Page 114 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

LEADERS HAVE PASSION

them feel as if they were part of the healing process; that in turn helped
them heal their fractured business. “My business instinct had to be the best
that it ever was because we had to build the whole business over again in
a much shorter time frame,” Peluso said. “But I think my leadership
instincts had to be at their finest as well. It was a very challenging period.
I remember a lot of sleepless nights where I would be up in the middle of
the night scribbling notes, trying to figure out how to pay a big payroll two
weeks from now, and if you don’t have passion for what you’re doing, I
don’t know what else motivates you.”
Site59 not only survived, it ultimately surpassed its pre-9/11 budget.
Travelocity bought Site59 and put Peluso, Glueck, and their partners into
leadership positions with the goal of saving the foundering company. They
accomplished that mission, turning Travelocity from a company that lost
$55 million in 2003 to a profitable business with over $1 billion in revenue
less than five years later. Peluso says the key to their success was passion—
for being a team and for winning.
“I believe being ‘the boss’ means it’s my job to put other people first
and to make sure my organization is full of people who are smarter than I
am and passionate about winning,” said Peluso. “It’s incumbent upon us as
leaders to dare our team to think big, to be honest and direct with them,
to be their champion for career growth, and to obsess about getting obsta-
cles out of their way. We survived and prospered for one reason only: We
had a team of people that was committed to each other and that would
not accept defeat. And if you look at the Travelocity turnaround, the key
ingredient is the same: a passionate team committed to winning. I believe
there is no greater correlation for success than how passionate the team is
about being a team and winning.”
Clearly, the most effective leaders are like Peluso and Glueck: They
know how to channel their passion in a way that helps them overcome
obstacles. Another great example is Rodney Bullard (WHF 05–06). As a
high school student in Decatur, Georgia, Bullard was an academic all-state
football player and an all-state mock trial attorney, a standout both on the
field and off. When given the chance to attend the U.S. Air Force Acad-
emy after high school, he jumped at it. He knew he not only would receive
a world-class education at the academy, he also would have the opportu-
nity to realize his dream of playing Division I-A football. A fierce com-
petitor, Bullard threw himself into his sport and his studies, but a

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