America Deserves a Servant Leader

I came across an article by Maureen Dowd about the country needs a business leader as President, and she named the Founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz.

Howard lived in the same project in Brooklyn as I did, but I was 8 years and 11 months older.

I meet him in Seattle when I worked there and New York at a speech he gave, and have a signed copy of his book that he gave me.

He just wrote an OP-ED in the New York Times.

He writes:

Despite the encouragement of others, I have no intention of entering the presidential fray. I’m not done serving at Starbucks. Although we have built an iconic brand while providing even part-time employees with access to health care, free college education and stock options, there is more we can do as a public company to demonstrate responsible leadership. The values of servant leadership — putting others first and leading from the heart — need to emerge from every corner of American life, including the business community.

CLICK HERE to read the Op-ED.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker

ONWARD: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul

I attend his book signing today. There was a hour long discussion about how he restarted Starbucks and a Q&A.

In his new book, "ONWARD: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul" Schultz recounts those dark days and how he and his team found their way back.

On February 26 2008 Schultz ordered 7,100 Starbucks stores to shut their doors for the day so that he could, despite the enormous financial and PR hits, retrain the company's barristers on the art and technique of espresso making.

In "ONWARD" he writes, “There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.”

This is Schultz's second book about his life at Starbucks. His first "POUR YOUR HEART INTO IT" (1997) was the story of the then young company's founding, in "ONWARD" Schultz takes a look at a more mature company, a company very much like a teenager in need of constant oversight, nurturing and yes, a dose of some tough love.

For me his concept of spending the early days of all new hires, no matter their position, with "getting their hands dirty", working in and running a store, I always used in my 40 years in business. The other was getting my employees to understand the concept that their spending the companies money should be like taking it out of their pockets.

Howard and I lived in the same federal sponsored project in Brooklyn but I graduated high school in 1962 and he in 1971. I meet him a couple of times when I worked in Seattle from 1996 to 1999.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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