Within the past year, I have become a huge fan of Southwest Airlines for business travel. Their new boarding process has overcome my previous major objections. Add to that  their free baggage policy (for the first two bags), on-time arrival and departure, regular pilot communication, and the use of full size planes has turned me into a raving fan! And given the frequency of my business travel, that has turned into real money for Southwest.

Jody Hoffer Gittell, author of The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance, argues "that Southwest's most powerful organizational competency- the 'secret ingredient' that makes it so distinctive- is its ability to build and sustain high performance relationships among managers, employees, unions, and suppliers." p.xii

If you have always wondered how to turn business relationships into a competivetive advantage, check Gittell's book out. You will soon see how the deceptively "soft stuff" turns business relationships into gold.

(Southwest Airlines Way is available on Amazon.com)