Howard Behar
It's Not about the Coffee
Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks
Portfolio, 2007
Was ist drin?
Focus on the server, not the coffee: Why your employees matter as much as your products.
Recommendation
Retired Starbucks executive Howard Behar knows what elevated the chain from 28 stores into a worldwide supplier of hot java to happy, loyal caffeine addicts. He says the way the company hires, trains and treats its employees is much more important than its coffee, although the good coffee matters (as if you have to ask). The book provides 10 principles for leading people, illustrated with business anecdotes, including Behar’s stories from Starbucks. His sincerity and conviction sound out loud and clear, and his principles, if not very deep, are humane and sensible. This book will particularly benefit new leaders, whether they head teams of baristas or barristers.
Summary
About the Author
Howard Behar played a major role in opening Asia and the United Kingdom for Starbucks, headed its North American operations from 1999 to 2003, and has served on its board of directors since 1996.
Comment on this summary