Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC) Launches in Baltimore with Jim Parker, Former CEO of Southwest Airlines

Jim Parker, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman of the board of Southwest Airlines, is no stranger to the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business – but now he’s officially joined as an executive-in-residence at the school’s just-launched Center for Leadership, Innovation and Change (CLIC). On Dec. 9, 2010, Baltimore-area business leaders came to the University of Maryland BioPark to celebrate the launch of CLIC and to hear Parker’s address on “Leadership in Challenging Times.”

Parker, already one of the most popular and requested event speakers at Smith, was the logical choice to help launch CLIC in Baltimore given his leadership experience and the historical ties of Southwest Airlines to the area, said Dean G. “Anand” Anandalingam in his opening remarks. Southwest helped put Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) on the map, and now it is the leading airport in the region.

Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan, University System of Maryland, also offered opening remarks saying that he could not imagine a more propitious time to launch this center; it is precisely the kind of resource the state and nation needs at this time. “As business professionals, you are all keenly aware that in today’s world, change has become a constant,” said Kirwan. “It is the ability to harness that change in innovative and imaginative ways that will enable a business to thrive. I have no doubt that CLIC will be a valuable resource going forward.”

Parker’s keynote address centered on topics of principled and ethical leadership. He served as CEO of Southwest Airlines through the tumultuous Sept. 11 attacks, leaving in 2004, and is the author of “Do the Right Thing: How Dedicated Employees Create Loyal Customers and Large Profits.”

“I still remember as if it was yesterday, driving to work and hearing on the radio that an airplane had flown into the World Trade Center,” said Parker. He vividly described his experience that day: the countless phone calls; the confusion after the second plane hit the tower and following reports of planes flying erratically in Pennsylvania and near D.C.; the period where Southwest had to count their own planes to be sure none of them had been hijacked; and the small span of time in which the Southwest executives had to form a crisis command central and start making business decisions right away.

Going against the industry standard, Southwest Airlines agreed to no-questions-asked refunds for any customer that cancelled a flight. They decided to keep all of their employees without forced furloughs or sweeping layoffs. They decided not to cancel any of their routes. Then they waited for the ramifications of their decisions – they expected throngs of customers to cancel flights and for profits to drop severely. But that never came. Southwest remained profitable when other airlines grounded their planes and filed for bankruptcy. It is the only airline to be consistently profitable every quarter, since 1973.

Parker says that after Sept. 11 Southwest was a case study for the media, researchers and business executives alike – how could a low-fare airline be the only one to make a profit after the largest industry disaster? Parker says that he isn’t hiding the secret ingredient, “It’s our people – dedicated employees.”

Parker spoke to the Smith School community last year at the CEO@Smith Speaker Series. View a videotape of his speech online now 

l-r: Pat Stocker, Paul Tesluk, Jim Parker, Kay Bartol, Susan Taylor

CLIC is led by directors Kathryn M. Bartol, Robert H. Smith Professor of Management and Organization; Paul Tesluk, Tyser Professor of Organizational Behavior; and M. Susan Taylor, Smith Chair of Human Resource Management and Organizational Change; and executive director Pat Stocker.

During the event, Tesluk said, “Innovation is critical for a nation that is at risk for losing its competitive advantage.” CLIC is focused on producing vanguard research, programs and related activities that are instrumental in fostering effective leadership that promotes innovation, change and social stewardship in organizations. The center translates scholarly research and practical expertise into leadership insights for business, government and nonprofit executives. CLIC serves and seeks input from a broad audience of executives, managers, scholars, instructors, students and alumni.