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Howard Putnam

Howard Putnam’s ultimate objective is “bottom line improvement.” He believes that cultures that place “people” as their #1 priority have the greatest long-term impact and success. He is the former CEO of the highly successful Southwest Airlines whose foundation and culture placed people first. Later, when recruited to be the ... Read more

Audio Reviews

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Reviews

*Great speaker, held my attention for the entire 1.5 hours. *The best general session speaker with useful points of view that can be applied to our health care industry. *Excellent, inspiring...and a lot of fun. *This guy was refreshing, making use of failures and personal management experiences from one who "walked the talk." *Excellent, pleasant style, approachable personality. *Absolutely outstanding, please invite him back to CLMA again.

Carolyn Anderson - Wayne, PA, June 2001 CLMA(Clinical Lab. Management Assn.)

Howard, thank you for your inspiring keynote address. From vision to the most important qualities of honesty and integrity, you have succeeded in influencing the attendees and me on what it means to be a "leader." One of my favorites is your statement: True leaders know that turbulence is inevitable and misery is optional."

Michelle Stevens- Exec. VP Nassau Brdcas New Jersey Broadcasters Assn. May 2001

Your address in Hobart, Tasmania, on May 11, 2001, proved both informative and stimulating. Comments from the delegates include: faluable, stimulating and thought provoking.

Pauline Green-Mgr Prof. Development Sydney, AU - Aust. Institute Company Dir

Speech Topics

Leadership - Successful Strategies Through Turbulent Times

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 you are really in is critical. Cultures can then be developed to support the vision and business. Bottom line improvement comes through your people. Howard shares his principles of leadership and outlines key strategies to navigate turbulence successfully.

Innovation - Creating a Culture and Process for Ideas to Emerge

Innovation occurs in organizations that embrace a 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 imbedded in everyone's job scope and responsibility. Individuals and teams were rewarded for risk taking and for designing out of the box processes and improvements in productivity, customer service, cost containment, safety and profitability. Brands develop when people thrive in the vision and experience.

Change - Transforming Organizations Successfully and 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 and 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 ideas and suggestions.

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

Check Howard Putnam Availability

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Howard Putnam Fees

$20,000 Keynote

$22,500 Half Day

$27,500 Full Day

$40,000 International Keynote


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Howard Putnam Travel

$1500 covers airfare and ground transportation in home city, meals, gratuities & incidentals

Please note: Information is provided as a general guide. Expenses can vary depending on time. Please contact us for specific fee information.

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