Rating: 
Summary: Solid Portrayal of Leadership Best Practices by SWA
Review: When I read profiles of companies, I usually find that I barely recognize the company I know. Nuts! is different. It actually captures a lot of the inside perspective of Southwest Airlines, in a way that is hard to do in a business book.I have been flying on Southwest for over 25 years, and have been fascinated by the company's business model for the entire time. So I have made it a point to fly the airline and to learn as much as possible about the people over the years. I have also had the benefit of having had a professional relationship with the firm in the past. I was immediately impressed when the first 50 pages contained a large number of stories that long-time Southwest employees had told me over the years. My good impression grew as important new details were added to my knowledge. Perhaps most important was the description of how the authors got access to Herb Kelleher and the company in order to be able to write the book. I, too, have tried for that access and have not yet been as successful. Maybe after I complete my 10,000th roundtrip! Seriously, I am currently working on a new book about an improved business model that all companies should follow. Southwest Airlines will be the central example in the first chapter in that book. I plan to use Nuts! as a source in that writing. If authenticity is the book's main strength, then it's main weakness is repetition. The Freibergs have sliced and diced the lessons a bit too finely for my taste. Rather than portraying the key elements of the Southwest story and exemplifying these points with lots of examples, Nuts! takes the same examples and reuses them over ... and ... over ... and ... over to make different points. A way to have improved this book would have been to have compared Southwest to other outstanding companies. The authors tended to limit their comparisons to other airlines (a group of usually not-very-well-run companies). That would have made the unique elements of Southwest clearer. If you have ever flown Southwest, you know that the company's culture is pretty unusual. The cultural story comes across loud and clear. One of the strengths of the book is that the reasons for starting and maintaining the culture are well explained. Most cultures are pretty hard to understand from the outside. This one can be appreciated from that perspective. Finally, I really liked the way the book explained how scenario thinking (around 'what if?' questions) has helped Southwest. This is a solid addition to the business literature. The book is conveniently divided into several different parts that emphasize various perspectives. The beginning tells the history of how the culture was born (in adversity, as most strong cultures are). The second part describes some key principles of the company's vision and culture. The third part describes how the culture is maintained and encouraged (particularly as the company grows). The final section takes a more leadership oriented perspective. You can focus your attention on any of these points of view, and learn something valuable. Unless you don't like people, you'll like Nuts! You'd be nuts not to. Have a great time learning more about the masters of overcoming stalled thinking in an industry where stalls are dangerous!
Rating: 
Summary: The Untold Story
Review: While everything in this book is true, it doesn't tell you the aftermath of this book. SWA management created what was called the "Freiberg Report" and many members of SWA management was either demoted or "released" as a result of this report. This book also does not address the disfunctional "family" that SWA has created: from adultery, alcoholism, favoritism, and just plane uneducated leaders. Herb and Colleen have unfortunately surrounded themselves by people who do not possess the same caring values. This will eventually come out, and I hope I am around to see it. A 16 year former employee who left on his own terms, and who helped cover up some extrodinary things for this company of LUV.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring to read, although too little depth
Review: Working in the airline industry, and very much involved in optimizing organizational output, Southwest has been a very admired and inspiring company for me since a long time. Having read already quite a bit about them, and talked to people working there, it was still great fun to read a more insight book of this company. It is amazing to read that they have been able to keep so many great cultural aspects of what you typically find in small start-up companies. The commitment people feel is something an outsider can be jealous about. What I was hoping to read more about in this book (and expected from writers with such a background) how Southwest was able to keep this great things while growing from a small start-up to a major airline in the US. If they had addressed this subject in their book, it would really make it top of the bill. Still the book can be very inspiring for people who want to get some ideas how they can get more out of their organization.
Rating:
Summary: The Untold Story???
Review: Would have been a better title for this book. Southwest Airlines has been often imitated, but never duplicated. What can you say about an airline whose CEO dressed up as Elvis for company functions? Even though this book was written several years ago, the basic message and points of focus on Southwest Airlines' success still hold true even at present. Southwest Airlines has become the model that many airlines had tried to imitate, some with moderate success (like Ireland's Ryanair and the UK's EasyJet to AirTran and Frontier here in the US), and others that failed (like Vanguard, National, and Western Pacific). This book is both a historical account on what helped to create the world's most successful Low Cost Carrier and a motivational book, as it includes the struggles Southwest faced in its infancy (taking on incumbent Texas carriers Continental, Braniff, and Trans Texas/Texas International) that lead to some of Southwest's key processes that hold true to this day. A great read, even if you are not into airline/aviation history, because the business lessons that Southwest has learned do offer something for every company to look at and strive for.
Rating:
Summary: Falling in LUV with Southwest Airlines................
Review: Would have been a better title for this book. Southwest Airlines has been often imitated, but never duplicated. What can you say about an airline whose CEO dressed up as Elvis for company functions? Even though this book was written several years ago, the basic message and points of focus on Southwest Airlines' success still hold true even at present. Southwest Airlines has become the model that many airlines had tried to imitate, some with moderate success (like Ireland's Ryanair and the UK's EasyJet to AirTran and Frontier here in the US), and others that failed (like Vanguard, National, and Western Pacific). This book is both a historical account on what helped to create the world's most successful Low Cost Carrier and a motivational book, as it includes the struggles Southwest faced in its infancy (taking on incumbent Texas carriers Continental, Braniff, and Trans Texas/Texas International) that lead to some of Southwest's key processes that hold true to this day. A great read, even if you are not into airline/aviation history, because the business lessons that Southwest has learned do offer something for every company to look at and strive for.
Rating:
Summary: A great story of personal charisma!
Review: WOW! What a history lesson in leadership! Herb Keller moved mountains while establishing Southwest Airlines, and the authors do a superb job of telling his story. Although the book is funny and motivational, the authors neglected to discuss "how" Southwest Airlines was able to meet FAA standards and guidelines while empowering employees. More hints on "how-to" would add realism and effectiveness to the book. Any business manager will reflect on his/her managerial style, but the impact will be short in duration due to lack of cause and effect analysis which could be transported to other businesses. However, I recommend the book as a GREAT example of how effective a charismatic leader such as Herb Keller can be during a company's early years; he did it right!
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