Page 54 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Built to Serve

ants alike. Conventional supermarkets are just selling
beans.

Similarly, Starbucks represents much more than cof-
fee to its patrons. Its success is rooted in providing a
refuge for guests—a place of comfort and familiarity

that Starbucks founder Howard Schultz calls “the
third place.”
Companies spend millions to create a bond with
customers, but pay little attention to making the same
commitment to their own workforce. The reality is, if

the workforce cannot deliver the goods of the cam-
paign, customers will see through it immediately. A
30
= slick advertising campaign is not enough without a

strong foundation of truth built on the organization’s
people.
Culture-driven organizations do more than lead
with values; they seek to bring those values alive for
people and partners. Understanding higher math

means recognizing that a slick ad campaign will lead
to failure every time if the guest’s experience does not
match the expectation built by the ad.

Consider the concept of business fidelity. On occa-
sion, United sends team members to shop at other
retailers and to see what they are offering. Not long
ago, one of these people was shopping at a large dis-