J. Michael Bryan
Coffee and Heart
19/04/11 15:52
I’ve been reading about Starbucks® but thinking about Noah’s Ark and Panama City Beach. Howard Schultz is president, chairman, and ceo of Starbucks, but the story he tells in Onward is relevant to the story of Noah’s Ark and of Panama City Beach, both of which have been or currently are in the midst of battles for their life, or at least for their identity and mission. In Onward, Schultz tells the dramatic and continuing story of “How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul”. Schultz’s passion for and commitment to “The Starbucks Experience” virtually pours from the book like perfect espresso, “like honey pouring from a spoon (from page 5 of Onward).” Like drinking a double shot of espresso, reading Schultz’s book has caused my mind to engage and my heart to beat faster.
Schultz is a business man with heart and passion and compassion. All of these have fueled his drive to lead the building and re-building, the branding and re-branding of Starbucks®. Perhaps unique among companies, Starbucks is both large and small; global and local; corporate and personal; corporation and community. It grew large by remaining small. It regained its financial strength by refocusing upon its mission, its identity, its core values, and then making the obvious and subtle, comfortable and painful decisions necessary for Starbucks to regain its identity, refine its focus, recover its values, find its voice, and accomplish its mission. This process enabled Starbucks to return to profitability during a very turbulent economic time.
I’ve just completed my first reading of Onward, and can feel something happening in my core. Reading this book has reignited my own passion for doing what I do with excellence and integrity, thereby making a difference in this world and in the families and communities I live in and love. Because of this, I highly recommend that you read Onward. Perhaps some of us can even gather in a physical or virtual place and share our learnings and encourage each other to continue Onward in our lives, missions, and work. I would love that!
Blessings and peace,
Michael
Schultz is a business man with heart and passion and compassion. All of these have fueled his drive to lead the building and re-building, the branding and re-branding of Starbucks®. Perhaps unique among companies, Starbucks is both large and small; global and local; corporate and personal; corporation and community. It grew large by remaining small. It regained its financial strength by refocusing upon its mission, its identity, its core values, and then making the obvious and subtle, comfortable and painful decisions necessary for Starbucks to regain its identity, refine its focus, recover its values, find its voice, and accomplish its mission. This process enabled Starbucks to return to profitability during a very turbulent economic time.
I’ve just completed my first reading of Onward, and can feel something happening in my core. Reading this book has reignited my own passion for doing what I do with excellence and integrity, thereby making a difference in this world and in the families and communities I live in and love. Because of this, I highly recommend that you read Onward. Perhaps some of us can even gather in a physical or virtual place and share our learnings and encourage each other to continue Onward in our lives, missions, and work. I would love that!
Blessings and peace,
Michael