Far More Keen on Why

Thu, Jan 12, 2023 at 11:38 AM If you have worked with me for any period of time, you have probably heard me talk about Southwest Airlines. Their history and trajectory fascinate me. When they're good, they are very good. But sometimes…not. Clearly, we just heard about one of the “not” times. Over the holidays they were forced to cancel thousands of flights. Most people will tell you it had to do with their business model (SWA uses less hub-and-spoke, more direct flights which does not pool crews in a major airport for redundancy in cancellations) and antiquated IT. Even their new CEO admitted, “As we’ve grown, we’ve outrun our tools.” To my mind, outdated systems and outrun tools are a symptom—not the problem. The real problem is that SWA lost sight of its purpose—its “why”. A few years ago, Southwest did a beautiful job explaining their purpose and vision. If you have 3 minutes, watch this. Their purpose is to connect people. If they do that well, they will achieve their vision, to become the most loved and most successful airline. Simple: If we connect people well (purpose), we will become loved and successful (vision). Was SWA the most-loved airline this holiday season? Not even close. Why? Not because of antiquated systems and direct flights. Because they did not fulfill their purpose. If the reason for our entire existence is to connect people, then we will not delay infrastructure improvements or defer investment to meet quarterly expectations. We will do everything in our power—including investing wisely and building in redundancy—so that we can always fulfill our purpose. Higher ed is about to enter one of the most difficult times in its history. It is facing immense change and a massive demographic cliff. When I ask people leading change efforts, “why the change?” I inevitably get an answer about how we will change or what we will change. I rarely get an answer to why we must change. (Try this yourself. Ask someone why we must change, and they will tell you what or how we must change.) But it is the why that matters most. How, what, and when can be discouraging or challenging depending upon the day. Why is always encouraging if done well. Why must Southwest change? To Connect People. Inspiring. Fear-based change is just fear. Why-based change is inspiring. I once got to perform in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. There is a line in it that says, “you’re far too keen on where and how and not so hot on why.” That is an excellent definition of why organizational change efforts fail. Fear-based change is fear. Let’s be much more keen on why. I wish you all good things in the change you lead, Mark