can the bishops learn from Southwest Airlines?
Carl Koch directs the master of arts program in servant leadership at Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wis., and coordinates programs at the Franciscan Spirituality Center, also in La Crosse. After the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, Southwest Airlines was the only airline that made a profit, kept all its workers on the job and actually adhered to its full flight schedule. The next year, while other airlines cut thousands of jobs, Southwest hired thousands and for each of those jobs had more applicants per opening than Harvard had for its freshman class. One of the key factors in Southwest’s success is that servant-leaders guide it. At this critical time in the church, bishops and other church leaders could learn many lessons from Southwest…
