Can Coffee Save Our Economy?

I know this is a little heavy for a Friday post, but hear me out.

Yesterday evening, I posted a review of How Starbucks Saved My Life. In short, the book tells the story of a man in his sixties who loses his job as a high-powered executive in advertising and eventually finds great fulfillment and happiness working as a Partner at Starbucks.

As I was finishing the book, I saw a story on ABC News about a new program at Starbucks. CEO Howard Schultz announced the “Create Jobs for USA” initiative earlier this week. This initiative, which partners with Opportunity Finance Network, will use donations to make loans to local businesses that have difficulties securing financing.

According to the report, the Starbucks Foundation is donating the first $5 million to kick off the Create Jobs for USA program. Starting November 1, Create Jobs for USA will begin accepting donations online and in Starbucks stores. The website states that 100% of the donation to OFN. When one person gives $5 it can help provide $35 worth of financing for community businesses. As a thank you for donations, donors who contribute $5 or more will receive a bracelet inscribed with the word “Indivisible.”

What do you think about this program? Genius or pointless?

How Starbucks Saved My Life

Knock one off the ‘to read’ list. How Starbucks Saved My Life was short, sweet and uplifting. I really enjoyed Onward, a more business/marketing/branding take on the Starbucks organization and was hoping that this book would continue my admiration of the company.

It did. This story showed how sometimes we take for granted what we have, judge too quickly, and need to open ourselves up to each experience life gives us. Michael Gates Gill was a high-powered advertising executive who lost his job and his family within a series of events that changed his life. One day, he sat down at a Starbucks in New York and was jokingly offered a barista job at age 64. He took it and this book chronicles his journey – from a privileged child to a man practically begging for a job.

Michael (or Mike as his Starbucks Partners call him) speaks about his prejudices upon starting over, seeing people in a new light and learning to love himself. Uplifting and honest, with an edge of optimism about the human race, this book is like a good cup of coffee – strong, with many ingredients contributing to its success.

Onward!

I read this book a few months ago, but it really spoke to me and has really helped in motivating me in my career, so I thought I’d share it with you! For those interested in business, entrepreneurship, marketing, branding, public relations or just addictive good coffee, ONWARD: How Starbucks fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz is an excellent read.

Basically, the story tells of how Howard Schultz made the decision to not only return at Starbuck’s ceo, but how he turned the company around once he returned.  I read it from cover to cover in just a few days and am anxiously awaiting it to come out in paperback so I can buy it and mark it up!  Until then, I took some of my favorite passages and made copies of them.  I’m planning on (eventually) making them into some sort of wall art for my office.

Howard Schultz, ceo of Starbucks - click for source

There were a lot of little gems here for the marketing/branding nerd in me ( like why ceo is lowercase), but it was very interesting to see his process – the strategy behind everything leading up to his eventual return to the company, what he did once he returned, his brilliant ideas and the ones that failed. (I am really kicking myself right now that I don’t have the actual book to reference.  Darn you, expensive hardcover books!)

It was a bit hefty at 400+ pages and I do admit to skimming through some of the more detailed, financial/business parts (I SO don’t do math). However, I found that the bigger picture story was interesting to me not only from a PR/marketing standpoint but from an overall business standpoint as well.

Question: What books are you reading right now? This was certainly one of my standouts in the past few months. I’m in a book club and will be reviewing those books as we go along. This month’s book is Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld.  Completely different than the first book we read of hers, American Wife, but it’s very reminiscent of my adolescent years attending an all-girls Catholic school.  I don’t know yet if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…