Leading Growth through Building People

Southwest Airlines disrupted the airline industry by a relentless focus on building their people around a culture of fun, hard work, and hands-on leadership.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

The contractors who truly have that same level of focus on their people and culture will dominate the industry tomorrow. 

Leadership Tools: Leading Growth Through a Focus on Building People. Quotes by Mikel Bowman, General Manager and Safety Specialist at Turner Mining Group and Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines.

Mikel Bowman from Turner Mining Group in an excellent video by Aaron Witt commented:

“We are more of a people company that does mining services.” 


Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan in the book Execution comment that:

“Leaders need to commit as much as 40 percent of their time and emotional energy, in one form or another, to selecting, appraising, and developing people.” 


You can see through the daily posts by leaders like Keaton Turner what spending this kind of time on people really looks like. These posts aren’t marketing fluff and can’t be faked. There is no way that doesn’t translate into long-term sustainable growth.  

We are at a major inflection point in the industry, including a major shortage of talent along with evolving project delivery methods and rapidly accelerating technologies.  


How much of your time did you spend on developing people last week? What’s your plan this week?




Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Introduction
Every successful and profitably growing contractor we work with has a comprehensive and integrated set of incentive programs in place at all levels of the organization. These programs reinforce the daily actions and behaviors that make them successful.
Progressive Questions for Interviews, Evaluations, and Development
Asking progressively higher-level questions helps assess capabilities while allowing you to stop before making the other person feel inadequate. These questions are valuable for development—answering them is like exercise for the brain.
Talent: 9 Processes to Master
Contractors who master talent will be the winners tomorrow as the shortage of critical talent will continue to impact all industries.