Onward by Howard Schultz

Author:Howard Schultz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2011-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

Inside Starbucks, July 29, 2008, was dubbed Black Tuesday. It definitely was a dark time. In addition to the layoffs, some of our people were questioning what we stood for. Our sales growth was hitting new lows, especially on the weekends. Our cost structure was not sustainable.

And tomorrow I knew there would be headlines all over the world proclaiming that Starbucks had lost money for the first time in its history, because we had reported a net loss of $6.7 million for the third quarter. No matter that it was the one-time costs associated with the transformation that had taken us into negative territory—we'd actually made money before accounting for those charges, albeit not as much as the year before. A loss was still a loss. When I thought about our thicket of challenges both known and unknown, the word that came to mind was familiar and apt: “Onward.” More than just a rallying cry or an attitude, “onward” seemed to connote the dual nature of how Starbucks had to do battle and do business in these increasingly complex, uncertain times.

“Onward” implied optimism with eyes wide open, a never-ending journey that honored the past while reinventing the future.

“Onward” meant fighting with not just heart and hope, but also intelligence and operational rigor, constantly striving to balance benevolence with accountability.

“Onward” was about forging ahead with steadfast belief in ourselves while putting customers’ needs first and respecting the power of competition.

Yes, everyone at Starbucks could indulge his or her passion—be it for coffee, the environment, marketing, or design—but only if we did not lose sight of the need for profits.

“Onward” was about getting dirty but coming out clean; balancing our responsibility to shareholders with social conscience; juggling research and finances with instinct and humanity.

And “onward” described the fragile act of balancing by which Starbucks would survive our crucible and thrive beyond it. With heads held high but feet firmly planted in reality. This was how we would win.

I knew this to be true.

Thankfully, I was not alone in my conviction. The following e-mail from Cindy Gange-Harris, a district manager in Edmonton, Canada, whom I had never met, arrived just before midnight on July 31, 2008.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.