United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is a very bright and quirky guy. He has done an amazing job turning United around, and increasingly putting it in Delta’s league, while leaving American in the dust. Kirby is also really outspoken, so we hear his takes a lot.
He just had a fascinating interview covering a wide variety of topics. While nothing he said is particularly shocking, I can’t help but dedicate a post to a detailed look at his daily schedule, which is quite something.
In this post:
Scott Kirby details his unusual daily schedule
Semafor’s The CEO Signal show just had Scott Kirby on as a guest, and he covers a variety of topics. Perhaps the most widely interesting topic involves his daily schedule.
Kirby was asked about how he’s known to be very fierce about protecting his time, and about how he has said in the past that if you’re spending too much time managing the day-to-day, you’re doing something wrong. So he was quizzed about what his average day look like.
Kirby started by explaining that he probably has “the most unusual day of almost any executive you’ll meet.” What does that entail?
- Kirby sleeps 8.5 hours per night, and wakes up at 5:30AM without an alarm (hey, this is an area where Kirby and I are the same, except I’m usually an hour earlier!)
- He then reads his emails, but that just takes five minutes
- Then he works out, and he has a rotating set of four workouts; he only misses workouts if he’s traveling, because he prioritizes sleep over working out
- He reads for around three hours per day — he reads The Wall Street Journal cover-to-cover (this allows him to learn all kinds of interesting stuff he would’ve never otherwise known), then he reads The New York Times for around 15 minutes, then he reads five magazines, and he also reads two books per week, with a strong preference for science fiction
- Kirby also shares that he thinks reading is the number one thing that you can do to “connect dots” that other people don’t see
- Kirby tries to collectively limit his work meetings to at most four hours per day, typically much less than that, and he tries to keep his meetings quick and conversational, rather than just having presentations where presenters go through decks
- Kirby also takes a 15-minute nap every day, and he has a couch in his office on which he does so
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.
I think Kirby’s schedule is especially noteworthy in the context of his travel schedule and family life. Kirby flies an average of 2.5 times per week. He also lives in Dallas (he works remotely from there for much of the time), but his office is in Chicago. He also has seven young children.
If you have the time, I’d highly recommend watching the entire interview below. While 95% of the conversation is about things Kirby has revealed in the past, this still does a great job of consolidating everything into one conversation.
Kirby can be a tough guy to make sense of
I’ve long commended Kirby for the great job he has done running United, as there’s no denying the airline has undergone an incredible transformation. I think Kirby has become a really good big picture guy, and he is laser focused on moving United in the right direction.
The thing is, as of late my feelings on Kirby have shifted a bit. I still think he’s doing a great job, I just can’t actually make sense of him as a person, or where his head is at. Like, he’ll say that the ball is in JetBlue’s court when it comes to a merger, and then he’ll scoff at someone suggesting that a merger is a possibility, saying United has no interest.
I think the thing that has most confused me as of late is Kirby’s bizarre narrative about creating a mega airline that all Americans are proud of, suggesting that’s good for consumers. I just find that to be such an indefensible claim, yet Kirby keeps repeating it (admittedly I don’t think media generally ask him the right follow-up questions, like how prices would be kept in check, and what impact this would have on airfare).
But I think understanding Kirby’s daily schedule also makes it easier to understand how he comes up with these concepts. He obviously spends a ton of mental energy thinking outside of the box, and he seems to sort of do that in isolation. So I can understand that leading to someone thinking they have the next greatest idea that no one else has thought of, when in reality, there’s a reason others haven’t thought about it. 😉
I’m not sure if he just doesn’t have people in his circle he bounces ideas off of, but I imagine there’s a reason that no one else has publicly parroted Kirby’s consolidation narrative. And when you spend hours per day reading science fiction novels, I can understand how one would start to believe that a mega-merger is good for consumers.
Bottom line
United CEO Scott Kirby claims he has one of the most unusual schedules of any executive. He gets 8.5 hours of sleep per night, wakes up at 5:30AM without an alarm, spends hours per day reading, takes naps every day, and spends at most four hours per day in meetings. He explains that his job isn’t to work hard, but to think hard.
Ultimately Kirby has a lot to show for his “routine,” so it’s not like we can judge the approach he takes. I do appreciate him giving us an inside look into his life, though I’d be fascinated to know how his commute and large family factor into his schedule.
What do you make of Kirby’s schedule, plus the overall interview?
Sounds like he needs a 60 min nap.