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Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success Paperback – February 17, 1998
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Today, Southwest is the safest airline in the world and ranks number one in the industry for service, on-time performance, and lowest employee turnover rate; and Fortune magazine has twice ranked Southwest one of the ten best companies to work for in America. How do they do it?
With unlimited access to the people and inside documents of Southwest Airlines, authors Kevin and Jackie Freiberg share the secrets behind the greatest success story in commercial aviation. Read it and discover how to transfer the Southwest inspiration to your own business and personal life.
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCrown Currency
- Publication dateFebruary 17, 1998
- Dimensions5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-109780767901840
- ISBN-13978-0767901840
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"If you're interested in making your employees and customers raving fans of your business, Nuts! is a must read."
--Ken Blanchard, Coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Full of original insights, upbeat stories, and concrete suggestions, Nuts! shows how the power of principle-centered leadership inspires people to achieve incredible results."
--Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
"The story of Southwest Airlines is as much fun to read as it is reader friendly and useful. I promise you, it's a blueprint for all organizations that want to succeed--not just airlines."
--Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader
Rated the #1 Company to Work for in America by Fortune magazine
From the Publisher
"If you're interested in making your employees and customers raving fans of your business, Nuts! is a must read."
--Ken Blanchard, Coauthor of The One Minute Manager
"Full of original insights, upbeat stories, and concrete suggestions, Nuts! shows how the power of principle-centered leadership inspires people to achieve incredible results."
--Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
"The story of Southwest Airlines is as much fun to read as it is reader friendly and useful. I promise you, it's a blueprint for all organizations that want to succeed--not just airlines."
--Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader
Rated the #1 Company to Work for in America by Fortune magazine
From the Inside Flap
Today, Southwest is the safest airline in the world and ranks number one in the industry for service, on-time performance, and lowest employee turnover rate; and Fortune magazine has twice ranked Southwest one of the ten best companies to work for in America. How do they do it?
With unlimited access to the people and inside documents of Southwest Airlines, authors Kevin and Jackie Freiberg share the secrets behind the greatest success story in commercial aviation. Read it and discover how to transfer the Southwest inspiration to your own business and personal life.
From the Back Cover
Today, Southwest is the safest airline in the world and ranks number one in the industry for service, on-time performance, and lowest employee turnover rate; and Fortune magazine has twice ranked Southwest one of the ten best companies to work for in America. How do they do it?
With unlimited access to the people and inside documents of Southwest Airlines, authors Kevin and Jackie Freiberg share the secrets behind the greatest success story in commercial aviation. Read it and discover how to transfer the Southwest inspiration to your own business and personal life.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
When Kelleher became chairman in 1978, he charged the People Department with the responsibility of hiring people with a sense of humor. "I want flying to be a helluva lot of fun!" he always says. "Life is too short and too hard and too serious not to be humorous about it." Fun is taken very seriously at Southwest Airlines, and the company's recruiting and hiring practices are built on the idea that humor can help people thrive during change, remain creative under pressure, work more effectively, play more enthusiastically, and stay healthier in the process.
In a world where change is one of the true constants, most people are having to work smarter and harder and faster than ever before. As the pace and intensity of our work lives have picked up, it's no wonder we've lost touch with the lighter side of life and become very serious. Many organizations expect their employees to be serious and businesslike, to check their personal and emotional baggage at the door before coming into the office.
"Terminal professionalism" is the term coined by Lighten Up authors C.W. Metcalf and Roma Felible to describe the way today's overworked, overstressed, underpaid, and underplaying individuals work. Terminal professionals--and the organizations in which they work--have come to believe that humor is unprofessional and silliness is for children. Southwest Airlines believes that failure to nourish and encourage lightness in the workplace not only undermines productivity, creativity, adaptability, and morale, but also can drive people crazy. By putting humor at the top of its list of recruiting and hiring criteria, Southwest has found a way to nourish joy, pride, and just plain fun in people on and off the job. The company's healthy alternative to terminal professionalism has restored the faded dream of satisfying work and job security for thousands of people.
A New Kind of Professionalism
At Southwest, "professional" and "businesslike" alone just won't cut it. In fact, these are terms Kelleher despises; he believes they have lost their meaning. "Anybody who likes to be called a 'professional' probably shouldn't be around Southwest Airlines," he says. "We want people who can do things well with laughter and grace." The point here is not to offend people who think of themselves as professionals. Southwest Airlines is bursting with professionalism, but it is a unique brand, practiced with flair. The type of professionalism people experience and express within the Southwest culture is not the stuffy, serious professionalism guarded by the philosophy that "the business of business is business." Instead, the professionals that customers encounter at Southwest are remarkably uninhibited and empathetic individuals who believe that the business of business is to make a profit by serving people and making life more fun.
