't treat other people well."
- Herb Kelleher.
9. "If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don't need control. They know what needs to be done, and they do it."
- Herb Kelleher.
10. "It takes nerves of steel to stay neurotic."
- Herb Kelleher.
11. "I learned it by doing it, and I was scared to death."
- Herb Kelleher.
12. "I've always said manage in good times so that you're ready for the bad times."
- Herb Kelleher.
13. "Positions and titles mean absolutely nothing. Every person and every job is worth as much as any other person and any other job."
- Herb Kelleher.
14. "Hire for attitude, train for skill."
- Herb Kelleher.
15. "The important thing is to take the bricklayer and make him understand that he's building a home, not just laying bricks."
- Herb Kelleher.
16. "Leading an organization is as much about soul as it is about systems. Effective leadership finds its source in understanding."
- Herb Kelleher.
17. "I've always been able to make erroneous decisions very quickly."
- Herb Kelleher.
18. "You're going to have to work like crazy to bring that idea to the attention of people. They're not going to buy it unless they know about it."
- Herb Kelleher.
19. "They can buy all the physical things. The things you can't buy are dedication, devotion, loyalty—the feeling that you are participating in a crusade."
- Herb Kelleher.
20. "Power should be reserved for weightlifting and boats, and leadership really involves responsibility."
- Herb Kelleher.
21. "Humility breeds open-mindedness—and really, what we try to do is establish a clear and simple set of values that we understand."
- Herb Kelleher.
22. "It's all hands on deck; the ship is being shelled."
- Herb Kelleher.
23. "Fight hierarchy and bureaucracy as hard as you possibly can. Don't ever let it become the master; always remember it's the servant."
- Herb Kelleher.
24. "One piece of advice that always stuck in my mind is that people should be respected and trusted as people, not because of their position or title."
- Herb Kelleher.
25. "You must be very patient, very persistent. The world isn't going to shower gold coins on you just because you have a good idea."
- Herb Kelleher.
26. "Culture is intangible. It's spiritual. You can't buy it."
- Herb Kelleher.
27. "We don't apply labels to things because they prevent you from thinking expansively."
- Herb Kelleher.
Herb Kelleher Quotes On Business
There's tough competition in the market these days, and Herb Kelleher quotes show that it was present even before. These are Herb Kelleher quotes on competition that will keep your spirits high in such tough times.
These Herb Kelleher quotes will show you a lot about customers and their desires and eventually, the Herb Kelleher quotes will help you build a better business model too.
28. "Who says a lighthearted approach to business is incompatible with success?"
- Herb Kelleher.
29. "Anybody who seeks wealth as an end in itself is always going to be disappointed. What you really should be doing is seeking excellence in achievement."
- Herb Kelleher.
30. "One piece of advice that always stuck in my mind is that people should be respected and trusted as people, not because of their position or title."
- Herb Kelleher.
31. "There was no indication that the runway was wet, and they have no indications of any problems at all with the plane."
- Herb Kelleher.
32. "Just because you don't announce your plan doesn't mean you don't have one."
- Herb Kelleher.
33. "Nothing kills your company's culture like layoffs."
- Herb Kelleher.
34. "Your people come first, and if you treat them right, they'll treat the customers right."
- Herb Kelleher.
35. "The business of business is people."
- Herb Kelleher.
36. "You don't hire for skills; you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills."
- Herb Kelleher.
37. "You have to treat your employees like customers."
- Herb Kelleher.
38. "A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear."
- Herb Kelleher.
39. "Succession planning has been a major priority at Southwest for quite some time. We think we have come up with a winning combination of talent for our company reorganization."
- Herb Kelleher.
40. "If the employees come first, then they're happy. A motivated employee treats the customer well."
- Herb Kelleher.
41. "When someone comes to me with a cost-saving idea, I don't immediately jump up and say yes. I ask: what's the effect on the customer?"
- Herb Kelleher.
