As the CEO of Southwest Airlines, Howard Putnam transformed a start-up carrier into one of the most profitable companies in the airline industry. Recruited to save the faltering Braniff Airlines, he became the first CEO to successfully restructure a major airline out of bankruptcy. His accomplishment became the focus of a Harvard Business School case study. For more than 30 years, Putnam played a leading role in one of the most exciting and rapidly changing industries. He earned a well-deserved reputation for his capacity to think systematically, create a vision, build a team, and define a niche. He learned "crisis management" by living it.

Today, Putnam is founder and chairman of Aircraft Interior Resources, a company that refurbishes interiors of commercial aircraft. He is also the author of The Winds of Turbulence, which offers leadership insights into the 21st century. An impressive, down to earth and entertaining speaker, Putnam shares his prescriptions for successful management in the new millennium.

Programs
• Leadership: Successful Strategies Through Turbulence : Leaders must have a clear and concise vision if they want their organizations to survive and thrive through turbulence. A clear understanding of what business or businesses you are really in is critical. Bottom line improvement comes through your people. Howard Putnam has successfully led organizations through the maze following these principles of leadership and will share them with you.

• Innovation: Creating a Culture and Process for Ideas to Hatch : Innovation and bold steps occur in organizations that embrace and foster a climate and culture for risk taking and idea implementation. Howard Putnam proved this philosophy works when he was CEO of Southwest Airlines. He positioned and organized Southwest for growth and profitability utilizing a very flat management structure with decision making and idea development embedded in everyone's job scope and responsibility. In this presentation Howard will describe how this can work in your organization.

• Change: Transforming Organizations Successfully & Profitably : Many organizations are out of alignment in the current turbulent environment. Their design is outdated with bureaucracy and a hierarchy that is expensive and inefficient. Howard Putnam will show you how to transform your business into a "flow state" organization that is focused, nimble, flexible, cost-effective and able to utilize the "stages of turbulence" which he will identify for you to take advantage of being in a change state.

• People and Culture: Hiring Attitudes & Developing Their Skills : Successful organizations that are in business for the long term, place their people first if they want sustained bottom line improvement. Howard Putnam led the visioning process at Southwest Airlines in which a key element was the culture, putting their people first and matching attitudes with the culture. Happy employees and superior customer service resulted from this concept. He will share behind the scenes looks on how this was accomplished with great stories, humor and concrete suggestions for you.

• Ethics: The Ultimate Challenge in Ethics; Are You Really the Person Your Dog Thinks You Are? : Organizations cannot ignore the need for proactive efforts to ingrain honesty, integrity and trust at every level. Today's environment requires ethical leaders, if they want their businesses to survive and grow. Howard Putnam learned the values of trust and honesty as he grew up on an Iowa farm. He has embodied those principles in his successful business career. He took on the challenge of saving Braniff International only to find the "books had been cooked" prior to his arrival. He will share this character building experience of taking a major airline through Chapter 11 successfully and offer a flight plan for you to implement in your organization.

If you would like more information on Howard Putnam, please visit his website.

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