An example of this new kind of professionalism is captured in a customer letter applauding a memorable flight and an entertaining announcement routine:
I flew in early May to Albuquerque, on a flight that began with the flight attendant welcoming us and then telling us that we had a VIP on board. He welcomed Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Spock on "Star Trek." We all clapped and turned to see him--we were told this was all in fun. Instead, we were the VIPs on board! Then he graciously welcomed each of us to Southwest Airlines as the most important person.... He then treated us to the most entertaining flight announcement routine, telling us we were flying over 7,943 hot tubs, swimming pools, etc., so here was the water evacuation information. Please wave to his mother on cue. He had a great sense of humor and mixed fun several times into our flight. On arriving, he and the crew sang a song, and he closed by saying if we enjoyed our flight, their names were Reggie, Sam, and Pete. However, if we didn't enjoy his foolishness, their names were Fred, Tom, and Harry. Everyone was laughing and in a great mood by the time we deplaned.
Now I realize that not everyone has Reggie's personality and showmanship. But I think many people don't risk this kind of playfulness because they fear that it will be seen as unprofessional. There is a new kind of professionalism that Southwest is becoming known for, all over the world--great service with lots of fun mixed in.
Southwest's philosophy of professionalism in no way puts a damper on personal style. Employees at Southwest are encouraged to be authentic, to be real. They are free to express themselves in real, creative ways and encouraged to influence the uniqueness of Southwest by projecting their own individuality. Perhaps this is one of the reasons customers find themselves drawn to Southwest employees. Somehow they have found a way to make work fun in spite of the intense pace of the airline business.
No one at Southwest doubts that the company's playful work style enriches the lives of customers and employees alike. Fun, humor, and laughter are treated as life-enhancing gifts for everyone. So how does Southwest go about creating the kind of relaxed and accepting atmosphere that grants people the freedom to play and have fun? The company is religious about hiring the right people.
Hiring for Attitude
The People Department is Southwest's equivalent of a human resources or personnel department. To Southwest, employees are more than just resources; they are real people, with real needs and real emotions, whose satisfaction is valued and respected. Libby Sartain, vice president of people, told us that fun counterbalances the stress of hard work and competition. Fun is about attitude, so Southwest hires for attitude and trains for skills.
The First Cut
First and foremost, Southwest Airlines looks for a sense of humor. As "The High Priest of Ha Ha"--Fortune magazine's nickname for Kelleher--frequently says, "We look for attitudes; people with a sense of humor who don't take themselves too seriously. We'll train you on whatever it is you have to do; but the one thing Southwest cannot change in people is inherent attitudes." Although each department has a unique hiring process, there is one fundamental, consistent principle--hire people with the right spirit. Southwest looks for people with other-oriented, outgoing personalities, individuals who become part of an extended family of people who work hard and have fun at the same time.
Southwest has tailored the general principles of Targeted Selection to hire people with this special kind of spirit. In the interview process, prospective employees are typically asked, "Tell me how you recently used your sense of humor in a work environment. Tell me how you have used humor to defuse a difficult situation." The People Department also looks for humor as well as unselfishness in the interaction people have with each other during group interviews.
To test for unselfishness, Southwest uses an exercise that's not all that creative in itself; it's the analysis of the applicants' approach to the exercise that makes it a powerful hiring tool. The interviewing team asks a group of potential employees to prepare a five-minute presentation about themselves and gives them plenty of time to prepare. As the presentations are delivered, the interviewers don't watch just the speakers; they watch the audience to see which applicants are using this time to work on their own presentations and which are enthusiastically cheering on and supporting their potential coworkers. Unselfish people who will support their teammates are the ones who catch Southwest's eye, not the applicants who are tempted to polish their own presentations while others are speaking.
Passing Through the Screen
Not everyone makes it through the screening process. Even with pilots, whose technical proficiency is supremely important, attitude also plays a major role. A highly decorated military pilot--on paper, he ranked among Southwest's all-time best applicants--applied for a position. On his way to Dallas for the interview, this pilot was rude to the customer service agent at the ticket counter where he received his transfer pass. When he arrived for the interview he seemed cold and arrogant to the receptionist. These episodes suggested to the interview team that, although the pilot was highly qualified on the technical side, he didn't have the right attitude for Southwest. He was automatically disqualified.
