There are two major cities in business.
The first is called “Care More.” It’s where you get ahead by caring more than the other guy.
The second is called “Care Less.” It’s where you stop worrying so much about human connection and start obsessing over things like “efficiencies” and “optimization.” Less about following the human heart, more about following the algorithm.
Southwest just switched hubs and didn’t purchase a return ticket.
For over 50 years, Southwest was Care More’s model citizen. They built a culture around the radical idea that an airline could actually be human. That checked bags could fly free. That passengers could be treated equally. That profit could come from being liked – not just endured.
Then came Tuesday – the sad day where “Southwest Airlines became like every other airline.”
Magic doesn’t show up in quarterly reports. You can measure baggage fee revenue, but you can’t measure the value of being the one airline that doesn’t nickel and dime. The most dangerous decision in business is saying “let’s be like everyone else.” It’s also the decision most likely to get you a bonus. When you become like your competitors, you give permission to your customers to treat you like your competitors. Permission to choose on price. Permission to feel nothing. Permission to leave without regret.
Compare that with Will Guidara, the former restaurateur who turned Eleven Madison Park into the most lauded restaurant in the world, just by obsessing over what he calls “Unreasonable Hospitality.” Very much a citizen of “Care More.”
The difference? Culture isn’t just a policy or a perk. It’s what you’re willing to leave on the table when everyone tells you to grab it.
The real magic was never about bags or boarding. The magic was having the courage to say “this matters to us” and sticking to it when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. It’s the difference between remarkable and forgotten.
Choose your city wisely.
