Welcoming Change:  Are Your People Ready?

By ExecutiveBrief Staff

Reinvention. Innovation. New markets. New products. Changes affect your organization. Is it ready to respond with ease?

In order to keep up in today’s competitive marketplace, companies reinvent and innovate themselves. At the helm of this reinvention and change are the managers--who must have the set of skills necessary to deal with any change that management pushes forth, whether it be a new vertical in the business, a new product, or a tweaking in the services the company offers.

Let us look at how two airlines, Southwest Airlines and Northwest Airlines, have each dealt with changes both caused by an outside force.

Southwest Airlines. It is widely known that this airline, originally from Texas, has grown into one of America’s largest airlines, currently flying almost 100 million passengers a year with a fleet of over 500 aircraft. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Southwest still maintained full employment and even opened a destination in Norfolk in Oct. 8, 2001. They had a total operating revenue of $9.1 billion and a net income of $499 million in 2006 and have faired well against the competition. Since their first flight in 1971, the company has continuously proved to be successful with excellent profit margins and constant customer satisfaction. What allowed for all of these? How did this company overcome such a huge threat in the airline industry?

There must be a certain dynamism within the company to achieve such results. Considering that the airline industry is fiercely competitive, not to mention the constant hikes in fuel prices and customers’ quick shifts in loyalties, Southwest has been quite exceptional in what it has done over the past 26 years.

There a number of things worth looking at. One, a certain set of skills their managers possess must have enabled it to achieve such a place in the market.  Two, management must have created a constantly changing environment that allows for innovation to happen. Three, employees must have been in a position where they are given the opportunity to make decisions and suggest to management what they think would support the growth of the organization. Four, there must have been direct and open communication between management and the employees.  Five, everyone must have been given value with each employee owning stock.