Another example of hiring for attitude involved a group of eight applicant pilots who were being kidded about how they were dressed--dark suits, black shoes, and dress socks. They were encouraged to loosen up by changing into Southwest's standard-issue Bermuda shorts. Six of the applicants accepted the offer and interviewed for the rest of the day in suit coats, black dress shoes and socks, and Bermuda shorts. They were hired.
By hiring the right attitude, the company is able to foster the so-called Southwest Spirit--an intangible quality in people that causes them to want to do whatever it takes and to want to go that extra mile whenever they need to. In spite of (or maybe because of) such high expectations, people who go to work for Southwest Airlines tend to stay with the company for a long time.
Act Like an Owner: Ask Questions, Think Results
People who think like owners have a unique perspective. They ask provocative questions. And the answers they come up with influence their attitudes and behaviors, which, in turn, determine the company's performance. It's not unusual to hear someone who is thinking like an owner ask, "If this were my company, how would I handle a customer in this situation? Would I buy this piece of equipment or make that investment? If I personally owned this business, how would I treat my employees? Would I establish this committee, attend that meeting, or make that trip?"
What does it take to get employees to assume ownership for a business, to truly take personal responsibility for its success? This is one of the most frequently asked questions in business today. Finding an answer to this question is critical because, as Southwest has learned, ownership is a powerful catalyst for organizational change. It seems that if only we could get employees to show more initiative for cutting costs, serving customers, and improving productivity, we could gain the advantage we need to excel in a highly competitive business environment.
Think Like an Owner
Owners think differently from nonowners because ownership is a state of mind. It's about caring, about becoming fully engaged in the active pursuit of organizational objectives. For example, nonowners are more apt to worry about how their actions are being perceived by their superiors. Owners focus on the business results of their actions, regardless of who's watching. Nonowners may be more inclined to protect functional areas, pursue self-interest, and approach the business from a parochial point of view. Owners transcend functional boundaries. It doesn't matter where an idea comes from, owners evaluate its merit based on whether it contributes to the ultimate objective of delivering customer value.
Nonowners have a greater tendency to live by the rules, even when the rules run contrary to common sense. Owners bend, stretch, and even break rules that don't serve the organization's purpose. If breaking the rules is not an option, owners take the initiative to change them. Owners pay attention to details others fail to notice. When people have a vested interest in the outcome of a business, they become more cost-conscious, industrious, and imaginative. Owners are also different from nonowners in their willingness to take action without being asked; they are rarely spectators. An owner takes the time to follow up with a customer who expresses a concern during a casual meeting. An owner picks up the piece of trash that others have been ignoring for hours. An owner makes the extra phone call to pass on a small but important piece of information that could be helpful to another employee.
"Our people think like owners and have for a long time," says Gary Barron, who offers retired skycap Tommy Perryman as an example. Perryman, one of the original employees, worked at Southwest for fifteen years without missing a single day. "When I was in San Antonio back in the early days, I would go to the airport to catch a flight to Dallas. Inevitably, when I got out of the parking lot and started to walk into the terminal, I would run into Tommy. Every time, he would pull clippings out of his pocket about Southwest Airlines and the legal battles we were having, and there were a bunch of them. Tommy always wanted to know what was going on and how we were doing. He cared and he thought about it. Being a skycap wasn't just a job to him."
What sets Southwest apart from the competition is thousands of employees like Perryman, who exemplify the dedication and consistency that come with ownership. Chic Lang, a Southwest captain, says, "It amazes me how you go talk to a ramper or a flight attendant and they'll tell you what the stock price is that day. There are articles all over the wall about what's going on with the competition and they're all reading them." Ownership is a very powerful incentive because it inspires motivation and encourages the kind of loyalty for which Perryman was so well known. Here are some of the ways Southwest Airlines encourages people to assume ownership of the business.
Hire Entrepreneurial Self-Starters
Southwest not only attracts people who are fun and like to have a good time; the company also looks for self-starters who have an entrepreneurial spirit. Previous airline experience doesn't carry a lot of weight at Southwest. The company is much more interested in ordinary people who are driven to do extraordinary things, people who are not afraid to step outside the routine and use their initiative to challenge the status quo. Southwest doesn't worry about hiring people who are mavericks. A new applicant who didn't fit in a large bureaucracy or who shuns a profession that requires specific, formal education may be just the right fit for Southwest.
