Do you have satisfied customers or a loyal customers?

Jeffrey Gitomer in Charlotte, whose expertise is in successful selling techniques, says he will take a loyal customer over a satisfied customer, anytime. A satisfied one may move on to a competitor, still being o.k. with your product or service. A loyal customer will stay with you through thick and thin.

The key reason, experts say, that you lose customers is "emotion." Facts sometimes, but emotion most of the time. I had that experience with a major airline. Over the past twenty five years I have flown 1.5 million miles with them.

A year ago I reached their "ultimate level" of over a 100,000 miles in one year. Then this past year I made my last flight on December 14th and had 99,380 qualifying miles. I was 620 miles short, 6/10 of one percent.

I called their frequent flier desk and asked if exceptions were made when you had flown this much and were so close. The male reservation agent was nice but firm. No exceptions. I said I had just booked two flights in January of the following year. He said it didn't make any difference. I asked if they valued a "loyal customer" and he said absolutely.....but rigidity set in. So I thanked him and hung up.

My "emotions" were in high gear and a lot of anti-feelings against that airline were coming out. But as my Parents used to say: "Sleep on it before you make a harsh decision." Two days later I received a phone call from a Supervisor at that same airline doing a quality control check on my phone call to the frequent flier desk. There were a series of questions about how the call was handled. Finally she asked: "Did you get the result you wanted from the call?" I replied, "No," and explained why. She quickly checked my mileage account and said: "I will over-ride the system and you are qualified for next year. You are a loyal customer and we need your business and support."

They were very close to losing a significant customer. She saved it. Look at your own department or company. Are you standing in the way of loyalty with rigidity?

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Howard Putnam speaks on leadership, change, transformation, customer service, teams and ethics.  He is the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years.

This article was originally included in Howard Putnam's Leadership eSeries.   You can sign up to receive his weekly thoughts on leadership by going to: http://www.howardputnam.com/eseries.asp 

How can you inspire loyalty in your customers?

Partnering is probably an overused buzz word, but it works if both parties are sincere in their goals and objectives to create an outcome that benefits both sides.

An example. For years, we have all complained about how high automobile insurance is, and if we have an accident we are further penalized with premium increases. Then we criticize, and rightly so, automobile manufacturer's car designs that look pretty but are not functional in an accident and increase the cost of repairs.

But, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Ford Motor actually listened to Hartford Insurance and State Farm when they were designing the 2007 Mustang. They moved the headlamp placement back from the grill and they strengthed the bumper. In fact after a couple of years experience the insurance companies say they might be able to lower rates on the 2007 Mustang.

What a concept. Two parties partnering to reach an outcome that positively impacts both of them and you and me, "the customer." Have you been thinking about partnering opportunities? They are there if you look. ______________________________________________________________________

Howard Putnam speaks on leadership, change, transformation, customer service, teams and ethics.  He is the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years.

This article was originally included in Howard Putnam's Leadership eSeries.   You can sign up to receive his weekly thoughts on leadership by going to: http://www.howardputnam.com/eseries.asp 

David Johnson interviews Howard Putnam, former President and CEO, Southwest Airlines and Braniff International, on KRLD's radio show, "CEO Spotlight," on Oct. 28, 2009.  Should the government save the airline industry with re-regulation?

Listen to Howard's comments on the latest round of layoffs and fare sales in the airline industry. 

Pictured in the photo (left to right): Eryn Witcher (friend of Col. Tillman),  Col. Mark Tillman, USAF Retired, former Commander of and Chief Pilot for President Bush, on Air Force One, 2001-2009, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, Commanding Officer Fallon, NV, Naval Air Station, (over Top-Gun), Krista Putnam and Howard Putnam...At the Reno National Championship Air Races, 9-19-09, where Col. Tillman was the dinner speaker in the Checkered Flag Club.

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Howard Putnam is a leadership speaker and his programs cover successful strategies, innovation, change, developing people and ethics.  He authored the book, "The Winds of Turbulence". The National Speakers Association inducted Howard into the CPAE (Council of Peers Award of Excellence) Speakers Hall of Fame in 2005. He also is accredited as a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional).

Howard Putnam, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and Braniff International discusses ethics in business: 

"Turbulence is inevitable and misery is optional" in business and in your personal life.  Some turbulent situations can be very painful when you stick to your ethics and integrity and do the right thing.  Others can be costly financially. We took on the challenge of trying to save financially failing Braniff International Airlines, a billion dollar a year company that had over expanded after airline deregulation.  Due to some questionable accounting techniques and poor management of their cash, we had only ten days of cash when we arrived.  That will bring a lump to your throat.

