Gordon Bethune - Ceo (Continental Airlines)

GORDON BETHUNE - CEO (CONTINENTAL AIRLINES)

Born in the year 1941 to a crop duster, Gordon Bethune joined U.S.Navy at the age of 17 and retired after 20 years of service. And then began his career in the aviation industry. When he joined the troubled carrier as president and chief operating officer in February of 1994, Continental consistently ranked last in every measurable performance metric, including on-time performance, customer complaints, and mishandled baggage. Bethune quickly assumed the role of chief executive officer in November 1994, and was elected chairman of the board of directors in September 1996. When he was finished working his magic at Continental, the airline stood at the top of the heap, ranked by Fortune magazine as the No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline.

1. Measure what really matters to reach organizational goals

Cutting costs may actually cost an organization money. Upon assuming CEO responsibility at Continental, Gordon Bethune found that prior leadership had several cost cutting strategies. They had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection twice in the last 10 years before Gordon took over and the management team honestly thought continued cutting costs would save them from a third bankruptcy. They had implemented the following cost cutting strategies in hopes of regaining market share.

They discontinued paying travel agents booking bonuses;

They had not given employees a pay raise in some time;

They discontinued giving frequent flier mile bonuses.

When Gordon took over as CEO, Continental only had enough cash to operate another six months. They were heading toward bankruptcy fast. He notified travel agents that he would start paying them a bonus to book passengers on Continental and reestablished the frequent flier program to attract business travelers. Customers started returning. He communicated to employees that if the DOT (Department of Transportation) raised Continental airlines ratings he would give every employee in...