Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. Care more than others think wise.
After the storm, many citizens left New Orleans to live elsewhere, but those who stayed were determined to rebuild. They loved their city.
So when some refer to Starbucks’ coffee as an affordable luxury, I think to myself, Maybe so. But more accurate, I like to think, is that the starbucks experience – personal connection- is an affordable necessity. We are all hungry for community.
Life is a sum of all your choices,” wrote Albert Camus. Large or small, our actions forge our futures, hopefully inspiring others along the way.
I think the currency of leadership is transparency. You’ve got to be truthful. I don’t think you should be vulnerable every day, but there are moments where you’ve got to share your soul and conscience with people and show them who you are, and not be afraid of it.
When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.
We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee.
Everyone starts strong. Success comes to those with unwavering commitment to be at the end.
I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t see And pursuing that vision.
If you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.
Believe in your dreams and dream big. And then after you’ve done that, dream bigger.
Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.
I’ve traveled around the world, and what’s so revealing is that, despite the differences in culture, politics, language, how people dress, there is a universal feeling that we all want the same thing. We deeply want to be respected and appreciated for our differences.
People want guidance, not rhetoric. They need to know what the plan of action is, and how it will be implemented. They want to be given responsibility to help solve the problem and authority to act on it.
You cant build any kind of organization if youre not going to surround yourself with people who have experience and skill base beyond your own.
Customers must recognize that you stand for something.
We would take something old and tired and common – coffee – and weave a sense of romance and community around it. We would rediscover the mystique and charm that had swirled around coffee throughout the centuries.
Don’t be threatened by people smarter than you.
Victory is much more meaningful when it comes not just from one person, but from the joint achievements of many.
We have no patent on anything we do and anything we do can be copied by anyone else. But you can’t copy the heart and the soul and the conscience of the company.