On a Mission : Part 2

The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family
by Jeff Benedict, J.D.

(Page 2 of 6)

On a daily basis Neeleman would put on a white shirt and tie, along with a name tag, and enter the neighborhoods and homes of Brazilians. Speaking their language, Neeleman would introduce himself by saying something along the lines of: "Hello, my name is Elder Neeleman and I'm a representative for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Then he would talk to them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and answer their questions.

This experience had a profound impact on the way Neeleman runs JetBlue. "My missionary experience obliterated class distinction for me," said Neeleman. "I learned to treat everyone the same. If anything, I have a disdain for the upper class and people who think they are better than others."

Neeleman's perspective is evident in JetBlue's business approach. There is no first-class section on JetBlue planes. All seats are sold at the same price. All passengers receive the same treatment and are referred to as "customers."

Evidence of Neeleman's approach is also found in the way he runs the corporation. All employees are referred to as "crew members" and wear badges with their name and photograph. Neeleman wears a crew-member ID badge at all times, too. Neeleman has no preferred parking space at the office. Nor do any other executives.

When he flies on JetBlue planes, he sits in the jump seat with his crew. There is no corporate plane.

The most unusual aspect of Neeleman's leadership style is his compensation package, particularly in today's climate of inflated CEO salaries. Long before CEOs came under fire for excessive salaries, Peter Drucker predicted: "In the next economic downturn, there will be an outbreak of bitterness and contempt for these super corporate chieftains who pay themselves millions. In every major economic downturn in U.S. history, the villains have been the heroes during the preceding book."

Neeleman is an anomaly here. His annual salary is only $200,000 per year, plus an average of between $70,000 and $90,000 per year in bonuses. He donates his entire salary to a fund for his employees. Financially independent from the success of his previous business ventures, Neeleman is able to operate this way. "A fish stinks from the head," said Neeleman. "There are so many things a CEO can do to set an example. CEOs are just seen as money grubbers-they want to build the company on the backs of their people. The value they ascribe to themselves is so wildly greater than anyone else in the company that there's this king-type notion."

Before serving a mission, Neeleman didn't plan to create an airline. In fact, as a teenager he had no idea what he wanted to do. He struggled through school. "I was in turmoil," Neeleman said. "I spent most of my early school days with my head out the window. I didn't have any confidence in my ability to do well scholastically. I couldn't write memos. I couldn't spell very well. I never read books. I had a lot of anxiety about it because I didn't know what a guy could do who couldn't read or write or spell, and who had a hard time focusing."

Neeleman later discovered that he has attention deficit disorder (ADD). This hurt his performance in school. It did not, however, prevent him from serving a full-time mission. The Mormon Church will accept any young person into missionary service as long as he meets the age and personal worthiness requirements. "I didn't have focus," said Neeleman. "For a guy like me with a learning disability, I had never been disciplined enough to focus on things. The mission taught me discipline and gave me the opportunity to serve and really appreciate people."

The Mormon Church sends its young people on missions to convert people to Christ. But the practical result of the Church's missionary program is that many Mormon youth who serve missions become firmly grounded in their religion at a young age and develop a strong sense of focus and purpose before starting college, marriage, or their careers. "My mission really saved me," said Neeleman. "It was the first time in my life that I ever felt like I had some talent of some kind."

The Mormon mission experience also brought life to Neeleman's natural abilities and personal strengths, all of which are evident in his leadership approach at JetBlue. "Being a CEO is being a people person," said Neeleman. "If an employee knows that the CEO donates his salary to them-and that employee then sees the CEO helping him or her tag bags or clean airplanes, those employees will go the extra mile for me in return. They know there's not some limo waiting to pick me up and that I'm not sitting in some part of the airplane where I don't want to be talked to.

"You have to lead people. They have to buy into your vision and respect you in a way that they want to perform for you. People do a better job if they respect the leader of the company. I learned that on my mission-the value of people and how to truly appreciate them."

Copyright © 2007 by Jeff Benedict

About the Author

Jeff Benedict is an award-winning investigative journalist, a lawyer, and a best-selling author of six books. He is a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated and the Hartford Courant. His upcoming book The Mormon Way of Doing Business is based on exclusive interviews with top corporate executives at Dell, JetBlue Airways, Deloitte & Touche USA, American Express, Madison Square Garden Corp., and Harvard Business School, all of whom are Mormons.