Revealing the secrets behind the success of Southwest Airlines, one of the world's most successful companies, this book expands on the unusual strategies employed. It aims to provide a model for managers who want to motivate, liberate and appreciate their staff, gaining returns as a result.
Kevin and Jackie Freiberg's previous book, Nuts!: Southwest Airline's Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, described the unconventional leadership that made Southwest an airline industry dynamo. In GUTS!, the Freibergs look at twenty-five gutsy and extraordinarily successful businesses and introduce the chief executives who are creating a new corporate ethos that blows the doors off business-as-usual. Drawing on five years of research, the Freibergs provide a behind-the-scenes look at these intensely focused, passionate, and unconventional leaders and their companies. Among them: - James Blanchard, CEO of Synovus Financial, a financial services giant with more than 16 billion dollars in assets - Roy Spence, Jr., President of GSD&M; Advertising, which AdWeek magazine named Southwest Agency of the Year seven times - James Goodnight of SAS, a world leader in intelligence software Although the leaders in the book represent a wide-range of industries, they share a common vision: They see business as a heroic cause and understand that good leadership isn't a matter of position, but of influence. They reject hierarchical rules, rituals, and expectations, and have replaced in-the-box management with a culture based on passion and innovation. They regard their employees not as -human resources, - but as individuals with unique gifts and talents. And make everyone in the company responsible for the company's brand and culture. An exciting follow-up to Nuts!, which has sold nearly 500,000 copies in hardcover and paperback, GUTS! proves that it is possible to have fun, live your values, and still make money. From the Hardcover edition.