One of the top questions I get about the prospects for an executive who’s considering blogging is about the commitment. “My CEO is so pressed for time,” these queries begin, “where will he ever find the time to blog?” I have several answers, having to do with reallocation of communication activities (use the blog in instances where it’s a better tool than the old way of communicating) and misperceptions (how much time does it take to write a full-blown CEO column vs. a quick one-paragraph post to a blog?).

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly shows by example another approach: Use a company group blog whenever you have something to say. The blog rolls on just fine without you but already has built-in readership when an issue arises for which the CEO is the most appropriate spokesperson.

Kelly contributed a “guest blogger” post to “Nuts about Southwest,” the blog the airline launched back in April. “Nuts about Southwest,” according to the site, “is all about our Employees, Customers, airplanes, and airports. We really are Nuts about Southwest and we hope that our Readers will share that passion by posting their own comments.” Kelly’s post addresses the firestorm that erupted over the airlines’ announcement that it would test assigned seating. If you’ve never flown Southwest, you’ve never experienced the cattle call when boarding groups A, B, and C are invited to board with passengers grabbing the first open seat they see. Some people love it; others hate it. Which means some people love the idea of assigned seating and others don’t.

Among Kelly’s observations in the post:

One of the most common requests for change from our Customers is to add assigned seating. Obviously, many of our current Customers enjoy the open seating, so it???s not a unanimous request. However, we do listen intently to our Customers and do our best to give them what they want so it only makes sense to extensively research and evaluate this possibility.

For executives wondering about the value of blogging, the comments to Kelly’s post provide a perfect example. Respectful, thoughtful posts, most in favor of retaining open seating, provide unfiltered feedback from some of Southwest’s most passionate (and frequent) flyers, who now appreciate the fact that the company’s top dog has communicated with them directly and offered them the opportunity to share their thoughts.

None of this should be surprising for a company that has always excelled at communication. But again, for those communicators who worry that an executive blog could be too much of a burden, here’s another approach that works perfectly well.

Hat tip to Andy Lark, who not only wrote about Kelly’s contribution but posted a comment to Kelly’s article.

By the way, I vote to keep open seating. It’s one of the reasons they’re able to turn those flights around in 20 minutes. I’d rather have on-time flights than an assigned seat!