Frontier Example

Secrets of success were shared at last week’s Colorado Business Show, so it sounds like odd advice not to have any secrets. Those are the words of Frontier Airlines chairman Sam Addoms. “The effects are rather stunning. You eliminate the ruling class of an organization.” The ruling class holds power by withholding information. In addition, you eliminate the need for the “the CIA”. The CIA group spy on the ruling class and pass secrets to those outside the inner circle. Without secrets and spying, people spend more time doing useful work that benefits shareholders and customers.

This is good advice, if you want a productive culture. What Sam is referring to is sharing strategic information.

Strategy

Over the years, I’ve asked to see my clients’ strategies. In small companies, the strategy doesn’t have to be written down, but people have to know what it is. Within the fortune 500, asking for a written strategy yields interesting results. Unscientifically, I would say, 50% don’t have written strategies. Of those who do have written strategies, 25% of the documents aren’t really strategies.

The most comical “strategy” I’ve read came from the head of the American Red Cross. It was a long bullet list: the things we need to focus on the coming year. A list isn’t a strategy, and an organization cannot focus on 25 items all at the same time.

In the end, only 25% of organizations actually have a written strategy, which may or may not be effective. The exception is a firm is looking to raise money; it almost always has a written strategy.

Leaders who don’t share their strategies run their companies on hope. They fear that the competition will learn the strategy and undermine the company’s success. The fear is misplaced, for it’s secrecy that undermines success. Employees cannot support and execute what they don’t know. Hope is not a strategy.

Sharing strategy is a step in the right direction, but open, collaborative environments, where idea can come from anyone, anywhere, are the most effective. Frontier Airlines doesn’t attribute its success to its clever advertising (talking animals on the tails), but to its culture. The culture enables open mindedness and creativity, which spawns clever advertising.

Here is an interview with Jeff Potter, CEO of Frontier on the subject of culture.

Frontier's Values

I particularly like Frontier’s values:
1. We’ll only become the best loved airline through safety and value.
2. People are priceless;
3. Respect the co-worker as a neighbor, a customer as a guest;
4. Trust; we’re only as good as our word;
5. Collaboration; we’re in this together;
6. Value; we don’t charge for the extra mile;
7. Passion; this smile is real.

Frontier does a good job with communications and culture. Is Frontier without secrets as Sam Addoms suggests? No.

What about Salaries?

The largest (or second largest expense) inside an airline is labor (fuel expenses take the lead when prices rise). Although the price of every gallon of jet fuel is known and open to review, salaries are not. Frontier isn’t different from others; I’m just pointing out that if information and openness is a good thing, because they enables wise judgments, isn’t it interesting that salaries are secrets?

If a coworker or manager is overpaid or underpaid, shouldn’t that be corrected? How does one show respect for a neighbor by letting injustice persist? There’s not a single law in the US that says salary information is secret. Companies say that they hide salary information to protect employee privacy, do you really believe that? Some companies even fire employees for telling other employees their salaries, can you believe that?

What does, “Trust; we’re only as good as our word” (the forth value) really mean?

Leading with values is powerful; no one said it’s easy.

That’s no secret. Honest.

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Michael Cushman, The Engaging Guru, wants you to master enrolling others in your truth, get the goodies of life, and change the world.  www.engagingchange.com