Let me tell you a story about a little airline that flipped an entire industry on its head.

Picture this: It’s the late 1960s. Flying is a luxury for the rich. The skies are ruled by giants with deep pockets, fancy meals, and an iron grip on the market. It’s a game where the rules are rigged—and no one dares to challenge them.

Except for two Texans.

Rollin King and Herb Kelleher sat in a bar one night, dreaming up a crazy idea:

“What if flying could be as simple, cheap, and easy as driving?”

With a cocktail napkin as their business plan, they launched Southwest Airlines.

The giants laughed at them. The regulators tried to kill them. Competitors filed lawsuits to keep them grounded.

Most people would have quit.

But not these guys.

How Southwest Rewrote the Rules

Here’s what made Southwest unstoppable:

1. They Simplified Everything
2. Southwest used one type of plane (Boeing 737s) for every flight. One fleet meant cheaper maintenance, faster training, and fewer headaches.
3. They Played Offense with Speed
4. While competitors parked their planes for hours, Southwest turned theirs around in 10 minutes. More flights, more revenue, fewer expenses.
5. They Made Flying Fun
6. No first-class. No steak dinners. No BS. Just peanuts, jokes, and employees who actually liked their jobs.
7. They Stayed Laser-Focused
8. Instead of chasing trends or expanding too fast, Southwest mastered their core: short-haul, low-cost flights between Texas cities.

Here’s the kicker: they didn’t just survive—they thrived.

While the competition was burning cash, Southwest slashed fares to $13—cheaper than a tank of gas. Passengers flooded their flights, and the flywheel started spinning.

The Flywheel Effect in Action

Southwest’s success wasn’t magic. It was math:

• Lower costs → Lower fares → More passengers → Higher revenue → Lower costs.

Every decision fueled this cycle. Competitors couldn’t keep up because they were stuck in a bloated system.

Southwest was lean. Fast. Relentless.

But here’s the real secret:

It wasn’t just the strategy.

It was the culture.

The Power of Happy Employees

Herb Kelleher believed one simple truth:

Take care of your people, and they’ll take care of your customers.

At Southwest, pilots helped clean planes. Flight attendants danced in the aisles. The whole team believed they were building something special.

That energy was contagious. Customers didn’t just fly Southwest—they became raving fans.

Why This Matters to You

You might not be building an airline, but the lessons from Southwest apply to every business:

1. Simplify Ruthlessly. Complexity kills momentum. What can you strip away to make your business faster and leaner?
2. Focus on Your Flywheel. What’s the one thing you can do better, faster, and cheaper than anyone else? Build your business around that.
3. Prioritize Culture. Whether you have a team of 2 or 200, your people are your greatest asset. Invest in them. Empower them.

Your Next Move

Take 10 minutes today to answer this:

• What’s one thing in your business that feels bloated or unnecessary?
• How can you cut it, simplify it, or streamline it?

Great businesses aren’t built on what you do. They’re built on what you don’t do.

If Southwest could rewrite the rules in an industry as brutal as airlines, imagine what you can do in yours.

Let’s fly higher,

Mitch

P.S. Got a bloated process or stuck flywheel? Hit reply and tell me about it. I might just have an idea to get you unstuck.

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