Starbucks and Movement Building

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I admit it. I’m an addict, a Starbucks’ addict. I’m sitting right now at my computer with a Grande Breve, No-foam, One Splenda Latte. Since my middle daughter, Jessica, is one of the leading Starbuck’s store managers in Southern California, I figured the $3.97 would eventually help send my grandson Gavin to college.

Also, I just read a review of Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time. Written by the chairman and CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang, this book is a captivating read on leadership and on building a company that grows. Here’s a few excerpts from Starbucks journey that might equally apply to movement building (oh, now I’m feeling better about my addiction).

I Learned It’s Important… to Pursue a Bold Vision

If you want to build a great enterprise, you have to have the courage to dream great dreams. If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.

Life is a series of near misses. But a lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t see, and pursuing that vision, no matter who tells you not to.

Without romance and vision, a business has no soul, no spirit to motivate its people to achieve something great. But a successful company can’t sustain itself on exhilarating ideas alone. Many business visionaries have failed as leaders because they could not execute. Process and systems, discipline and efficiency are needed to create a foundation before ideas can be implemented and entrepreneurial vision can be realized… Many young companies can’t make the leap to maturity because they either don’t support the creative spirit with structure and process, or they go too far and stifle that spirit with an overdeveloped bureaucracy. The most successful examples have been led by both a visionary, like Walt Disney, and a business-like implementer, like Roy Disney.

I Learned the Importance of  Passion

Any number of different factors can knock a company off its course in the period between its founder’s initial enthusiasm and the eventual returns. But passion is, and will always be, a necessary ingredient. Even the world’s best business plan won’t produce any return if it is not backed with passion and integrity.

Nobody ever accomplished anything by believing the naysayers. And few have ever done so by Sticking to proven ideas in proven fields.

Part of what constitutes success is timing and chance. But most of us have to create our own opportunities and be prepared to jump when we see a big one others can’t see.

I Learned the Importance of Leadership

An intelligent executive team is vital for a company to prosper. Strong, creative people are a lot more stimulating to be around than yes-men. What can you learn from those who know less than you? They massage your ego for a while and take orders easily, but they won’t help you grow.

We have to lead with our hearts. In business, as in life, we should have an internal compass that guides our decisions, an instinctive understanding of what matters most in this world. For me, it’s not profits, or sales, or number of stores, but the passion, commitment, and enthusiasm of a dedicated group of people. It’s not about money, it’s about pursuing a dream others think you can’t achieve and finding a way to give something back, to the employees, to the customers, to the community.

Success should not be measured in dollars: It’s about how you conduct the journey, and how big your heart is at the end of it.

I Learned the Importance of Pushing Boundaries

When you’re failing, it’s easy to understand the need for self-renewal. The status quo is not working, and only radical change can fix it. But we’re seldom motivated to seek self-renewal when we’re successful. When things are going well, when the fans are cheering, why change a winning formula? The simple answer is this: Because the world is changing. Every year, customer’s needs and tastes change. The competition heats up. Employees change. Managers change. Even when life seems perfect, you have to take risks and jump to the next level, or you’l start spiralling downhill into complacency without even realizing it.â

If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn’t be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn’t know that, so it flies. At Starbucks, we likewise do things we don’t know we’re supposed to be able to do.

I Learned that Business is About People

There is no more precious commodity than the relationship of trust and confidence a company has with its employees.

People directly affect the quality of products and services our customers receive. People will determine the ultimate success of Starbucks. Products are inert. You have to hire great people, celebrate their passions and their skills, and give them the freedom to do their jobs right.

A business plan is only a piece of paper, and even the greatest business plan of all will prove worthless unless the people are committed to it. It can not be sustainable, or even implemented properly, unless the people are committed to it with the same heartfelt urgency as their leader. And they will not accept it unless they both trust the leader’s judgement and understand that their efforts will be recognized and valued.

If you treat your employees as interchangable cogs in a wheel, they will view you with the same affection.

Once you’ve figured out what you want to do, find someone who has done it before. Find not just talented executives but even more experienced entrepreneurs and business people who can guide you.