Free The Starbucks Story by John Simmons

that was made in Starbucks’ systems and organization seemed lavish at the time, and no doubt accounted for the losses in the first three years of operations, but it made growth much easier in the long term. As the investment started to pay off, new members joined the board bringing with them fresh funds. Most were wealthy individuals from venture capital firms who were attracted by the potential financial reward and by the power they saw in the developing Starbucks brand.
    Howard Behar was not a financier. He was a retail manager who had learned how to develop from one outlet to many, mainly in the furniture business. His role was to direct the accelerating growth of Starbucks’ shops beyond its Seattle heartland. This meant, at least in his interpretation of the job, working closely with the partners to understand and meet customers’ needs. He was quite different from the other Howard. Howard Schultz is a visionary, soon bored with processes and implementation, always looking for the next big idea. Howard Behar is pragmatic and wants to get things done, but that makes him impatient with people and situations that are not working properly. When he joined Starbucks in 1989, the Chicago store was in its third loss-making year. He knew what to do, hiring new staff, sharpening up the systems, adjusting the prices, focusing on the customers.
    More than anything else, it was his focus on customer service that made a difference. His arrival in Starbucks marked a virtual cultural revolution. Chairman Mao–like, he challenged everything and everyone, especially Howard Schultz. Confrontation had never been Starbucks’ style, but Howard Behar confronted. Obsession with coffee quality had always been endemic to the exclusion of everything else. Why? he asked. What if a customer does not agree with your judgment of what constitutes the best coffee? What if the customer wants coffee with skimmed milk?
    As he was to prove, some customers did indeed want coffee with skimmed milk. His philosophy was “Say yes to customers,” and he made it a mantra with partners. It has led to the wilder concoctions that customers ask for in a language that is unique to Starbucks: “A double tall skinny hazelnut decaf latte.” Whatever; it’s the customer’s drink. Starbucks will provide the best possible version of that drink. Howard Behar insisted, “We’re not filling bellies, we’re filling souls.” Be less obsessed with absolute product purity if that means a narrow range of customer choice. But be as obsessed as you can be with giving the customer the drink that will meet her desires. Think more about people, less about product.
    That was, and still is in many ways, heretical in Starbucks. My first day in Seattle was spent not with managers but with coffee-makers, and they were determined to educate me about coffee through cuppings, blendings, roastings, tastings. The product remains central. Howard Behar ensured, though, that people mattered just as much: both partners and customers.
 

    Orin Smith has a different personality and made a different impact. Now chief executive, he was originally brought in to look after the finances. His recruitment was an example of the Starbucks way. Presented with a succession of potential finance officers, Howard Schultz was beginning to despair because none of them “got it.” To be part of Starbucks, you need to identify and empathize with its culture. Contrary to the version portrayed by some opponents, this does not mean go for growth at all costs. Orin Smith brought a calm, measured approach to Starbucks at a time when it was becoming frantic. With rapid growth as part of the plan, he brought balance to his judgments, ensuring that a professional approach to systems, finance, logistics and operations kept the business steady.
    The danger, and one feared by Howard Schultz, was that discipline might stifle creativity. Yet it soon became clear that Orin Smith’s discipline actually freed creative