The FBI was investigating the purchasing agent for jet fuel, for taking kickbacks. He was later convicted.  There was a theft ring at DFW Airport on the ramp with pilfering from luggage.  We hired off duty police officers to work as baggage agents.  And thanks to a tip I got from one of the baggage handlers when I was helping unload a B-727 one morning, we caught 22 of them on Christmas Eve. I had them all fired and had them spent Christmas in jail to send a message to everyone else.  We also put out a press release stating the facts.  When management ego and poor strategy guide a company, turbulence and unethical behavior are close behind.

The US Transportation Dept. was investigating another airline for utilizing dirty tricks in reservations and customer service to discredit Braniff with its passengers.  Everywhere we looked there was unethical behavior.  But we stayed the course, not lowering our standards and kept the company alive for seven months before restructuring and reorganizing it successfully through chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Nearly every organization I interact with shares with me their core competencies and core values.  They all center around Integrity, Honesty and Accountability, which are all worthy beliefs and values.  Every employee or associate has to understand them and believe them, in order for them to be woven into the fabric of your department or organization.  If you, as a leader, believe in them, you must also be an example of them 24-7. Otherwise, it is an exercise in futility and will only end up hurting morale and productivity.  How many times have you eaten an apple which was OK until you got to the core...and it was "rotten?"  The same thing can happen with core values if they aren't true all the way through.

Some people have asked me "What's the difference between ethics, and business ethics?"

Ethics start with each of us as children.  If we don't get the proper guidance and course corrections, we begin to see life as a game where we win in any way possible.  As a parent we have the responsibility every day to engrain that in our children.  Over and over and over again.   

As a leader in business you have the same responsibility.  You don't write an ethics code, have one meeting, give everyone copies and expect it to happen.  It has to be a part of your daily routine.  You have to believe it and live it 24/7. Ethics are ethics - at home, at the office, on the playing field, on the golf course, or on the freeway in traffic.  Honesty, integrity, and accountability are a team and not "situational" to fit the occasion.   Right is right.  Wrong is wrong. 

When I speak on ethics, I give examples of real life situations I have faced and had to make unpopular choices.  Audiences identify with reality and place themselves in the situation mentally to see how they would have handled it.

Most people would agree General Colin Powell has an impeccable record.  He is admired worldwide, myself included.  He has experienced leadership roles bigger and more far reaching than I can imagine.  Sometime after he resigned as Secretary of State, he was interviewed and asked about his famous speech to the United Nations, where he stated there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and later all that intelligence was questioned.   

He replied:  "Yeah, it hurt. Let me point out that's the same intelligence that the Senate and House relied on four months earlier, that President Bush relied on, and that President Clinton used to bomb Iraq in 1998.  I wasn't alone in believing those stockpiles were there.  When people ask me if this a blot on your record?  Yeah, OK it is a blot on my record.  But do you want me to walk around saying I have a blot on my record every day?  I didn't lie and I wasn't misleading. The intelligence apparently was wrong."  

On a much smaller scale we all experience the same thing.  We all have small blots on our record.  But if we have gathered all the facts that were available and stick to the truth, then we have to make a decision and take the responsibility for the "blot" if it occurs.

Tony Brigmon was our Ambassador of Fun at Southwest Airlines when I was CEO.  When his youngest son, Luke, graduated from high school in Texas, he was a championship wrestler with a record of 55-5 his senior year. He did not get to the state championships, losing a close match. He received more than one scholarship for his scholastic and wrestling efforts, along with a great letter from the Father of one of his biggest competitors, whom he beat on more than one occasion.   Here are a few excerpts from that letter, which I have Tony's permission to reprint here: 

"Luke, you have shown us what it means to be a competitor and a gentleman, what a caring and devoted son you are, and that hard work and dedication do pay dividends.  When you lost, you lost with dignity and humbleness, not anger and spite.  Take comfort in knowing that there will be more challenges ahead of you in life, but your attitude, conviction and perseverance will serve you well as you reap far greater, eternal rewards.  Luke, these are attributes that are not left on the mat at the end of a tournament, but are very valuable characteristics that will serve you well for the rest of your life. Strange as it may seem, 10 years from now, people will not remember Luke Brigmon by his won-loss record, or whether he won a State championship. You will be remembered by who you were as a person and what impact you had on those folks around you. It has been a pleasure to watch you mature into an awesome person over the past couple of years. And, it has been fun to see you wrestle (except those times when you beat my son!). You and your family have been, and will continue to be, what this sport is all about: discipline, honor, community, respect, competition and camaraderie." 

