So I read this one to get a sense of Southwest’s culture before a job interview. I didn’t get hired. Was it because I thought the book sucked, meaning that I didn’t fit in with their culture, or did the book sucking have nothing to do with it? I don’t know. They never said why they didn’t hire me.
Years ago I read a similar book about Continental Airlines. From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental’s Remarkable Comeback
by Gordon Bethune. Yeah that sucked to. It’s not that I dislike learning about companies or how they became successful; it’s just that I think these types of books are more show than info. Now Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success is a real fancy book. And I even have the hardcover edition, with dust jacket. Full of color pictures on glossy pages with little boxes at the end of each chapter to help you review the pertinent facts about how to succeed the Southwest way. Good information. I was flipping through it and I realized that it is a really well laid out book and I’m sure if you really studied it, it could give you some good ideas. Maybe this is why they didn’t hire me.
Did I mention the book is filled with stories of the employees. And stories of the founder Herb Kelleher. I really like the chapter on how Herb and Stevens Aviation CEO Kurt Herwald had an arm wrestling match over who got to use the slogan Plane Smart. Some suggest that the whole thing was a way to round up a bunch of media attention. Even so, not too many CEO’s would be able to pull off a stunt like this. It must have been something to have a boss like Herb.
A couple of years ago I tracked down a copy of The Alaska Airlines Story
by Archie Satterfield. Hard to find. They sell used for close to a hundred bucks! Anyone want to bid on my copy? It was more a history book of Alaska Airlines and AK aviation throughout the years (well up to 1981) than a business book. There were flying stories, tales about how in the early years the pilots would play crazy pranks on each other, you know like loading up the plane with too much cargo to see what would happen when their buddy tried to take off (yeah my heart stopped when I read that bit), to a tale about how in the late 40’s the pilots were sent out with the planes to look for work. A few planes ended up in the Middle East flying Jewish people to the newly formed Israel. Overall I don’t think the Alaska Airlines Story gave a good idea of the current culture at the airline. Not like Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success did. In case you haven’t noticed I think the overly long title is kind of humorous. But I enjoyed the story of Alaska Airlines more than the Southwest Airlines book just because it was more of a traditional history book. There was also more about aviation and flying compared to Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success.
So did I get anything out of the book? Sure I did. I came away with the notion that you can have fun at work, hard work is rewarding, everyone wants to feel like they are needed and are making a difference. Don’t take things too seriously. Will I still read the occasional book about a company? Sure. Reread one. I’ll just say Nuts!