42. "I think my greatest moment in business was when the first Southwest airplane arrived after four years of litigation, and I walked up to it, and I kissed that baby on the lips, and I cried."
- Herb Kelleher.
43. "If employees aren't satisfied, they won't promote the product we need."
- Herb Kelleher.
44. "We can teach people how to lead. We can teach people how to provide customer service. But we can't change their DNA."
- Herb Kelleher.
45. "The more time I spend with our people, the more I find out about our business."
- Herb Kelleher.
46. "I forgive business weaknesses as well, assuming that someone is motivated by good intentions."
- Herb Kelleher.
47. "I think my greatest moment in business was when the first Southwest (Airlines) airplane arrived after four years of litigation, and I walked up to it, and I kissed that baby on the lips, and I cried."
- Herb Kelleher.
48. "You want to show your people that you value them, and you're not going to hurt them just to get a little more money in the short term. Not furloughing people breeds loyalty. It breeds a sense of security. It breeds a sense of trust."
- Herb Kelleher.
49. "As society becomes more regulated, it becomes more difficult to launch entrepreneurial ventures. It's harder today – but not impossible."
- Herb Kelleher.
Herb Kelleher Airline Quotes
Herb Kelleher believed in action and that is shown in the following Herb Kelleher quotes. These Herb Kelleher quotes talk about the way to treat your employees. Quotes by Herb Kelleher, after all, can be really stimulating.
50. "I guess the worst moment I ever had in business was the fear that Southwest Airlines wouldn't get off the ground."
- Herb Kelleher.
51. "We will hire someone with less experience, less education, and less expertise than someone who has more of those things and has a rotten attitude."
- Herb Kelleher.
52. "What's important is that a customer should get off the airplane feeling, 'I didn't just get from A to B. I had one of the most pleasant experiences I ever had, and I'll be back for that reason.'"
- Herb Kelleher.
53. "The spirit of Southwest Airlines is exuberant; it's caring, it's dedicated, it's diligent, it's fun, it's rewarding, it's a joy."
- Herb Kelleher.
54. "You can't really be disciplined in what you do unless you are humble and open-minded."
- Herb Kelleher.
55. "When I started working on Southwest Airlines, I kid you not, only people flying on business and very wealthy people ever flew."
- Herb Kelleher.
56. "Southwest isn't a 'this is my job, that's your job' kind of company. Being successful is our job, and we're willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that."
- Herb Kelleher.
57. "Everybody in Texas would tell me that they thought I was nuts trying to start Southwest Airlines. So sometimes, you need a little courage, too, just to buck popular opinion."
- Herb Kelleher.
58. "We have the best customer satisfaction record, based on Transportation Dept. statistics, of any airline in America, the fewest complaints filed per 100,000 passengers carried."
- Herb Kelleher.
59. "The core of our success. That's the most difficult thing for a competitor to imitate."
- Herb Kelleher.
60. "If the Wright brother were alive today, Wilbur would have to fire Orville to reduce costs."
- Herb Kelleher.
61. "You can't have a mid-life crisis in the airline industry because every day is a crisis."
- Herb Kelleher.
62. "Keep costs low and spirits high, and the people of Southwest Airlines will keep LUV in the air."
- Herb Kelleher.
63. "When an issue comes up, we don't say we're going to study it for two and a half years. We just say, 'Southwest Airlines doesn't do that. Maybe somebody else does, but we don't."
- Herb Kelleher.
64. "The people of Southwest have always been my pride, my joy, and my love. Their indomitable dedication and esprit de corps have taken Southwest from a three-airplane dream to a 500-airplane reality."
- Herb Kelleher.
65. "I tell my employees that we're in the service business, and it's incidental that we fly airplanes."
- Herb Kelleher.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Herb Kelleher quotes, then why not take a look at flying quotes, or women in business quotes.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management
Moumita DuttaBachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management
A content writer and editor with a passion for sports, Moumita has honed her skills in producing compelling match reports and stories about sporting heroes. She holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta University, alongside a postgraduate diploma in Sports Management.
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