Southwest didn't lose me because they became a bad airline. They lost me because they stopped being Southwest. The things that made them special gradually disappeared. And when a business becomes more like everyone else, customers start treating it like everyone else.

"Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice?" If you're a sports fan, you probably remember Allen Iverson's famous press conference rant. In a span of about 30 seconds, he managed to say the word "practice" so many times it became one of the most quoted sports clips in history. At the time, many people laughed. Today, I think it's one of the greatest business lessons ever recorded.