Page 49 - The Starbucks Experience

PRINCIPLE 1

Create Your Own Experience

• What partnerships can be forged that will sustain you,
your business, your community, and even the environment—
now and well into the future?
• Whose needs can you and your company consider?

• How can you invest more of yourself and encourage your
teammates to increase their investment to be more
considerate?

Be Knowledgeable
When Starbucks leaders ask partners to “be knowledgeable,”
they are encouraging employees to “love what they do and
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share it with others.” In the information age, no matter what
we do for a living, we add value to our efforts when we gain
work-related knowledge. More important, as we become
more informed, our value to the business, our self-confidence,
and the real impact we have on others all increase.
Not only do Starbucks managers encourage partners to
enhance their expertise in the areas of coffee and customer
service, but the leadership also offers formal training oppor-
tunities and incentives for acquiring that knowledge. In addi-
tion, Starbucks executives understand something that few
business leaders do: sharing knowledge with customers
makes for more sophisticated consumers. As a result, these
customers develop a passion for your products and services
and are eager to explore the subtle nuances of what your
business offers.
Today, in what has been aptly called a knowledge and serv-
ice economy, each of us adds value to our business by enhanc-