Howard Schultz (b.1953) is an American entrepreneur and business executive. He is the “founder” of Starbucks, the American chain of 28,000 coffee houses that has become an established brand in major towns and cities throughout the world. Schultz served as CEO from 1985 until 2001, and from 2008 until 2017.
Born a poor German-Jewish boy in Brooklyn, New York, Schultz did not “start” Starbucks. Founded in 1971, Starbucks was involved primarily in the marketing of top-quality gourmet coffee to espresso bars and restaurants in the Seattle area. When Schultz joined the fledging company in 1983 as its marketing director, he developed his idea of a coffee bar culture during a business trip to Milan. He could not persuade the original Starbucks’s owners to open “coffee bar experiences.” Consequently, Schultz quit Starbucks, began his own “Il Giornale” chain of coffee bars, and three years later, purchased Starbucks and adopted its name.
Schultz not only prophesied that a large-scale coffee shop chain was a lucrative industry, but he led Starbucks through a combination of admirable customer and employee satisfaction plans. Schultz’s progressive employment practices, including stock options and health benefits even to part-time employees, and his commitment to environmentally-friendly policies built customer loyalty and superior employee retention.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Howard Schultz
Whatever you do, don’t play it safe. Don’t do things the way they’ve always been done. Don’t try to fit the system. If you do what’s expected of you, you’ll never accomplish more than others expect.
—Howard Schultz
It’s one thing to dream, but when the moment is right, you’ve got to be willing to leave what’s familiar and go out to find your own sound.
—Howard Schultz
People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.
—Howard Schultz
When you really believe—in yourself, in your dream—you just have to do everything you possibly can to take control and make your vision a reality. No great achievement happens by luck.
—Howard Schultz
If you want to build a great enterprise, you have to have the courage to dream great dreams. If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.
—Howard Schultz
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