As seen in the phenomenal success of Starbuck’s Chairman Howard Schultz’s book Pour Your Heart Into It, business readers want to learn about what’s driving this international business success story. But this book only shows one side of this amazing success story. Really it’s all of the people at Starbucks—known as “partners”—who continue to take this company to great heights and who make going to Starbucks an actual “Experience” instead of just getting a cup of Joe. In order to fully understand what is driving Starbuck’s success and how they create this Experience, business readers need to know what’s happening at every level, from the C-Suite all the way down to the “customer evangelists,” with all the coffee farmers and baristas in between. And they also need to know how to apply this knowledge to their own businesses.
Now, for the first time, an outsider has been given unprecedented access to Starbucks personnel and resources. Joseph Michelli has interviewed top Starbuck’s leadership, including Schultz and CEO Jim Donald; traveled to Costa Rica to meet with Dub Hay, senior VP of coffee; visited Starbucks roasting plant in Kent, Washington; attending “Coffee Cuppings” (tastings) in two of the three cupping rooms worldwide; and had hundreds of conversations with Starbucks partners, regular patrons, and more. Through this remarkable access, Michelli has pinpointed 5 principles driving the success of Starbucks, each of which he attributes to the Starbuck’s partners.