How refreshing it is to hear a competing Father congratulate, versus complain, and what a legacy to leave in school, in business and most importantly in life.  Competing fairly and taking the high road will reap the biggest rewards in the long term.

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Howard Putnam is a leadership speaker and his programs cover successful strategies, innovation, change, developing people and ethics.  He authored the book, "The Winds of Turbulence". The National Speakers Association inducted Howard into the CPAE (Council of Peers Award of Excellence) Speakers Hall of Fame in 2005. He also is accredited as a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional).

He is the former CEO of the highly successful Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years.

Leadership comes from training, development and experience. Correct?  If not, then you must be born with those necessary ingredients. Correct?

Frankly, I don't think it is one or the other.  It is a combination of both.  I spoke at an executive development program for twenty five general officers of the U.S. Army. Leadership is of the utmost importance to them, on and off of the battlefield. We had a good discussion on what makes a great leader.

Upon reflection of that session and from my own experiences, I believe the following leadership ingredients we are partially born with and come out of our very early life experiences and intellectual makeup.

1. Given responsibility at an early age and get satisfaction from it.

2. Held accountable for results and recognized and praised for achievement.

3. Born with a passion and excitement for life.

4. Strong family home life, for support.

5. Feel good about yourself mentally.

6. Take care of yourself physically.

7. Enjoy people, being part of a team and leading.

8. Positive attitude.

9. Intuition and judgment begin to form out of these experiences.

10. Honest and integrity are a part of your fabric and makeup.

As we mature as adults, with the above foundation, successful leaders in later life are taught, learn eagerly, develop and practice the following ingredients.

1. Self discipline.

2. Learn humility, yet are ambitious and confident.

3. Desire to learn. A never ending quest for ideas and education.

4. Practice over and over.

5. Take advantage of learning from mentors and role models.

6. Pragmatic approach, realistic.

7. Learn to think strategically and tactically.

8. Develop skill sets that support leading.

9. Like a book, develop a table of contents to draw from when needed, i.e., policies, procedures, definitions.

10. Adaptable to multi-tasking, flexible to change.

If you have a view on what makes a great leader, let me know what you think by adding a comment below.

- Howard Putnam

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Howard Putnam speaks on leadership, change, transformation, customer service, teams and ethics.  He is the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years.

This article was originally included in Howard Putnam's Leadership eSeries.   You can sign up to receive his weekly thoughts on leadership by going to: http://www.howardputnam.com/eseries.asp  

Someone once said: "If you can't predict the future, invent it." That is what has been happening in technology and on the internet. People are inventing new pathways like a company called Google, originally a leader in search technology on the internet. But being nimble and creative Google has moved on to content technology and new strategies. Their vision is flow state. It is constantly being invented and reinvented as the competitive marketplace demands new ideas and results.

The same is true for you as an individual. It is critical that you, just like an organization, think through what you are all about. What do you really enjoy doing? What skill sets do you possess that match up fun and work. If you sit back passively and wait for someone to guide you, you may waste a lot of years. You need to be proactive on your own looking ahead matching your interests and skillsets with what you perceive the market in the future to be. Obviously the internet has opened up a new realm of possibilities in retailing, technology, conferencing, real estate, education, etc.

As a youngster, I learned to fly and always wanted to be in aviation. I started out as a baggage handler and worked my way through many positions to achieve my vision, to be the CEO of an airline. I was fortunate to know what I wanted to do at an early age. I was always focused on that dream, that vision. I worked hard, as did my wife Krista, who has been a great team mate for these many years and it paid off.

Many times we waste the greatest years of lives trying to figure out that vision. If you haven't done so, set aside some time and rethink your vision. Does it match the company you are with or the business you are in now? Are you following a satisfying pathway to the future? Do it now. What is your vision? Vision is a powerful thing.

- Howard Putnam

Turmoil in the financial markets and the threat of a recession are adding to the many challenges that healthcare finance executives must deal with. When leading during turbulent times, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," says Howard Putnam, former CEO of Southwest Airlines and Braniff International. Then take the bold steps necessary to meet your goals. "In any crisis, you should try to regain the trust of your people and of your customers," he says. Putnam knows what it's like to lead in turbulent times. He was brought in to lead Braniff out of dire financial straits.

