A Speech by a Famous College Football Coach was the Turning Point for a Southwest Airlines Executive

The topic of quitting came up quite a bit in this episode with Southwest Airline’s Greg Muccio. Not exactly the kind of subject to bring up with someone who heads talent acquisition for a major employer. But this was quitting in the context of his career, and I thought it would be interesting to get his thoughts on moments when he wanted to throw his hands up and walk away. Because, I mean, we’ve all been there.

Watch our full conversation, listen to the episode, or continue reading for some quick takeaways.

“Early in my career I had gotten laid off and just got into a really bad situation with myself,” he confided. “My search for a new role just didn't materialize very well, and it was just easy to kind of almost quit looking and just sit in that phase of being upset.”

He didn’t throw in the towel, as tempting as it was. Mounting pressure to pay bills was part of the reason he managed his way out of that self-defeating thinking. Good thing too, because he later had a career epiphany where he realized he didn’t like being in sales. His dad was a sales guy. So were his brothers. But Muccio wouldn’t have realized he wasn’t cut out for it if he didn’t stick with it long enough to come to that realization.

Failure is an option

I've lived my life by the old saying that quitting is not an option, but in actuality it really is. Sometimes it's a very viable option, like the time when I was creative director at a big agency in Philadelphia. I was doing very well – could’ve been there forever if I wanted to.

I walked into the owner's office when it was time for my annual performance review. I probably was in line for a nice raise and a bonus. Instead, I quit. Forty-eight hours earlier, quitting never even entered my mind. What changed for me is that I wanted to control my own destiny. I couldn't be on the hamster wheel of working for someone else anymore.

I was married at the time and bought my first house. I didn’t want to live a life where I was making just enough money to make that monthly mortgage payment, so I fulfilled a dream of owning my own company, a software provider. Quitting was my only option, because if I didn't do it, then as I got older it would become harder to execute my desires and dreams. I was 19 when I became my own boss.

A permanent problem

That little anecdote made Muccio think of the time he went to hear former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz speak. “He said ‘quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,’ and that really resonated with me,” Muccio said.

That was right around the time he was doing sales for about six years. I mentioned earlier that he came to the realization that it wasn’t for him. He had been working at a staffing company when his boss pulled him aside and suggested Muccio try his hand at recruiting. It’s still selling, so he could parlay some of what he learned over the years to “sell” people on working for a company.

“That was a really good time to say ‘Hey, let me quit this direction and go down a different path,’” Muccio said.

The thought of quitting would pop up again when multiple promotional opportunities at Southwest Airlines came and went without success. “Had I quit at any one of those points in time, I wouldn't be in my 24th year at Southwest, getting to do something really, really cool.”

Thinking two roles ahead

That “something” is managing director of talent acquisition. He has overseen a dramatic increase in his team to the point where more than 300 people look to him for career guidance. He encourages his recruiters to think two roles ahead. Career moves, he says, don’t always occur on a ladder. They can be a lattice too, with plenty of growth opportunities to be found in lateral or up and down moves.

“Think of it less as a career and more as a craft,” he said. 

That’s an interesting take, because crafts require time to perfect. Yet social media has created an instant gratification mindset where young professionals expect to move up the corporate ladder quickly. Muccio encourages them to be the caretakers of their own careers. “You’re actually the star, which means you need to be creating things,” he said.

He used an aviation analogy to further underscore his point. “The plane's going to push back from the gate at a certain time. You're either on it or off it.”

If a colleague ponders whether a new role is really right, he reminds people that the worst assignment he ever had at Southwest was the one that taught him the most. “Had I not, I don’t know that I would be here.”

Creating your own capacity

He’s got a great point. Many young people need to learn how to create their own value system and value proposition. I, for example, value time with my family and doing things together that bring us closer. But I don’t overstuff my plate with too many activities because it becomes defeating.

Younger people, however, should fill their plates and take on a lot. That plate should be so overflowing that you put yourself in a position where someone like Greg comes and says “I've got a career opportunity for you and I need to know that you're going to be able to take it on.” Now that person gets to make a value decision of what on that plate is most valued.