Meetings are not work, says Southwest Airlines CEO—and he’s taking action, by blocking his calendar every afternoon from Wednesday to Friday

Photo of Bob Jordan (Credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Business leaders are raising the alarm: Meetings have taken over, and real work is being left behind. And Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan is the latest to speak out on the phenomenon—arguing that many leaders mistake constant meetings for leadership.

“When you first start, it’s easy to confuse busyness and going to meetings with leadership,” Jordan said on a panel of CEOs at the New York Times DealBook Summit in December 2025. “…Because what we all find, I’m sure, is there’s no time to ‘work,’ and you confuse going to meetings with the work.”