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By Lorene Rasmussen
Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, by Howard Schultz, was never intended to be his memoir, a documentary of corporate history, or a textbook on how to fix broken companies; nevertheless, it contains those elements. Instead, Schultz's real desire to write a book was to inspire people to pursue their dreams and to have the courage to persevere; to persuade leaders to aim high; and to illustrate how a team of passionate, value-driven individuals can build a successful enterprise, while learning important lessons along the way. Throughout the pages of his book, Howard shares
his story as if you were sitting across the table from
him, sipping an iced, tall, double, nonfat, sugar-free
vanilla latte'. His book starts out at the beginning of
his life, just like freshly picked coffee beans, waiting
to be roasted. As the story moves forward, he
continues to tease you with the aroma of coffee until it
unfolds into a dark-roasted, full-bodied Sumatra
conclusion.
Howard Schultz is the CEO and visionary behind Starbucks Coffee Company. His humble beginnings in the Bayview Projects in Brooklyn, New York taught him how a beaten-down life, lacking self-esteem and purpose, can carry a stigma very difficult to overcome. Howard watched his hard-working father hold down two and three jobs just to feed the family and then die penniless. Schultz believes that many of the values that have shaped his company today can trace their roots back to a crowded apartment in Brooklyn. Howard writes, "As a kid, I never had any idea that I would one day head a company. But I knew in my heart that if I was ever in a position where I could make a difference, I wouldn't leave people behind." As a youth, Schultz was an average student and
better-than-average athlete. For him, sports were not
only a way of escaping the crowded apartment full of
angst and futility, but it was also the arena in which
he could excel. Howard's parents wanted him to go
to college even though they lacked the imagination of
how he would pay for it. During his senior year of high
school, a Northern Michigan University recruiter
watched him play football and offered him a
scholarship. For Howard, Marquette, Michigan could
have been on another planet since he had never
been outside of New York.
College was a dream come true. Schultz enjoyed the freedom and wide-open space that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan affords a young man from the congested streets of New York. It turned out that he wasn't that good at football and ended up not playing after all, but he had no plans of returning home. He worked odd jobs, took out loans, and even sold blood to make tuition. After four years, Howard was the first college graduate in his family, attaining the biggest prize ever: a diploma. Today, it's hard to believe that Starbucks was once a
little independent coffeehouse near the Pike Place
Market in Seattle, Washington. The idea that this
coffee giant once struggled to find a place in its own
city is nearly unconceivable, considering that today,
you can find one on every corner. Even though they
are 17,000 stores strong, Starbucks is also
experiencing the same economic downturn that
plagues the rest of the world.
What makes Starbucks Coffee Company unique during this worldwide recession? Howard Schultz. Howard held the highest position in the company, which was enjoying unprecedented growth when Pour Your Heart Into It was published in 1997. In 2000, Schultz transitioned to chief global strategist, allowing Orin Smith to take over the helm. As the stock prices (SBUX) continued to grow well beyond analysts' predictions, the company started introducing other lines to their coffee offerings, while upholding their company values by continuing to be an advocate for social responsibility and Fairtrade principles. When Starbucks Coffee Company suffered one of its
first significant declines in stock prices during 2007,
the very large but amazingly agile company quickly
reinstated the original leader to his rightful position.
Schultz immediately announced a renewed focus on
the customer experience along with slowing the
number of U.S. store openings, just to name a couple
of the modifications they were willing to make in order
to remain true to the corporate values.
Like many college graduates, Schultz wandered from
job to job, exploring possibilities, and sampling
different careers to find his passion. Eventually, he
returned to New York, accepting a position with a
Swedish household appliance company. While
there, he noticed a strange phenomenon with one of
his accounts: a small retailer in Seattle was placing
unusually large orders for a certain type of
coffeemaker. Although Howard had travelled the
world and spent time in Europe, he had never been to
the Pacific Northwest. He decided to make an
investigative sales call to the owner, which of course
turned out to be Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice.
And, as they say, "the rest is history."
Schultz fell madly in love with Seattle, Pike Place
Market, the street musicians, and of course,
Starbucks. He was introduced to the flagship store
where he encountered the best-tasting coffee he had
ever had in the United States. Now remember, this
was a time when most Americans thought coffee
came only from a red can and was served in diners
with scrambled eggs and hash browns.
In one fell swoop, Schultz was captivated by the
authenticity and romance of the coffee industry. He
found his passion, reignited his desire to be a part of
something bigger than himself, and for some strange
reason, believed he could reinvent an age-old
commodity. Howard made the bold decision to leave
his successful career in New York to join the coffee
crew in Seattle. He started out in the roasting plant
learning the industry from the "grounds" up. He
worked in the office, the stores, and he had the ear of
the decision makers. He was hopeful, fresh, and
motivated to take Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice to
its new caffeinated heights.
In 1987, Howard became the CEO of Starbucks
because he had the courage to go out as an
entrepreneur to invite investors to embrace his vision
of a company; he knew it had to be completely
different then the kind his father worked for in New
York. He convinced his leaders, investors, and
employees that "a company can lead with its heart,
nurture its soul, and still make money." He
challenged business paradigms and made
decisions that have had worldwide, sustainable, and
lasting results. He inspired his frontline people to be
involved with the customers, educating them on
coffee, and setting a tone for each of the stores. He
became quickly aware that he wasn't in the coffee
industry but in the people business, providing them
the ultimate coffee experience.
For centuries, coffeehouses have been a meaningful part of community life throughout the world, but they never really caught on in America's culture. Coffeehouses were known for being edgy, intellectual, and filled with thinkers and the political fringe. For Howard, he saw the coffeehouse as the "Third Place - a comfortable, sociable gathering spot away from home and work, like an extension of the front porch." He watched as people from all walks of life came in daily to order their coffee because it truly was "an affordable luxury." Pour Your
Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One
Cup at a Time, isn't the bible on
building a company, but it comes pretty close to being
a manual for anyone that has a passion to pursue a
dream that looks impossible. Howard's ability to
humbly share his victories, and the candor to outline
the mistakes he made along the way, puts this book
into a class all its own. His transparent demeanor
makes even me believe that "given a tiara, enough
sunshine, and a cup of coffee," I could take over the
world.
Coffee with Howard
is #4 in a series of informal book reviews.
Lorene Rasmussen is the Partner
for Business
Operations which guides and supports the
daily and
strategic operations of Leadership
Advisors Group. She
combines a unique sense of fun and
organization to
ensure operations run smoothly and that
clients receive
the highest quality service possible.
Lorene earned her Bachelor of Business
Administration
in Marketing from Boise State University
and is a certified
Life Coach through Genesis Enterprises
in Seattle,
Washington.
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The Character of Leadership:
An Ancient Model for a Quantum
Age
by Philip Eastman ll In his upcoming book, Phil contends that
leadership is an in-side-out proposition
and invites you as a leader to be authentic
and effective by examining an ancient
model.
"In our current 7/24, hectic, busy world, leaders are
turning more and more to basic foundational truths
for guidance and direction for their organizations. Phil
Eastman, in The Character of Leadership,
provides a clear and concise roadmap of these
truths. The Character of Leadership is a
must read
for any leader seeking the next level in their
organization, regardless of the type." ~
Peter J. Oliver, Partner - Brighton Corporation |
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"The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." ~ Albert Einstein
 Phil Eastman & Lorene Rasmussen
Leadership Advisors Group
email:
phil@leadershipadvisors.com
phone:
(208) 344-0471
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