Often, organizations need bold, grand gestures to galvanize people towards a new mission or refocus their attention.
I think the currency of leadership is transparency. You've got to be truthful. I don't think you should be vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you've got to share your soul and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it.
I think there is probably no better person to aspire to emulate than Steve Jobs and what he has done at Apple in terms of his leadership, his innovation, not settling for mediocrity.
People around the world, they want the authentic Starbucks experience.
It's ironic that no matter where I go, I meet people from Brooklyn. I'm proud of that heritage. It's where I'm from, who I am.
Social and digital media is a bullet train, and that bullet train is not coming home.
The response to the Starbucks brand has been phenomenal in our international markets.
Managing and navigating through a financial crisis is no fun at all.
Even though people are under economic pressure, they still want to support those brands with values that are compatible with their own.
I think Starbucks created a platform and, ultimately, a runway for many other companies to emulate. I suspect if we had not achieved what we have, there would have been many regional brands that would have succeeded. But I'm not sure there would have been a national brand of the scope of Starbucks.
I'm not as interested in what you make as I am in what you're passionate about. What business are you really in?
When you're surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.
Dream more than others think practical.
My kids probably started drinking coffee in their late teens.
Beverages have to be created. And they're created by looking at what trend is in, say, the fashion industry - what color's hot right now.
Post-9/11, we saw an immediate uptick in the amount of people in our stores, all over the country. People wanted that human connection. We are not going to fracture the Starbucks experience.
We sell tea in Starbucks, but I think the experience is very different. I think coffee is something that is quick - it's transactional. I think tea is more Zen-like. It requires a different environment.
There's an energy and excitement when you're building a company. You have so much tail wind. You're planting new seeds. But it's also scary, because there's no safety net.
Managing a business, small or large, today requires an extremely disciplined, thoughtful approach with regard to the pressure that people are under.
If Vancouver did not succeed as Starbucks from '87 on, our entire international business, which is now thousands of stores and a significant amount of growth and profit, may not have existed.
I was working probably at the age of 10, when I had my first paper route. I had every different kind of job you could possibly imagine as a young kid.
We are witnessing a seismic change in consumer behavior. That change is being brought about by technology and the access people have to information.
The premium single-cup segment is the fastest-growing business within the global coffee industry.
Most business people today are not going to invest in the uncertainty that exists in America.
I can't imagine a day without coffee. I can't imagine!
When you start a company, it's a singular focus. You have the wind at your back.
Pouring espresso is an art, one that requires the barista to care about the quality of the beverage.
I really believe that you cannot use the stock market as a proxy for the economy.
I always saw myself wanting to do something deemed successful and good at the same time.
The evolving social and digital media platforms and highly innovative and relevant payment capabilities are causing seismic changes in consumer behavior and creating equally disruptive opportunities for business.
Do I take criticism of Starbucks personally? Of course I do.
The challenge of the retail business is the human condition.
There's this myth that has been exacerbated by others that Starbucks means a $4 cup of coffee, which is not true.
The future of America is not an entitlement. We have been given a treasure chest of gifts and opportunities, but some people are being left behind, and success is not sustainable unless it is shared.
Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. The other side of it is that you can't cut enough costs to save your way to prosperity.
I despise research. I think it's a crutch.
I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create community.
The lifeblood of job creation in America is small business, but they can't get access to credit.
Growing up I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier families.
Americans reading the paper, listening to the news every single day, and all you hear is things are getting worse and worse. And that has a psychological effect on consumer confidence. That's what consumer confidence is.
Profitability is a shallow goal if it doesn't have a real purpose, and the purpose has to be share the profits with others.
On balance, I am a supporter of the minimum wage going up. We've got to be very careful what we wish for because some employers - and there could be a lot of them - will be scared away from hiring new people or creating incremental hours for part-time people as a result of that wage going up.
I do feel, in a sense, the rules of engagement for citizenship has changed, and we must encourage other people to speak up and to take action.
I think my whole life, because of where I came from, I had a fear of failure.
We think of Starbucks not as a coffee company but a media company.
People have come to me over the years and said to me: 'I admire the culture of Starbucks. Can you come give a speech and help us turn our culture around?' I wish it were that easy. Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it's based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions.
Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it's based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions.
I'm a voracious reader.
California, in a sense, is almost Starbucks' largest country, with almost 3,000 stores.
