Happy, passionate employees key to good business, top execs say

Happy,
passionate employees key to good business, top execs say
…………………………………………………………………

BY MAILEEN HAMTO
Special to the Rice News

In the current
business environment that values innovation, speed and efficiency,
top performers differentiate themselves by harnessing the
power of the most important asset within any organization:
people.

Having successfully
implemented reorganization efforts in their companies in
recent years, Gordon Bethune, chief executive officer of
Continental Airlines, and Ralph Eads, president, Merchant
Energy Group, El Paso Corp., understand that top-notch processes
and strategies paired with happy, productive employees are
key to sustaining success and ensuring continued improvement
within any organization.

At separate lectures
hosted this spring by the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School
of Management, Bethune and Eads discussed formulas for growth
and success at Continental Airlines and El Paso Corp., respectively.

Still in the
midst of reorganization efforts, El Paso Corp. is in a transitional
phase. Rapid growth due to mergers and acquisitions has
required the largest natural gas company in the world to
closely examine its corporate culture.

“It’s
hard for a company to sustain superior performance when
growth is substantial and rapid,” Eads told students
during his April 11 lecture at Herring Hall. His talk was
part of the 2001 Dean’s Lecture Series, a program that
brings prominent business leaders to talk with students
at formal presentations, followed by informal receptions.

With an enterprise
valued at more than $50 billion, El Paso Corp., headquartered
in Houston, owns and operates a significant portion of the
North American natural gas delivery grid and is the nation’s
third largest natural gas producer.

Growth has only
bolstered the company’s passion to do more. It is moving
toward a less-structured business environment, where ideas
emerge from conceptualization to execution quickly. “We
want to do things faster than anybody else in America,”
Eads said.

El Paso’s
emphasis on speed and efficiency embodies the rules for
success in the New Economy, Eads said.

“We’re
eager to translate these and other New Economy concepts
of experimentation, imagination, creation, diversity and
network into the El Paso culture to drive our business forward,”
he said.

The result was
a reorganization effort to create a culture of passion,
integrity, empowerment and high performance at El Paso.

“We wanted
to create an environment where people feel passionate about
their work, where people feel inspired,” he said.

When he joined
Continental Airlines in 1994, Bethune’s challenge extended
beyond reorganization: The airline needed a complete overhaul.
It had twice been bankrupt and customer complaints had been
consistently high.

“When I
took over as CEO, some of my friends expressed their deepest
sympathy,” Bethune told students at his March 5 lecture.
“My first challenge at Continental was to keep the
airline away from the brink of bankruptcy.”

Bethune moved
quickly to implement a reorganization plan that would reinvent
the image of the ailing company. He found that “doing
a few things right” while keeping focused on a clear,
simple vision was important to this goal.

Bethune’s
impeccable leadership and communication skills translated
well into the new corporate culture. Company goals, plans
and initiatives were routinely communicated to all employees,
from senior management to the pilots to baggage handlers.

“We wanted
to let our people feel involved, that they belonged, that
they were important — no matter what their role or
position is in the company,” Bethune said.

Beyond promoting
a culture of openness within the company, Bethune also believed
in rewarding good, hard work with more than just a pat on
the back. Monetary incentives were awarded to employees
who reached or surpassed their goals.

“The incentives
serve as a way for us to acknowledge good or superior performance,
to let our people know that we appreciate [their efforts],”
Bethune said.

Bethune’s
formula for success in the customer-driven airlines business
is simple: “We treat our people well, and in turn,
they treat our customers well. Happy employees equal customer
satisfaction.”

Today, Continental
Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States
and was named the 2001 Airline of the Year by Air Transport
World magazine as well as the 1996 Airline of the Year,
making it the only carrier to receive this honor twice in
five years.

ontinental is
in the top quarter of Fortune magazine’s “100
Best Companies to Work for in America,” and is ranked
the nation’s No.1 airline in customer satisfaction
for long- and short-haul flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine
and J.D. Power and Associates.

— Maileen
Hamto is the assistant director of public relations at the
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.