Howard Schultz

Well, the other thing about that is most founder-led companies are entrepreneurially driven. It's not that they're not following the rules, they're making the rules, especially if you're creating an industry that did not exist. Founder leaves, I'm not talking about me, historically. And companies lose not only the extent of the entrepreneurial DNA, but they lose the ability to be on offense.

Well, the other thing about that is most founder-led companies are entrepreneurially driven. It's not that they're not following the rules, they're making the rules, especially if you're creating an industry that did not exist. Founder leaves, I'm not talking about me, historically. And companies lose not only the extent of the entrepreneurial DNA, but they lose the ability to be on offense.

And the worst thing that a company can do like a sports team is start playing defense because you're afraid to fail. That is a disease. Not unlike another disease, which has happened at Starbucks, which is hubris, the worst that could happen to a company is believing that you are incapable of doing anything but succeeding, and you deserve the success.

And the worst thing that a company can do like a sports team is start playing defense because you're afraid to fail. That is a disease. Not unlike another disease, which has happened at Starbucks, which is hubris, the worst that could happen to a company is believing that you are incapable of doing anything but succeeding, and you deserve the success.

But if you start playing defense and don't have the offensive mind, it's not going to go well.

But if you start playing defense and don't have the offensive mind, it's not going to go well.

And I think over time, that has happened at Starmix. You've transitioned from being the CEO to someone else three different times. If you could go back, let's even just say the first time, if you could go back years 1999 or 1997, so you can start working on some talent development, what would you do differently to make sure that Succession

And I think over time, that has happened at Starmix. You've transitioned from being the CEO to someone else three different times. If you could go back, let's even just say the first time, if you could go back years 1999 or 1997, so you can start working on some talent development, what would you do differently to make sure that Succession

I would have believed Oren when he said, I only want to do this for a couple of years.

I would have believed Oren when he said, I only want to do this for a couple of years.

And I convinced myself I could just get Oren to do this for five years, maybe 10 years. And so when he kept saying, I don't want to do this anymore. So I was stuck because I was not prepared to look around the room and say, God, I think he could do it. And if I would have spent maybe a year or two, but I didn't. I was very, I believe that I could convince Norton to stay longer.

And I convinced myself I could just get Oren to do this for five years, maybe 10 years. And so when he kept saying, I don't want to do this anymore. So I was stuck because I was not prepared to look around the room and say, God, I think he could do it. And if I would have spent maybe a year or two, but I didn't. I was very, I believe that I could convince Norton to stay longer.

And so I think, and also Jim Donald's a great guy, but I think the immersion of an outsider at that time, given we were moving into a crisis, not a Starbucks crisis, but the financial crisis, very difficult. So it's on me, I think, when I look back, and I just did not do a very good job of recognizing the internal talent and cultivating it.

And so I think, and also Jim Donald's a great guy, but I think the immersion of an outsider at that time, given we were moving into a crisis, not a Starbucks crisis, but the financial crisis, very difficult. So it's on me, I think, when I look back, and I just did not do a very good job of recognizing the internal talent and cultivating it.

But I want to say one more thing about Starbucks and the complexity of it. We're in multiple businesses. So we're in the agricultural business. We are buying coffee from 30 producing countries around the world. We are subject to weather and the agricultural issues, many of which are not in our control, political, all kinds of stuff. Second, we are manufacturing coffee.

But I want to say one more thing about Starbucks and the complexity of it. We're in multiple businesses. So we're in the agricultural business. We are buying coffee from 30 producing countries around the world. We are subject to weather and the agricultural issues, many of which are not in our control, political, all kinds of stuff. Second, we are manufacturing coffee.

a commodity that is very, very challenging because it's coming from 30 producing countries and each coffee from every country has its own proprietary taste profile that has to be roasted differently. And when you're blending it like a winery, it's art. And so we're an agricultural buyer We are a manufacturer. We are a retailer. We are a wholesaler.

a commodity that is very, very challenging because it's coming from 30 producing countries and each coffee from every country has its own proprietary taste profile that has to be roasted differently. And when you're blending it like a winery, it's art. And so we're an agricultural buyer We are a manufacturer. We are a retailer. We are a wholesaler.

We are managing JV relationships in 80 countries. We have JVs with two behemoth companies, Nestle and Pepsi-Cola. And above all else, we are in the people business managing the behavior, the motivation, and the opportunity creation for almost 500,000 people. Right. And we're a public company in which the expectations based on our success have been higher than most.

We are managing JV relationships in 80 countries. We have JVs with two behemoth companies, Nestle and Pepsi-Cola. And above all else, we are in the people business managing the behavior, the motivation, and the opportunity creation for almost 500,000 people. Right. And we're a public company in which the expectations based on our success have been higher than most.