The hiring process for pilots is a good example of how Southwest attracts people with an entrepreneurial spirit. Southwest Airlines is the only company in the airline industry that requires a pilot to have a 737-Type Rating before he or she is considered for hire. This rating, given by the Federal Aviation Administration, essentially says a pilot is qualified to be the captain of a Boeing 737. This means that all first officers are qualified to fly as captains.
Terry "Moose" Millard, a Southwest captain, explains how this hiring policy attracts pilots who have an entrepreneurial spirit: "The average person will pay about $10,000 to get this qualification. It's interesting because this is another part of the equation of hiring entrepreneurial people. There is about a one-in-five chance that one of these pilots will be hired at Southwest. Each one of these people is taking a risk. Some of them are borrowing money to get $10,000 so that they can compete--just so they
Product details
- ASIN : 0767901843
- Publisher : Crown Currency
- Publication date : February 17, 1998
- Edition : Reprint
- Language : English
- Print length : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780767901840
- ISBN-13 : 978-0767901840
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #89,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Commercial Aviation (Books)
- #20 in Transportation Industry (Books)
- #157 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Kevin and Jackie Freiberg's award-winning books profile gutsy leaders who dare to dream big, flll a room with energy and do things others say can’t be done. A blend of rigorous research grounded in real-world strategies and memorable storytelling, their books will stretch your thinking, engage your imagination and challenge you to do something now.
If you’re up for a deep dive into how Southwest Airlines became the greatest success story in the history of commercial aviation, the mind-blowing culture of the $3b SAS Institute, what India’s Tata Motors did to produce a $2500 car, the CAUSE that catapulted National Life into one of the fastest growing insurance companies in America, or how the San Francisco Giants rose from the brink of disaster to become one of the most successful, enduring sports franchises in the world…the Freibergs will take you behind the scenes.
If you want to STAND OUT instead of fitting into a sea of sameness, make things happen instead of making excuses and be indispensable instead being someone who won’t be missed…their books show you how.
Kevin and Jackie are partners in a firm that equips leaders for a world of change. They have provided keynotes, seminars, and retreats to over 2,000 companies in 60 industries around the globe. Their clients don't want to be held hostage by history; they want to understand the threats and opportunities that will shape their future. They are interested in blowing the doors off business-as-usual and finding ways to disrupt themselves before someone else does.
Their clients don’t want dead people working; they want to create cultures where impassioned people come to work fully awake, fully engaged, firing on all cylinders. They don’t want to be stuck in routine and resignation, they want to think big, act bold, do epic work and live epic lives.
In a world where everyone and everything around you is constantly getting better, where technology waits for no one and a smarter, more sophisticated customer wants to know what’s new, what’s next… you can either drive the train departing for the future or chase it.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book entertaining and informative, with great insights from Freibergs about the airline's culture and history. Moreover, they consider it a decent read about Southwest Airlines and appreciate its good price, noting it's one of the most profitable companies. However, the story quality receives mixed reactions, with some customers enjoying the stories while others find them repetitive.
AI Generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as an amazing and entertaining read that keeps them engaged.
"The authors chose a great company to write about!" Read more
"...Taking the values expressed to heart has allowed me to build exceptional, high-performance, teams...." Read more
"...I'm not a huge reader but this was entertaining enough to keep me reading." Read more
"This book is great! It tells the story of how southwest airlines was created and up to 1996. now this may sound boring, but it's not...." Read more
Customers find the book informative and well-researched, with great insights from the authors, and one customer notes it provides complete coverage of the airline's culture and history.
"Classic book about Southwest Airlines, history." Read more
"...The message is so powerful I’ve purchased this book for every team member I’ve hired for more than 20 years, to help them understand the culture I’m..." Read more
"This was a textbook for one of my college classes, good story of success for southwest airlines and teaches principles that can be applied to..." Read more
"Great book on the history and culture of Southwest Airlines...." Read more
Customers appreciate the personality of the book, describing it as an amazing company with a successful corporate culture, and one customer notes how it injects life into organizations.
"...airline company, but they are the most profitable and most successful company on many fronts...." Read more
"Such a great account of a business personality, written in the heyday of CEO books. I read it in the 90s and I read it again this year...." Read more
"...I recommend this book to anyone interested in a successful corporate culture and a book that is easy to read as it it fun!" Read more
"...If you're thinking about injecting some life into your organisation, then this is a great starting point...." Read more
Customers appreciate the content of the book, with one mentioning it provides a good story of success for Southwest Airlines.
