Love Is A Decision To Act

In language I would expect to hear from philosophy professors, marriage counselors, or ministers, Kevin and Jackie Freiberg start off their chapter on Luv at Southwest Airlines explaining that “love is action oriented”. They continue, “A lot of people confuse love with romanticism and sentimentality. That’s not what you see at Southwest Airlines.
Southwest people are sentimental, and the company has it’s share of die-hard romantics, but at the core of this business, there is something more significant going on than gushy feelings. The kind of love we see at Southwest is action oriented and involved. It operates more as a verb than a noun.

Love is an act of the will. It’s something Southwest employees do. Sometimes sentiment and affection accompany their actions, but not always. At Southwest, love is something employees choose to do because they are committed to the well-being of others. In this sense, love is more of a decision than a feeling.”

Amen. I feel we can all just pray and go home now.

When I was around 14 years old, Ernie Collinsworth stood up in our church and said, “love is unconditional commitment regardless of circumstances”. I don’t remember what the context was for him saying this, or anything else about that moment. But those words have stuck with me for over 35 years. I’ve tried to apply that to my significant relationships, but I’ve also tried to apply it in business with my partners, associates, and customers. I’m sure many would tell you I’ve done an imperfect job. But imagine a work place where everyone was trying to apply this. Apparently at Southwest Airlines they do pretty well. As a road warrior who logs a lot of airline miles with at least some of them on Southwest, I’ve personally seen the difference in action.

How can you bring the “Spirit of Southwest” in to your work today? Remember, because we’re talking about commitment and action instead of feelings, this is something you can choose. My experience is, when you make the commitment to act, usually the feelings follow.

As a Servant Sales Representative for AnyCorp, USA, what are your commitments? In tangible actions that can be documented with a video camera, what does loving behavior look like in your business. How does it impact your response time, accessibility, sales call demeanor, responses, presentations, honesty, and follow-up. List your thoughts in a Servant Selling Journal now.