Howard Schultz

Well, the Il Gennale store only played Italian opera and had no chairs. I mean, that wouldn't have scaled as well.

Well, the Il Gennale store only played Italian opera and had no chairs. I mean, that wouldn't have scaled as well.

I'm recalling my time from Rome two years ago. That's literally, I'm walking around Rome and that's everywhere.

I'm recalling my time from Rome two years ago. That's literally, I'm walking around Rome and that's everywhere.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's completely different than.

It's completely different than.

No, I think I had to see the light. I had to understand we were not a business to please me, but please the customers.

No, I think I had to see the light. I had to understand we were not a business to please me, but please the customers.

I mean, what is it? 70% of drinks are now beverages. And it was when you started 0%. Didn't have a cold beverage. For the first decade, it was zero. Yeah. So to me, there's this thread of, at some point, shaking off your own opinions and saying, we're going to do what the customer wants us to do. To a degree. Yeah. But I was clearly leading.

I mean, what is it? 70% of drinks are now beverages. And it was when you started 0%. Didn't have a cold beverage. For the first decade, it was zero. Yeah. So to me, there's this thread of, at some point, shaking off your own opinions and saying, we're going to do what the customer wants us to do. To a degree. Yeah. But I was clearly leading.

There was a leading question around innovations, not under.

There was a leading question around innovations, not under.

Yeah, so what's the point? What's your... It's not that there hasn't been innovation. I think there's a burden that the organization has and a reliance on the founder that over time can become unhealthy. And not that I didn't want succession. I just wasn't really on my mind.

Yeah, so what's the point? What's your... It's not that there hasn't been innovation. I think there's a burden that the organization has and a reliance on the founder that over time can become unhealthy. And not that I didn't want succession. I just wasn't really on my mind.

And the marketing and the merchant mentality of Starbucks was always with me and probably did not allow others who were well-intended and could have done good things were following and leaning on me, which is not the healthiest thing over the longevity of the company. And I think that has covered up mistakes. That's covered up things and then was revealed when I left.

And the marketing and the merchant mentality of Starbucks was always with me and probably did not allow others who were well-intended and could have done good things were following and leaning on me, which is not the healthiest thing over the longevity of the company. And I think that has covered up mistakes. That's covered up things and then was revealed when I left.

I mean, it's the very things that make the business successful, the founder bets, that then at some point in the company's second act kind of hold it back. You have all this muscle memory as a company of relying on founder maverick acts. And at some point, you need to figure out how as a company to not.

I mean, it's the very things that make the business successful, the founder bets, that then at some point in the company's second act kind of hold it back. You have all this muscle memory as a company of relying on founder maverick acts. And at some point, you need to figure out how as a company to not.