Herb Kelleher -
An Inspirational Story and a Symbol of Freedom

Herb Kelleher was born Herbert D. Kelleher on March 12, 1931 in Haddon Heights, Camden, New Jersey to parents Harry Kelleher and Ruth Moore. He grew up and went to school in Haddon Heights where he attended Haddon Heights High School. He was captain of the basketball team and served as student council president and learned valuable leadership skills that would allow him to serve as a leader to others in later life.

Herb went on to get his bachelors degree at Wesleyan University and a law degree from New York University. At college he also served as student body president.

In 1955 he married Joan Negley and they have four children together. They relocated from New Jersey to San Antoni, Texas with the intent for him to start his own law firm.

Serving as a lawyer for business man Rollin W. King, Herb was the man Rollin approached when he thought about a low cost and quick airline they could start. Together they came up with the idea of South West Airlines in 1967. Other airlines of the day, however, didn't like the new upstart and how they wanted to conduct business, so South West was forced to hold off on its plans as it was being held in litigation for three and a half years.

Finally, in 1971, South West airlines started service with four planes and three destinations in Texas (part of its low cost strategy was not to cross state borders as it would incur government mandated fares). Right from the start, Herb Kelleher and South West emphasized the business philosophy of taking care of employees first and they will take care of your customers.

"The Business of Business is People"

In 1973, when South West ran into some financial difficulty, they had the choice of either axing some employees or selling one of their planes. They sold the plane and agreed with employees to the (now famous) 15-minute turn around.

Herb infused South West culture with his personal values - humbleness, warmth, sincerity and a care and service of people. If you treat people with respect, they will feel valued and add their own personality to whatever they do. If you empower people at all levels of the organization to be able to make decisions, you make leaders everywhere. It is about putting the team first and serving the greater good.

South West's business philosophy has made them one the most admired companies in the world. They have also weathered the turbulent storms that the airline industry have faced over the years all the while staying profitable.

An amusing anecdote about Herb is that he arm wrestled the chairman of Stevens Aviation, Kurt Herwald, for the right to use the slogan 'Just Plane Smart.' (as both companies were using it in ad campaigns at the time). Herb lost, but through the publicity and goodwill he created, Kurt allowed South West to keep using the slogan. They also raised money for local charities with this 'Malice in Dallas' arm wrestling event.

Herb also had a bout with cancer, but in his own word he 'kicked its ass'. He would get radiation treatment in the morning at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center, and then go right back to work.

In May 2008, Herb Kelleher stepped down as Chairman of South West, but stayed on as adviser and an employee. Herb Kelleher is a leader and through his focus on people - one of his slogan is 'the business of business is people' - serves as an inspiration and valuable role model to entrepreneurs all over the world.

More Herb Kelleher info

• Herb Kelleher Leader Network interview
• Lessons from Herb Kelleher and South West at Amazon
• An interview with Herb for the McCombs Business School