Page 86 - The Starbucks Experience

Everything Matters

come her, and genuinely respond to her plight. On an ensu-
ing day, I went into his store early in the morning, wrote out
a recognition card, explained the story to his colleagues, and
thanked him in front of his team. It was a great way for all
of us to start the day.”
The culture of recognition at Starbucks doesn’t take place
only at the store manager and district manager levels. Presi-
dent and CEO Jim Donald starts each day making recogni-
tion calls to partners in stores throughout the world. While
visiting the Starbucks Support Center, I observed the chair-
man of the board, Howard Schultz, casually and unobtru-
sively walk up to a partner’s desk expressly to thank him for
his effort on a project.
When the CEO and the chairman of the board value and
practice appreciation, a culture typically develops in which
people catch one another doing things right, thereby rein- 71
forcing desired behaviors and celebrating excellence. When a
commitment to recognition is combined with a playful lead-
ership spirit, employees tend to be engaged and happy. In
turn, that satisfaction produces untold benefits in the devel-
opment of positive interactions for coworkers and customers.
Through those types of interactions, customer loyalty
increases, and ultimately sales rise—a welcome outcome for
any company. While some business executives don’t appreci-
ate the true impact of creating a positive culture, Starbucks
success alone should be proof that where there is detailed
attention to recognition, training, and play, there is profit.

All That and So Much More
What’s left for Starbucks management to worry about, once
they have attended to the details of the in-store environment,