RESEARCH & IDEAS

Come Fly with Me: A History of Airline Leadership
Q&A with: Anthony J. Mayo Published: November 9, 2009 Author: Sarah Jane Gilbert A new book looks at the history of the U.S. aviation industry through the eyes of its entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders—men like Pan Am's Juan Trippe and Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher—each emerging at different stages of the industry's evolution from start-up to rebirth. Who comes next? An interview with coauthor Anthony J. Mayo. Key concepts include: • While disruptive forces can change an industry, so too can leaders themselves by the manner in which they run their enterprises. • Different archetypes of leaders emerged as the U.S. airline industry evolved from start-up phase through deregulation and the shock of September 11, 2001. • Airlines seem ripe for a new form of leadership to reenergize the industry. leaders. Our first book, In Their Time: The Greatest Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century (Harvard Business Press), explored these three archetypes within the context of the 20th century. Following on this initial research, we sought to identify the role of entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders within one specific industry. Q: Did your archetypes still ring true when you applied them to the airline industry? A: In our research, we saw a clear link between these three archetypes and the evolution of the airline industry. While all three archetypes are present at each stage of an industry life cycle, there are certain concentrated times that favor each one. Entrepreneurs are the dominant leadership archetype in the early start-up phase of an industry, especially as different players try to establish a viable business model. This was the case in the airline industry in the early years of the 20th century when various entrepreneurs competed for dominance. During this time, success was dependent on securing U.S. airmail contracts as well as on reliable and safe aircraft. Access to government officials,