8 Herb Kelleher Quotes & Sayings

Power should be reserved for weightlifting and boats, and leadership really involves responsibility. — Herb Kelleher

Wild Turkey whiskey and Philip Morris cigarettes are essential to the maintenance of human life! — Herb Kelleher

Keep costs low and spirits high, and the people of Southwest Airlines will keep LUV in the air. — Herb Kelleher

You [the employees] are involved in a crusade. — Herb Kelleher

It takes nerves of steel to stay neurotic. — Herb Kelleher

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

If you don't treat your own people well, they won't treat other people well. — Herb Kelleher

A company is stronger if it is bound by love rather than by fear. — Herb Kelleher

Treat your employees like customers. — Herb Kelleher

The more time I spend with our people, the more I find out about our business. — Herb Kelleher

Positions and titles mean absolutely nothing. They're just adornments; they don't represent the substance of anybody. Every person and every job is worth as much as any other person and any other job. — Herb Kelleher

You have to have the service mentality in the sense that you subjugate your own ego, and you subjugate a large part of your own life to really helping other people, being successful on their behalf. — Herb Kelleher

I'm here to tell you that I am proud of a couple of things. First, I am very good at projectile vomiting. Second, I've never had a really serious venereal disease. — Herb Kelleher

I've always been able to make erroneous decisions very quickly. — Herb Kelleher

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

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. 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

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. Because we can train people. 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

The Wright Amendment is a pain in the ass, but not every pain in the ass is a constitutional infringement. — Herb Kelleher

The tragedy of our time is that we've got it backwards, we've learned to love techniques and use people. — Herb Kelleher

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

Hire for attitude, train for skill. — Herb Kelleher

The clear, unmistakable sign of a bureaucrat is somebody who worries about whether he has a window. — Herb Kelleher

You can't have a mid-life crisis in the airline industry because every day is a crisis. — Herb Kelleher

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

When I started working on Southwest Airlines, I kid you not, only people flying on business and very wealthy people ever flew. — Herb Kelleher

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. So you're not just getting low fares, you're also getting wonderful customer service. — Herb Kelleher

Think small and act small, and we'll get bigger. Think big and act big, and we'll get smaller. — Herb Kelleher

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

I've found that many of the greatest ideas surface in bars because that's where many people cultivate inspiration. — Herb Kelleher

I guess the worst moment I ever had in business was the fear that Southwest Airlines wouldn't get off the ground. — Herb Kelleher