United CEO Scott Kirby reveals his unusual daily routine—8.5 hours of sleep, hours of reading, daily naps, and capped meetings—and what it says about his leadership.
Sounds like he needs a 60 min nap.
Ahhh...lived in Dallas. That explains his AA fixation.
I'm with him on the 15 minute conversations versus the endless, almost always useless Powerpoints and Teams Calls that go on and on. At most something gets uploaded into a SP site. Usually nothing gets accomplished or deferred to another call-where nothing gets accomplished. No product gets built. No service gets delivered.
It's just the laptop crowd farting out mindless ideas and complicating what could be something very simple. Welcome to the world of tech.
Setting aside some of his personal quirks and very apparent shortcomings the man has one of the hardest industries to rule in and he gets the results.
I actually have great respect for Scott Kirby and how he has changed his view. The results with United has been phenomenal.
His UA accomplishments are impressive, built with the employees' efforts, too. However, his antics outside of them (as seen here and elsewhere) make you wonder: if he ditched the attention-seeking carnival barker act and focused much more on beneficial improvements instead, UA could be an even stronger option.
Scott increasingly seems to want to be the news itself rather than deliver the news, like a real influencer.
Yeah, was thinking the same. We need less ‘celebrity’ CEOs, and more servant leaders, who just do good work, actually lead the organization effectively, support their teams, serve their customers, and yes, fine, earn reasonable profits for shareholders along the way. (The era of bombastic showmen hasn’t produced the best results for most folks…)
He gives off far too much “look at me, look at me!” Almost like he was never the center of attention as a kid. He’s too old to be part of the influencer generation(s), but clearly he envies that angle.
Can’t argue with the results, but he just seems like a lot more of a mouth than a do-er. Who’s the #2 at UA? That’s who’s really doing all the hard work.
The schedule aspect is a bit “privileged.” It’s just boring to hear rich people talk about how they maintain such a “busy” schedule of reading the wsj and spending time working prevents them from thinking. Ugh
With regards to the merger talk. I’m amazed at how no one calls his bluff. He is clearly angling to take over JetBlue. Analytically it’s pretty clear and basic. Yet, he is able to say some nonsense about merging with AA or Delta and everyone takes him at his word. It’s wild.
If Kalshi had odds on if United tries to take over JetBlue I’d put money on it. All of his other talk is just a distraction.
Timing
Notice there isn't any time allotted for his 7 children. Sounds like Musk, who is inventing robots just so he doesn't have to deal with his 37 kids...
Some of his schedule makes sense but how does reading science fiction books help you run an airline
Maybe his whole life isnt about running an airline. Maybe he reads them because he likes to. Just maybe...
If you read five books, you get a sticker and a free personal pan pizza from the local Pizza Hut. Economy's tight - gotta feed a family.
He also has no idea what his counterparts do.
"He then reads his emails, but that just takes five minutes"
haha I feel for whoever it is that has to sift through his emails
It's pretty easy, they just filter out the ones that start "WTF?, Clown!!!". Easy five minutes after that.
He is also getting alot of Isom's emails, forwarded to him, as AA IT could not stop the forwarding.
Kirbys is trash. Leave it to this website to lather him with praise as though you matter. He would so love to be a celebrity CEO but that will not happen. Entitled and privileged.
Ben writes...
"Kirby explained that when you’re CEO, your job isn’t to work hard, but it’s to think hard. He suggests that if you’re spending your time looking at yesterday’s detailed metrics, you’re doing the wrong thing, as you should be focused on the horizon, and what’s coming that no one else sees yet."
So is Kirby providing value that make United more profitable than other airlines? If so, he is worth his pay. If not, he needs to be replaced.
As for me, if I get a few miles for basic economy, that is a big incentive to fly that airline. That's why I think basic economy should get a low earnings rate, not zero.
Three of Kirby's seven children (from his first marriage) are older/adults. Kirby spends a lot of time traveling with his wife and younger children, when they and sometimes other family members take up a good share of the first class cabin. I've been on multiple flights with them, as I'm from the same state as his wife, and they seem to travel there frequently. He also spends a lot of time in the airport and on the plane seeking attention from passengers and crew.
Maybe if I have this privilege on a future UA flight, I can ask them all to recreate some musical numbers from "The Sound of Music" for my entertainment. Otherwise, you've taken my money, get me to where I am going on time and with minimal drama, and leave me alone.
More Chuck Norris Facts; Airline CEO Edition
That is a lot of sleep for an older adult getting 8.75 hours a day.
That's a lot of sleep and not a lot of work hours for a corporate exec.
Measuring a CEO by "work hours" is the most senseless thing one can do. Kirby says so himself.