"Classic book about Southwest Airlines, history." Read more
"This was a textbook for one of my college classes, good story of success for southwest airlines and teaches principles that can be applied to..." Read more
"Decent book about Southwest Airlines..." Read more
"Good read about SWA-LUV airline!..." Read more
Customers find the book to be good value for money, noting it is profitable.
"...southwest is not the biggest airline company, but they are the most profitable and most successful company on many fronts...." Read more
"Fast delivery at a reasonable price" Read more
"Good price on an item hard to find local." Read more
"...a leadership style that emphasizes collaboration and seeks to maximize profitablity and worker morale." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the story quality of the book, with some enjoying the great stories while others find it repetitive.
"Very good read. The book is written largely using stories and there is a lot to learn from how to treat people the human way...." Read more
"...Very interesting story though. If you are curious about Southwest, this is a must read." Read more
"...The whole story is so uplifting and fantastic that it deserves a better shorter version." Read more
"...a lot, and there were a lot of good takeaways, however this book seemed very repetitive by the time I got to the second half." Read more
Reviews with images

Great book club selection, but obviously written by fans.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseClassic book about Southwest Airlines, history.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThe authors chose a great company to write about!
- Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2024I read this book when it was first published. Taking the values expressed to heart has allowed me to build exceptional, high-performance, teams. And I’ve accomplished this in multiple industries at both large enterprises and small companies.
The message is so powerful I’ve purchased this book for every team member I’ve hired for more than 20 years, to help them understand the culture I’m hoping to build with their help.
It’s getting a bit more challenging , though, as a new generation of workers would greatly prefer an electronic version.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2024Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseBought for an employee who didn’t get the book when hired.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis was a textbook for one of my college classes, good story of success for southwest airlines and teaches principles that can be applied to yourself. I'm not a huge reader but this was entertaining enough to keep me reading.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2011Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book is great! It tells the story of how southwest airlines was created and up to 1996. now this may sound boring, but it's not. This story was told by a husband and his wife who do seminars in san diego. southwest does the opposite of how most businesses conduct their business. they are a people company where clearly they say that the employee comes first. southwest is not the biggest airline company, but they are the most profitable and most successful company on many fronts. they have never furloughed an employee and they started profit-sharing with every employee by choice. hard to explain this book. basically it's a totally new way to conduct business and to treat employees. easy to say that they are definately the funnest and most company to work for. This is a must read for anybody planning a small or large business. READ THIS BOOK!
- Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2022Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseLoved the book. Had to go and re-order another one. The quality of the binding was not up to par. I believe it was the sellers fault not the author or publisher of the book. We bought it great book just be careful that you get a fresh new copy.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2016Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseEh... I'm sure this book was much more relavent twenty year ago. The authors were definitely fans of the company but I guess that's why they wrote the book. A lot of time has passed since then, the company is under new management, and the industry has changed a lot since the publication. If you are interested in SWA from a historical perspective then it would be a good book to have on the shelf. As for reading up on the company today as a prospective employee or investor I'd stick to the internet.
Top reviews from other countries
-
T.TReviewed in Japan on April 9, 2011
5.0 out of 5 stars 良い本です
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase今の日本の会社にない側面をみれて参考になりました。
- PrashantReviewed in India on September 13, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseIf you need a motivation to start up with your own business. Please read and know how they struggled & faced issues for long 5 years before the actual start of the business.
I bought it second hand - Book quality also is amazing!!!!
- DanlevekReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2011
5.0 out of 5 stars Unconventional made perfection
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseThis book was loaned to me by one of my former manager whom I regard as a true leader.
Having read this amazing storytelling of customer driven business supported by such a strong team spirit, I wonder why it took me more than a year before reading it!
Everytime I hold this book in my hand, I silently say thank-you to my former manager. This is the best book on business initiative. It is a MUST read especially if you are in the same line of business-Commercial Airline.
There is so much to learn here and it will be shameful not to be able to implement at least some of the skills/tools featured here. I bought it when I finished to read it. Thank-you Philippe!
Nuts!: Southwest Airline's Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars A great company made accessible for all and a spark for ideas
A great read for all HR and management professionals who want something light and easy that has the potential to spark ideas.
- Mom's ReviewsReviewed in India on August 10, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Business Book Ever
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI purchased originally in USA around 2 decades ago and lost it during a flight to India. Very glad to find it in India and it is great value for money given that it costs pennies comparatively and still remains one of the best books of my collection. Entertaining, Educational and Transformation book that will change your way of thinking about branding, customer service and team work.