Stories deliberately pushed and promoted by Herb. Sure, he's not a conformist like so many other CEOs who got there by never making waves. Herb is one of those guys who takes what he does very seriously. He just didn't take himself seriously. He and others, especially Colleen Barrett, who started out as Herb's secretary when he was practicing law in San Antonio and is now president and chief operating officer of Southwest, have built a company where people matter.
Herb believes in having fun.
And he believes his employees should feel the same way. Of course, everyone at Southwest doesn't march to work each morning, an airplane over their shoulder, singing a happy song like those seven vertically challenged guys who swore that really, they only shared that house with Snow White. I've seen grumpy employees at Southwest Airlines. But you won't find as many of them as at most places. Southwest employees just keep planes flying and earning profits more consistently than any other airline.