Howard Schultz
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Because it's the culture of our company. We want to do everything we can to benefit our people. Humanity. And it's universal. But it's so, I think, important to just create some guardrails. So one day in the early stages of Starbucks, Howard Beer comes to my office one day. Remember, we're small at this stage. And he says, we got a terrible situation. I said, what?
Because it's the culture of our company. We want to do everything we can to benefit our people. Humanity. And it's universal. But it's so, I think, important to just create some guardrails. So one day in the early stages of Starbucks, Howard Beer comes to my office one day. Remember, we're small at this stage. And he says, we got a terrible situation. I said, what?
The manager of the Seattle Trust store on 2nd and Madison, Seattle, Tom Kerrigan, has AIDS. Now, AIDS at that time was like leprosy. Leprosy. So Tom comes in and he says, I need to resign from Starbucks. And he's crying. Do you have any health insurance? No. No. And so we covered Tom Kerrigan from that point on. But it was those kinds of imprinting moments. And there were many like that.
The manager of the Seattle Trust store on 2nd and Madison, Seattle, Tom Kerrigan, has AIDS. Now, AIDS at that time was like leprosy. Leprosy. So Tom comes in and he says, I need to resign from Starbucks. And he's crying. Do you have any health insurance? No. No. And so we covered Tom Kerrigan from that point on. But it was those kinds of imprinting moments. And there were many like that.
Right. I think it's funny. So I have heard that story probably five times, because I've consumed an incredible amount of Starbucks content over the last couple months. And I've heard a story about Starbucks employees wanting to buy a cow for a farmer in Africa. And
Right. I think it's funny. So I have heard that story probably five times, because I've consumed an incredible amount of Starbucks content over the last couple months. And I've heard a story about Starbucks employees wanting to buy a cow for a farmer in Africa. And
stories about Flint, Michigan, and stories about the initiative to bring the company together to try to bring the country together when the government was shut down in 2013, whenever that was. And I was getting frustrated watching all these stories because I kept thinking... This is not the answer to why Starbucks worked.
stories about Flint, Michigan, and stories about the initiative to bring the company together to try to bring the country together when the government was shut down in 2013, whenever that was. And I was getting frustrated watching all these stories because I kept thinking... This is not the answer to why Starbucks worked.
These are these one off anecdotes that are sure they're emblematic of some broader theme. But at the end of the day, like the answer to why Starbucks works has to be something about the business model. And every time you walk into the store, X, Y, Z happens. And here's the economics. But it turns out there are thousands of these stories and it's the humanity seeping through.
These are these one off anecdotes that are sure they're emblematic of some broader theme. But at the end of the day, like the answer to why Starbucks works has to be something about the business model. And every time you walk into the store, X, Y, Z happens. And here's the economics. But it turns out there are thousands of these stories and it's the humanity seeping through.
And it's hard for the company to tell the story because everyone just feels like a random one-off example, but they're happening in every community in every part of the country.
And it's hard for the company to tell the story because everyone just feels like a random one-off example, but they're happening in every community in every part of the country.
And I think that is the, for me as like a business historian, that's been the thing that jumps out is there's no other company that we've studied that has this sort of obsession with people and humanity the way that Starbucks does. Yeah.
And I think that is the, for me as like a business historian, that's been the thing that jumps out is there's no other company that we've studied that has this sort of obsession with people and humanity the way that Starbucks does. Yeah.