Recently, hfm talked with Putnam about his vision in leading during turbulent times and the similarity of challenges in the healthcare industry and in the airline industry.

Q. Southwest Airlines is known for combining customer service with efficient operations. How do you instill in staff the relationship between these two critical but different facets of excellence?

A. I was the second CEO at Southwest many years ago when the company was smaller, and I knew what my role was. I think this is true in any healthcare organization as well. You have to figure out what the flight plan is, what the vision is. Then you have to figure out what business you're in. At Southwest Airlines, we figured out we weren't an airline; we were in mass transportation. That's a totally different business. Finally, you have to figure out how you support a vision and the business. You do it through culture.

You have to have a very simple, clear vision. Ours was only 52 words long. The year after we wrote the vision statement, I probably spent 40 percent of my time with the people, one-on-one, pounding that little vision statement into the fabric of the organization-into investors, into customers, training employees. Once you do that, it's very easy to combine an efficient operation and good customer service, because people know what is expected of them. If they don't know what's expected of them-and that's where many companies get in trouble-then you will not have the kind of customer service and efficient operation that you so desire.

Q. Southwest Airlines has been consistently profitable and cost-effective in a volatile industry where profitability is the exception. Given the current volatile economic climate and challenges all industries are facing to improve operations and access credit, what advice can you offer executives about achieving financial success when times are tough?

A. First, be proactive. Don't wait. Often when we make changes, we make them so small that they're insignificant, and then we've got to go back and do it again. We furlough three people when we should have furloughed 10. We cut out one computer system when we should have combined two and thrown out three others. We don't take the big steps in tough times until it's sometimes too late.

Second, simplify, simplify, simplify. I always felt one of my responsibilities as CEO was to take the complexity out and make it as simple as possible. What better time to do that than when you're in turbulent times?

The other challenge people have in turbulent times is they start to diversify, thinking they should try a different business. They might think instead of being heart surgeons, they could remove kidneys. My advice would be diversify only when you have the skill sets to do it. Don't spend any money starting new businesses. Just try to cut the costs as quickly as you can and stay in what you know how to do best.

Q. You led the restructuring of Braniff International, saving the company from financial ruin. Many healthcare organizations also struggle with financial challenges as payments decline and costs increase. What are some leadership strategies that healthcare organization executives can employ when a turnaround is necessary?

A. First, there needs to be a flight plan. When I got to Braniff, I found that the company was in worse financial shape than I had been led to believe. We had only 10 days of cash. The due diligence that we performed showed that there was $175 million more in cash on the books than actually existed. What a shock that was after I had resigned from Southwest and found out I had taken on a billion-dollar corporation that had only 10 days of cash. There was no flight plan, no direction. Morale was awful. And, of course, there was no cash.

The first thing we did was to come up with a flight plan that was very, very concise and simple. We didn't spend a lot of time going out and forming committees and studying and so forth. You don't have time when you've got 10 days of cash. You make a decision, and then you get everybody together and say, "This is the direction we're going. Now is your opportunity to get off if you don't want to stay on board, because this is the direction we're going and this is going to be very stressful. It's going to be very turbulent."

You have to present the facts in plain language that shocks the employees to reality. What happens with most organizations is the employees don't want to hear bad news, the executives don't want to deliver bad news, and therefore a lot of time is wasted and more cash just goes down the drain.

In the case of Braniff, once we had the flight plan, I needed to start making some changes in the organization. Rather than start working on the front line, where we really needed the help in customer service-and where you really need the help in a healthcare organization-I thought, "I've got to fix my own bureaucracy first." So I cleaned out the executive suite. Braniff had more than 50 vice presidents. I took out 30 of those and all of their staffs in the first 60 days and flattened the organization. They had eight or nine levels of management. We took out entire levels. That would be my advice also in health care: Don't go in and just pick one job here and one job there. Take out an entire level of management in the organization and bureaucracy. Let the people on the front line see that you mean business.

Look at the financial organizations that are going bankrupt on Wall Street. Their CEOs and top people are taking gigantic bonuses. That is absolutely absurd. You'll never gain trust doing that. In any crisis, you should try to regain the trust of your people and then of your customers.

So at Braniff we leaned down the executive suite first. I took out some 700 people in 60 days. Then we began to make process changes and productivity changes to improve the service in the front. We kept alive for seven months before we just ran out of cash and had to put the company into Chapter 11 to reorganize it.

