Within a two-week period, America lost two great business icons, Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher (March 12, 1931 – January 3, 2019) and Vanguard founder Jack Bogle (May 8, 1929 – January 16, 2019). I never met Kelleher but admired his work from afar. Jack Bogle and I had a longstanding friendly exchange of ideas that I will miss.
Remembering Jack Bogle and Herb Kelleher, Two Great Strategists
Within a two-week period, America lost two great business icons, Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher and Vanguard founder Jack Bogle. To me, they exemplify the true strategist in action. This is despite Kelleher’s seeming dismissal of strategy. Perhaps his most famous quote, in response to a question about Southwest strategy, was: “We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” And Bogle really only talked about his recommended strategy of how his customers should invest their savings: Buy and hold for the long term. With respect to Vanguard itself, he talked more about its philosophy than its strategy per se. But the heart of true strategy is not about plans or proclamations or vision statements, it is about making the few key choices that enable you to serve customers in a distinctive and valuable fashion. These two business giants were all about choices and when they made them, they chose distinctively. It would also be nice to see others follow their attitudes toward gaining personal wealth from their customer-focused enterprise.