Each of the days following Hurricane Irene was the same for us. We would come home from work to find no power. We would BBQ dinner outside and once it got dark we would walk downtown where some street lights and stores had electricity. Starbucks was one of those with power and the first night there were about 10 folks there getting a charge and internet fix. By day two, there were about 25 people at Starbucks getting a charge and the nightly internet fix. Day 3 saw the crowd grow to over 50 and then even more the next. People brought power strips, shared open outlets and we all sat around together. It was the night time community social area.
I’m not the biggest Starbucks fan, but I just finished reading Howard Schultz book “Onward”. It is the CEO’s story of Starbucks since the beginning, but with special focus on the turn around since 2008. Schultz says he was not trying to create a coffee place for people, but a people place that served coffee. The Starbucks Experience has many elements and free internet and power are a part of the formula. I hate to give Schultz too much credit, but our local Starbucks met his goal in the days after Irene and I suspect he would have been proud. Very seldom do vision and results ever match as closely as this.
Have you ever seen a leadership vision and results align this closely? What was the situation?
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Vision accomplished
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1 comment:
John...so did our public library in NC!!! Both during Irene and our storm last March, they extended their hours (until 11 p.m.!), showed films, provided food for most "events"...this was over and above the creature comforts you mention: light, phone and laptop charging, Internet and, in March, much needed HEAT! And they did all this without thought of making a profit...unlike Starbucks!
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