Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Did any of you get a chance to see American Made on CNBC last night? The first episode featured Howard Schultz from Starbucks. As I mentioned yesterday, Starbucks is often mentioned as a company that has tried to implement servant-leadership into their organization.
A couple of thoughts. First, in many ways it was the typical corporate lingo and "spin" that you will often find on CNBC. Second, unless I missed it I didn't hear the words 'Servant-Leadership' at all. That's the disappointing part.
What I did enjoy was listening to the language that Schultz used. While he didn't explicitly talk about servant-leadership, he talked passionately about providing for his employees, creating a community, the responsibilities of the organization, etc. In particular, he shared the story of how his father, a blue-collar worker, never had health insurance. Schultz recalls when his father fell and broke his leg, could not work for weeks, and how that had not only a financial impact on the family, but a very personal impact on Schultz's view on the importance of providing insurance for his workers. So in 1988, while the company was still privately held, Schultz made health insurance and stock options available to all Starbucks employees who work at least 20 hours/week! What I didn't know before last night, and what makes this commitment to providing for his employees even more amazing, was that at the time he made the argument to provide these benefits the company was still losing money!
For those of you who saw the show last night, what were your thoughts?
A couple of thoughts. First, in many ways it was the typical corporate lingo and "spin" that you will often find on CNBC. Second, unless I missed it I didn't hear the words 'Servant-Leadership' at all. That's the disappointing part.
What I did enjoy was listening to the language that Schultz used. While he didn't explicitly talk about servant-leadership, he talked passionately about providing for his employees, creating a community, the responsibilities of the organization, etc. In particular, he shared the story of how his father, a blue-collar worker, never had health insurance. Schultz recalls when his father fell and broke his leg, could not work for weeks, and how that had not only a financial impact on the family, but a very personal impact on Schultz's view on the importance of providing insurance for his workers. So in 1988, while the company was still privately held, Schultz made health insurance and stock options available to all Starbucks employees who work at least 20 hours/week! What I didn't know before last night, and what makes this commitment to providing for his employees even more amazing, was that at the time he made the argument to provide these benefits the company was still losing money!
For those of you who saw the show last night, what were your thoughts?
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