But we had the greatest morale I've ever seen. And it's because the people finally had some leadership that they trusted. They knew I wasn't there to take and break the bank for myself. I was in it as deep as they were to try to save everybody's jobs.

Q. Southwest Airlines has been recognized for its approach to talent management. Could you tell us your philosophy about developing new leaders?

A. We had a saying at Southwest, and they still do: "We hire attitudes; we develop their skills." Obviously, if you're going to bring a surgeon on staff, you would hope he or she already had some skills before you brought them on, but the idea was to hire people who match your culture.

That again is why it is so important that the little vision/mission statement is clear. We developed a brand at Southwest so that people understood before they hired on that this is a mass transportation company. They have only one kind of airplane. Everybody really has to work hard here, but they have a lot of fun. And they keep the fares low so they can get people out of the automobile, out of their living room, and increase the size of the market. If we can make all that happen, we have a profit-sharing plan as well. And somewhere down the road, we will benefit from that. If that doesn't fit your makeup to work in that kind of an organization, we would simply say, "Don't apply here. We're not a fit for you." Often we rely too much on job descriptions and education when we basically need somebody with a good attitude who really wants to be a part of the organization. That was the key factor.

Because the organization was very flat with very few levels of management, we had to come up with creative ways to give people experience so they could become managers, vice presidents, etc., so we created SWAT teams. If we had a problem in a city somewhere, we would pick a pilot, a flight attendant, a ticket agent, a sales person, and put them together as a team and tell them, "Okay, folks, we want you to go to Los Angeles. You've got a week to figure out what's going on with baggage handling there, whatever the problem was, and come back and tell us what we need to do." You quickly got to see what kinds of thinkers you had on the front line. This gave growth opportunities to a lot of people who today are senior vice presidents with the company.

Q. Hospitals function within complex, often illogical regulations and practices that sometimes hamper the ability to fulfill the mission of high-quality care. Hospitals also have labor challenges, including union relations. What major lessons might hospital executives learn from your experience in a similarly complex industry?

A. First, Southwest Airlines is totally unionized and has been for more than 30 years, which surprises a lot of people, because they don't believe you can have good customer service and good attitudes with unions, but you can. We worked our way through the unions to the families. Every quarter, we sent a letter to every family at home telling them about the profitability of the company. And if we were on target, they all got a small check in the mail. I wrote the letter to the family. It wasn't written by PR staff or anyone else. I would personally sign 100 to 200 letters each quarter and write little notes at the bottom. We did this to bring the family into it so that they knew what we were all up against.

I believe you can have unions and have good customer relations and good employee relations. But it has to start with the CEO and the board of directors. They have to be committed 24/7, and not say their people are their most important asset without believing it. We believed it at Southwest, and they still do today. There was a strike when I was there. People don't believe that Southwest Airlines could ever have had a strike, but we had one with the maintenance organization. But we had a plan and we kept operating. They came back after six days and threw that union out and formed another one later on.

Again, it was the trust factor. The people saw that management had strong leadership. They saw that management was not going to kowtow to anybody, but that we also believed that we were one big family and everybody had to be involved.

Complexity? Yes, we had all the regulation, weather, safety. There are so many analogies between health care and commercial airlines it's amazing. They are both very tough businesses, but they both are absolutely essential to our life, our lifestyle, and our economy.

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Read the interview by HFMA (Healthcare Financial Management Association):  http://www.hfma.org/hfm/2008archives/month12/HFM1208_QandA.htm

What kind of leadership talents and skills will be essential to succeed in the next few years? Some are tried and true and endure generation after generation. Others come and go with the age and culture in which we live. Here is my top ten list:

1) Honesty and integrity: In a survey by Jim Kouczes and Barry Posner of hundreds of folks at all levels prior to 9-11, 88% said honesty was the #1attribute that they looked for in a leader. After all the failures in corporate governance in recent times plus the increased responsibilities in security, honesty is even more important.

2) Passion: You can't inspire others to follow you if you don't have the love, drive and enthusiasm that becomes infectious for what you do. Evangelism is more than just providing information, it is authentic persuasion.

3) Vision: A clear, succinct and simple vision that is driven into the fabric of the organization will be critical. After we wrote the 52 word vision for Southwest Airlines many years ago, I spent over a third of my time in the next year, preaching that vision (the gospel) to as many employees and stakeholders as possible. It paid great dividends.

4) Excellent listener: Great leaders and teams listen and grow with each other.

