“But, if Herb Kellerher’s mindset was the difference in Southwest’s success, the open seating, the free bags, why did Southwest abandon those things?” Christopher pushed back.
“What makes you think they abandoned them?” I asked.
“Now, they have assigned seating, they charge for bags,” he paused. “They are starting to look like every other airline.”
“Those are behaviors,” I nodded. “What do behaviors usually tell us?”
“That something underneath has changed,” Christopher said.
“You know, your question may be more interesting than the answer,” I replied. “Let’s look at your question. You observed the system that created Southwest and now you see it has abandoned those very things. You traced their success to a mindset, to a belief about Southwest’s place in the airline industry, more specifically about their place in the transportation industry. What change must have occurred in the mindset of Southwest, specifically the current board of directors to cause them to abandon their historic operational differences?”
“Did they start losing money?” Christopher wanted to know.
“You’re a smart guy, with a phone. Look it up,” I instructed.
Christopher was a smart guy and thirty seconds later had his answer. “They lost money during COVID, but so did everyone else.”
“And then?” I prompted.
“And then they made money. And the year after, and the year after, they made money every year.”
“So, they weren’t going bankrupt?” I assured him. “What management beliefs produce almost 47 consecutive years of net profit where every other airline is subject to down cycles?”
Christopher sat with the question. “I can’t see the beliefs,” he said. “All I can see are the pieces of a coherent system. One type of aircraft, fast gate turns, secondary airports, low fares, free bags, open seating. Every one of those things fits together.”
“And what happens when you change just one thing?” I asked.
Christopher didn’t hesitate. “It doesn’t just change one thing.”