#Making mistakes

Don't be afraid to make mistakes

While Chick-fil-A does expect their company's principles to be respected, leaders also want employees to feel safe testing their limits. Yes, mistakes will happen, and that's okay. The goal at Chick-fil-A is to learn a lesson from each mistake, so they don't happen again. When one employee took a chance which resulted in a $2 million dollar loss, founder Truett Cathy didn't belabor on the problem or hold it over his head during the span of his career. Instead, he replied "We just invested $2 million in your education. You'll never make that mistake again."

Even former Chick-fil-A president, Jimmy Collins, has reinforced this principle when he said: "We'd rather restrain mustangs than kick mules. Don't play it safe. If you're right out there at the edge of your authority, we'll ease you back when the time comes."

Maintain a high-talent density environment

Netflix is not a career-management company. Positions are reserved for top talent only, and are not opportunities for people to learn and grow as they go, and that is true for every role from the receptionist to the top executive team. But the agreement going into that position is that you will only stay on the team if you:

• Are the best player for the spot. Sweet people with nonstellar performance are quickly shown the door.
• Take risks. You have "metaphorical chips" that you are expected to use. One bad bet, even if that bet is Quickster, won't cost you your job.
• Show consistently good judgment. Those metaphorical chips do eventually run out.
• Speak up when you see something wrong. In fact, it is a firable offense to see a problem and not say anything because you weren't asked your opinion directly.
• Are smart enough to read the data but don't hide behind it when making judgment calls.
• Don't seek to please your boss but instead do what is right for the company. And yes, that includes taking risks that your boss doesn't approve of.
• Solve problems, not just find them. Problem finders are cheap.
• "Are not a brilliant jerk." Either you care about how your feedback will impact others or you are shown the door no matter how brilliant you are.

Allow employees to make mistakes, even big ones

When newly promoted manager Matt Buckley proposed a door-to-door cargo product called RUSH PLUS to Southwest CEO Herb Kelleher, Herb said 'Let's try it.' When manager Bob Montgomery made a verbal commitment to the amount of $400,000 with the city of Austin, Herb honored the deal.

While both of these employees' Hearts were in the right place, both of these projects turned out to be complete failures. However, no one was fired or reprimanded.

To Southwest, the cost of making a mistake is insignificant compared to "the benefits that come from people feeling free to take risks and be creative." Secondly, with every failure comes an opportunity for personal growth and maturity.

To continually inspire this entrepreneurial spirit, Southwest limits company bureaucracy and the need for Board or senior management approval for even some of the biggest projects like negotiating million dollar deals and constructing ticket gates.