Page 9 - The Starbucks Experience

Foreword

last one. And when you live and work according to those
kinds of principles, good things seem to come your way.
One of the ways in which we express the nature of what
it means to be a Starbucks partner is through the Green
Apron Book. It’s a pocket-sized book that puts into words
some of the core “ways of being” that you need in order to
be successful at Starbucks. They are be welcoming, be gen-
uine, be knowledgeable, be considerate, and be involved.
They are simple words, and they distill everything you need
to know about Starbucks and the people who work here.
We each get to be part of a group that gets to make a huge
difference in people’s lives in a million small ways—just little
moments like smiling as we hand you a drink, hand-crafting
your beverage just the way you like it, and providing a comfy
chair and a place to get away from it all without going
viii very far.
In my role, I get to travel to hundreds of stores every year
to help smooth the road for our store managers and other
store partners to provide those experiences for you. I’m all
about taking away obstacles and providing tools so that our
partners can do what they do best—take care of one another,
our customers, and the community. I’m a lucky guy.
And I am also a storyteller. I like to meet and collect
stories from our partners and customers, and I find that they
are the best way to share the message of our current and
future success.
I thought that I had a pretty good collection of stories
about Starbucks partners (check out the “pay it forward”
story on pages 97–98), but Dr. Michelli uncovered far more
than I thought possible! His connection with partners and
customers has resulted in a wonderful collection of stories
that do more than just help you understand Starbucks; they