Resources
The Colleen C. Barrett Institute strives to provide resources that will aid individuals and organizations in their own efforts to produce excellent cultures and provide top-notch customer service. To that end, we are continually adding resources to our generous collection of Leadership, Culture, and Customer Service content.
Thought Leadership
Special Edition: LUV Lessons from Chick Fil-A
Southwest Airlines and Chick Fil-A are iconic brands known for kindness and courtesy toward patrons and peers and also for enduring success. Just as Colleen Barrett lived and led by the Golden Rule, Chick fil-A Founder Truett Cathy also built a business anchored in serving and loving others. Few people understand that more than original Chick Fil-A Pioneer and former Marketing Executive David Salyers. For the months of October and November, the CCB Institute is delighted to share his words of wisdom in the realm of Servant Leadership. You are going to LUV this values-driven, practical action piece—don’t miss it!
Communicating Change while Preserving a Familiar Brand
As someone still new to Southwest Airlines and just beginning to appreciate the incredible legacy of Colleen Barrett, being asked to contribute to her tribute site is both an honor and, truthfully, a little intimidating. I know I bring experience, skills, and perspective from the Communications and Brand world, but I’m also very aware of the weight of her impact and the iconic reputation she helped create.
Remembering Ginger Hardage – Servant Leader, Culture Icon, and Friend
On behalf of my 72,000+ Southwest Airlines Cohearts, I join our CCB Institute family, along with friends of The Fellowship and Unstoppable Cultures organizations, in honoring the memory of the extraordinary Ginger Hardage. She was a trusted Leader, confidant, mentor, and cherished friend to me and many others, and she will be missed.
Special Edition: Navigating Change as a Servant Leader
When I learned from my publisher that someone had ordered thirty thousand copies of The Simple Truths of Service, a book I coauthored with Barbara Glanz, I had to know more. The person was Colleen Barrett.
Strengthening Culture Through Celebrations
I began my Southwest journey in Reservations in 1993. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of serving in several departments, each role shaping my path, teaching me to adapt to new things, and deepening my connection to our Legendary Culture. In 2004, I landed what I consider my dream job in the Executive Office, working directly for Colleen.
Strengthening Culture While Embracing Transformation
In July of 2000, I never could have imagined how a Southwest Airlines job advertisement in a legal publication would change the course of my life. At the time, I was working in a law firm, preparing to welcome my daughter into the world, and I was seeking a change. So, I took a chance—I applied.
Articles
Media
Videos
Virtual Gathering
Access past and present Virtual Learning Events featuring exclusive Southwest Leader-led discussions covering topics like Inspiring Positive Culture, Leading with Empathy and Emotional Intelligence, Effective Recognition, and much more.
Culture Primer: Building a Lasting Culture: Practical Steps for a Values-Driven Culture Program
Southwest
Virtual Gathering: Being Well: Developing habits to bring out - and BE - the best!
Southwest
CCBI Virtual Roundtable | Women Leading the Way
Southwest
CCBI Virtual Roundtable | Leading the Southwest Way
Southwest
Podcasts
Undercover Recruiter
Brand Extract
J.D. Power Travel & Hospitality Podcast
Culture Program Primer:
First Steps
Download our proprietary Culture Program Primer: First Steps, your starter pack for a sustainable culture program, scripted from the heart of the Southwest Airlines Culture Ambassador program.
This Employee-driven initiative more than three decades ago as a small committee organized by Colleen Barrett to protect and preserve the storied Southwest Culture and has grown to over 400 volunteer Culture Ambassadors covering all locations and departments. We have distilled their learnings, lessons, and advice into a free resource packed with prompts, low-cost engagement ideas, and practical steps to help you build or renew your own organizational culture program. Download your copy below!
Library
Books on Southwest
To celebrate more than 50 years of putting People first, Southwest Airlines proudly released “Leading with Heart: Living & Working the Southwest Way.” This book represents Southwest Airlines’ guide to Leadership, business, and life, based on insights from Founder Herb Kelleher, President Emeritus Colleen Barrett, Executive Chairman and former CEO Gary Kelly, current CEO Bob Jordan, former President and COO Mike Van de Ven, and other impactful Southwest Leaders past and present.
The book highlights Living & Working the Southwest Way as a set of fun and engaging Leadership tenets that can be applied by readers everywhere, and features a special foreword by Gary Kelly. “Leading with Heart” gives readers a “behind-the-curtain” view into the beginnings of Southwest’s unique Culture and how it’s maintained by the Company’s greatest asset—its People.
Grab your copy of “Leading with Heart: Living & Working the Southwest Way” at swathestore.com.
A History of Southwest in 50 Objects
Celebrate Southwest Airlines’ incredible first five decades with 50 Years. One Heart. A History of Southwest in 50 Objects. This visually engaging coffee-table book showcases a stunning collection of 50 unique objects, outfits, and artifacts accompanied by short stories from the Company’s inspiring history and features a special foreword by 17-year Chairman & CEO Gary Kelly. Dive in to explore how Southwest:
- Beat the overwhelming odds to get “ready for takeoff”
- Launched and maintained a truly Legendary Culture
- Turned the corner from surviving to thriving
- Kept on “winning” with Customers
- Disrupted the industry
- And, has consistently put its Heart into action
The inspiring lessons to be learned from the Company’s past remain incredibly relevant today. Grab your copy of 50 Years. One Heart. at swathestore.com and enjoy a rare look at Southwest’s rich past through the lens of iconic (and sometimes, downright eccentric) objects from the Corporate Archive.
By Ken Blanchard and Colleen Barrett (2010)
- What “love” really means in the organizational context.
- Why leading with love is not “soft” management!
- How to use redirection and tough love to handle inappropriate behavior or performance.
- Why “servant leadership” is love in action, and how to make it work.
- How to build the compelling vision and culture that sustains leadership with love
By Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg (1998)
Southwest Leaders’ Recommended Resources
Remarkable!
by Randy Ross and David Salyers
Recommended by
David Salyers
Former Chick Fil-A VP Growth and Hospitality
Recommended by
Sarah Falvey
Southwest Airlines VP Communications & Brand Reputation
The Leadership Challenge
by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
Recommended by
Ken Blanchard
Best-Selling Author and Leadership Development Expert
The Self-Aware Leader
by John Maxwell
Recommended by
Valerie Curry
Manager Companywide Events & Merchandise