It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from
a Life at Starbucks (2007)
by Howard Behar (with Janet Goldstein)
"At Starbucks, the coffee has to be excellent, from the sourcing and
growing to the roasting and brewing. The vision has to be inspiring and
meaningful. Our finances have to be in order. But without people, we have
nothing. With people, we have something even bigger than coffee," that
is what Howard Behar, senior Starbucks executive since 1989, deeply believes.
He has also served as executive vice president of sales and operations,
president of Starbucks International, president of Starbucks North America and
also one of the company's board of directors (since 1996). Through experience,
he has helped establish the Starbucks culture, which stresses the importance of
"people over profits." In
this book, he revealed the 10 principles that guided his leadership – and not
one of them is about coffee. "There
can be no coffee without people."
Behar starts with the idea
that if you regard employees and customers as human beings, everything else
will take care of itself. "We're all
human." If you think of your staff as people (not labor costs) they
will achieve results beyond what is thought possible. And if you think of your
customers as people you serve (not sources of revenue) you'll make a deep
connection with them, and they'll come back over and over. He often repeats
this mantra: "We are in the people business serving coffee, not the coffee business
serving people." This book is about people, the importance of
putting people first. "If you grow
people," he writes, "the
people grow the business."
The 10 principles in this
book have been integral to Starbucks from the start and remain so today claimed
Behar. He shares inside stories of turning points in the company's history as
it fought to hang on to these principles while growing exponentially. You'll
read about Starbucks' success stories and even failure stories, real-life
examples and those who work at Starbucks and coffee/people business – such
example of leadership vulnerability. About 50% of the time I spend reading this
book, I read it at Starbucks all over Kuching area. I used these principles to
measure (outwardly) how they treat the customers (including me), how they
communicate with each other, their attitude overall, and how proud they are
working at Starbucks. I've discussed some of these principles with the baristas
(one of them is my schoolmate) – and even fellow customers who sat next to me –
at Precinct 88, Jalan Song, Kuching. "It's
true," I said to myself as I closed this book and sipped my Americano,
"Starbucks is different: they treat
their customers as human beings."
The 10
Leadership Principles are:
#1 KNOW WHO YOU ARE: Wear One Hat. Our success is directly related to our clarity and
honesty about who we are, who we are not, where we want to go, and how we're
going to get there. When organizations are clear about their values, purpose,
and goals, they find the energy and passion to do great things.
#2 KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE: Do It Because
It's Right, Not Because It's Right for Your Resume. The path to success comes from doing things for the
right reasons. You can't succeed if you don't know what you're trying to
accomplish and without everyone being aligned with the goal. Look for purpose
and passion in yourself and the people you lead. If they're not there, do
something.
#3 THINK INDEPENDENTLY: The Person
Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom. People are not ‘assets', they are human beings who have the capacity
to achieve results beyond what is thought possible. We need to get rid of rules
– real and imagined – and encourage the independent thinking of others and
ourselves.
#4 BUILD TRUST: Care, Like You Really Mean It. Caring is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign
of strength, and it can't be faked – within an organization, with the people we
serve, or in our local or global communities. Without trust and caring, we'll
never know what could have been possible. Without freedom from fear, we can't
dream, and we can't reach our potential.
#5 LISTEN FOR THE TRUTH: The Walls
Talk. Put the time into listening,
even to what's not said, and amazing results will follow. You'll know what your
customers want, you'll know why the passion is missing from your organization,
and you'll learn solutions to problems that have been sitting there waiting to
be picked.
#6 BE ACCOUNTABLE: Only the Truth Sounds Like the
Truth. No secrets, no lies of
omission, no hedging and dodging. Take responsibility and say what needs to be
said, with care and respect.
#7 TAKE ACTION: Think Like a Person of Action, and
Act Like a Person of Thought. Find the
sweet spot of passion, purpose, and persistence. "It's all about the
people" isn't an idea, it's an action. Feel, do, think. Find the balance,
but act.
#8 FACE CHALLENGE: We Are Human Beings First. Use all the principles to guide you during the
hardest times. If the challenge is too big if you find yourself stuck, take
small bites. But remember to put people first, and you'll find the guidance you
need.
#9 PRACTICE LEADERSHIP: The Big Noise and the Still, Small Voice. Leading can be the noisy "I'm here!" kind
of thing. But don't ever forget that leaders are just ordinary human beings.
Don't let the noise crowd out the truth. Listen to your still, small voice. Let
quiet by your guide.
#10 DARE TO DREAM: Say Yes, the Most Powerful Word in
the World. Big dreams mean big goals,
big hopes, big joys. Say yes, and enjoy all that you are doing, and help others
to do the same.
I can't agree with all the
things that he said here. I still believe that we need a small dose of rules
(with independent thinking); sometimes ‘noises' is good for a leader; and say
‘yes' is not the most powerful word in the world (say ‘no' is the closest one,
in my opinion). Of course, there are even more things that I would agree with,
especially, that leadership is "all
about the people." Basically, Behar has written an excellent book
about the power of servant leadership and putting others (employees, clients,
customers, etc.) first! Superb!
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