5) No AEE: No arrogance, ego or exclusion. Humility and openness are so important to gain trust. I have seen many careers ruined as people rise in organizations and think they are "above and beyond" everyone else.

6) Embrace change: It can't be my way or the highway. We all need to be encouraged to take risks, move the bar higher, make mistakes and push the envelope to new horizons.

7) International mentality: The ability to direct, lead and manage diverse cultures and to think cross functionally and internationally is key. How will this product or service work in Australia as well as in California? We will have to think without boundaries and without language barriers. In an internet world, location is not important.

8) Grasp for the value of technology: You need to understand technology, as well as the internet and be a user to stay current. That does not mean you have to be a technologist. I will never qualify in that league. But I work hard to stay current and absorb all I can. Some things you have to do hands on to be a leader.

9) Education and experience: Expertise in global finance will be a powerful tool in leading your department or business. Multi company and multi functional experiences will aid in leadership growth. The traditional functions of operations, process improvement, sales and marketing remain as a necessary foundation. Keeping reading, learning, experimenting and mentoring and being mentored.

10) People leader: You will increase your opportunities for advancement by being a flexible thinker and a "people leader" who can lead teams and motivate and exhibit your love and passion for the business and your stakeholders. We are no longer preparing to lead and manage a shift of workers in a coal mine. Fewer are going to be needed to lead traditional organizations as robotizing and technology advances. Specialists and technicians will be guiding events and "things" in those areas. We will be leading and managing people, ideas and concepts.

These are exciting and fun times for those willing to prepare and make the sacrifices it takes to be an outstanding leader.

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Howard Putnam is a speaker on leadership, innovation, transformation, culture and customer service, and ethics.  He is the former CEO of the highly successful Southwest Airlines and the first CEO to take a major airline, Braniff International, into, through and out of Chapter 11, getting it flying again in less than two years. 

You can sign up to receive Howard's Leadership eSeries via email.

"Everyone else is doing it".  Warren Buffett is the highly successful investor and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. He said those are the "five most dangerous words in business" in a letter to the CEO's of the companies they own. Mr. Buffett is admired for his ethics and for his business acumen. What a great legacy to leave behind in this day and age of corporate mistrust and misdeeds. He has been a role model for many of us for years.

"Everyone else is doing it" has two connotations for me:

1. It may be unethical, but since everyone else is doing it, it must be OK and justifiable.
2. The current vogue in many industries (especially in my former industry, the airline industry) is to think short term, merge, and consolidate, to get bigger and supposedly gain cost efficiencies and market share...all in the name of the higher price of crude oil. So if my competitor is merging, damn the torpedoes and get on the bandwagon, regardless of the long term consequences people wise, customer service wise, or profit wise.

Not all mergers and acquisitions are bad. I don't mean to imply that. However, both of the above as I have defined them narrowly are not sustainable premises or strategies and neither one is a proven flight plan for success for any small, medium, or large business. I learned from my parents on the Iowa farm many years ago that you could never "chase two rabbits." You can't catch either one. You can't pretend to be the good guy on the surface, but your actions demonstrate exactly the opposite. I have seen great speakers espousing 10 great points to wealth and success in a meaningful and ethical way on the stage and in their books but...their personal lives exhibit exactly the opposite. Ethics?

I have known and observed CEO's, who early in their careers on the way to the boardroom, were down-to-earth, honest, and genuine people. Later, they let their egos and temptations in the marketplace change their ethics and character. They pretended they were the same, but everyone knows they aren't. They tried to catch both rabbits.

Most of us are consumers of air travel. Customer service is at an all time low in the airline industry, except for Southwest Airlines. We always said at Southwest, and they still do, that our people were # 1, we "hired attitudes" that fit our family culture and developed their skills. The airline industry has had a very difficult time the past few years economically due to high costs, 9-11, security and too much capacity in the skies. Several airlines have had to utilize chapter 11 bankruptcy. In all cases they have cut employee salaries and benefits several times. They have downsized and customer service and morale have suffered. A lack of trust has widened the gap between management and employees. Work rules have been modified to increase productivity.

Employees in many industries have been through bankruptcies, salary cuts, loss of pension benefits, furloughs, longer hours, etc. Yet, where is the management focus in many cases? How do they increase the stock price? How do they enrich their stock options? How do they please Wall Street and the big investors? How do they increase global market share?

Everyone else is doing it. How do you want to be remembered? What legacy do you want to leave? We all have a choice.