?──ColleenBarrett
"WhenIstartedMorrisAir,Iwasinvolvedineverysingleoperationaldetailofthewholebusiness.IfaplanewasbrokenIknewaboutit.Iwasonthephonetryingtogetparts,andIwassoburnedoutwiththebusiness.ThenwhenImovedtoSouthwest,Iwascommutingbackandforthanddidn'treallyhaveanythingtodoatnight,soI'dgodowntodispatchandhangoutdownthere.Andtherewereallkindsofstormsgoingonandreallyhorriblethingsfortheairline.Planesweredivertingeverywhere──icestormsinSt.Louis,snowstormshere,thunderstormsthere.Iwasdisturbedbyit.Isaid,'IwonderifHerbknowsallthisisgoingon?'I'dgoupstairsandhe'dbejustcompletelyfocusedonthefutureoftheairline,andnotworriedaboutwhatwashappeningonthatparticularday.SoIlearnedavaluablelessonsthere:IfIeverstartedanotherairlineagain,IwoulddoitwithgreatcooperationfrompeoplethatIcouldturntoandsay,'Runtheairlineandthenwe'lltalkmonthlyabouttheperformanceoftheairlineandmakesurethatit'sgoingintherightdirection'."?
──DavidNeeleman
Interestingly,ataroundthissametime,MarkNeelemanwasdiagnosedwithattentiondeficitdisorderorADD.Thisisaneurologicaldiseasecharacterizedbyimpulsiveness,excessiveirritability,difficultfocusingandatendencytohigh-riskbehavior──allofthethingsDavidNeelemanhadbeendoingatSouthwest.Regardless,hedidn'tholdagrudge.ByseveringhistieswithSouthwest,Neelemanfeltliberatedtotrysomethingdifferent.Theairlinebusinesswasdeeplyentrenchedinhisblood,butforthenextfiveyearsthenoncompeteclausemeanthewouldhavetostayonthesidelines.AndforNeeleman,stayingidlewasn'taviableoption.