Flying through the Interview

I listened to the podcast where Gary Raz interviewed David Neeleman the founder of JetBlue Airlines, Azul Airlines and Breeze Airlines. I was drawn into this podcast because I knew how static the airline market is. As a global scholar, I have travelled immensely and seen the lack of options. In fact, Breeze (which was a just founded this year) is the only other new national airline to be founded (and still be running) since the founding of JetBlue. How did David Neeleman succeed in such a hard-business to succeed in. This is what drew me to the podcast. 

But what I found was not what I expected. I expected Neeleman to be cocky and proud. I expected him to belief that he built this all through pure skill and American effort. But what I found was a brutally honest man. He discussed how his set-backs at Southwest Airlines actually inspired him in his work at JetBlue. And most importantly, he took full responsibility for his mistakes. There was a part of the podcast where Neeleman was discussed a particular bad day where many flights were canceled. He said that he took full responsibility to the public. This form of leadership is highly lacking and very important. It was amazing to hear such honesty and candor. 

However, I did not believe all of Neeleman’s methods of leadership were the right choice. In particular, he discussed that he did not want his workers at JetBlue to unionize because he felt that if they needed someone to stand up them, he wasn’t doing his job right. Although from first glance this seems like a noble thought process, he actually is harming his workers. If he truly wanted to prove to his workers that he is doing his job right, he should allow them the full ability to negotiate with him. However, my negative feedback was a lot smaller than my positive lessons from the interview. 

There were two particular things that stood out to me from the interview: his taking of responsibility, and his relentless effort. I have already discussed the taking of responsibility, but what I want to learn and emulate is his effort. As you have already realized, I am a habitual procrastinator. It is not a trait that I am proud of. I want to inspire to achieve Neeleman’s level of commitment. 

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Music Corner: 

Since we are discussing airlines today, I wanted to play one of my favorite songs that I listen to every time I drive to the airport.