Word: barretts
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Americans who are fed up with the stock market's volatility are turning to an investment that seems to promise a smoother ride: collectible cars. According to a study by the automobile-auction company Barrett-Jackson, the billion-dollar collectible-car industry is growing at a 10% clip annually. "The baby boomers are fueling this long-term trend," explains Craig Jackson, president of Barrett-Jackson. "They want to own the cars of their youth." Coveted wheels include '50s sports cars like the Corvette and muscle cars of the late '60s and early '70s like the Pontiac...
Some male executives at other airlines still treat her like the secretary she once was, but Barrett can afford to ignore them. Her company is profitable; theirs are not. "I'm much more concerned about what our customers think about us and how we're treating them," she says. In Barrett's 30 years in and around the executive suite (starting as a legal secretary in 1967 for Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher), the results have been spectacular. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline that didn't dip into the red last year, continuing its 29 years of consecutive...
That record is due in large part to an employee culture that Barrett, 57, is credited with nurturing. The divorced grandmother and Willie Nelson fan has devoted her life to Southwest and still tries to read every customer letter the airline receives. As the self-described "mother hen" of the carrier's 35,000 workers, she encouraged a family atmosphere long before it became fashionable. Birthdays, anniversaries and other significant events in an employee's life are noted with a card from Barrett's office. The airline has endured only one strike in three decades. Employee morale is boosted...
...Barrett keeps the door to her modest, windowless office at Southwest's Dallas headquarters open. She spends several weeks a year meeting with employees in the 58 cities served by the airline. And, of course, she always flies coach. Southwest does not have first class or business class on its planes. Her photo appears in a feature called "Colleen's Corner" in the in-flight magazine, and she's slightly uncomfortable when recognized by passengers--even though most approach her to praise the airline. Some industry veterans question her influence, given her lack of interest in the financial side...
...believes that emphasis on employee satisfaction--and its downstream result, superior customer service--comes more naturally to women than men. That may help explain why 10 of the top 24 executives at Southwest are women. "It would be great for the industry if more women were running things," says Barrett. The downside for Southwest may be seeing its rivals get better at pleasing workers and travelers...