| Book Review: It’s Not about the Coffee Book Authors: Howard Behar Released Date: 28th April, 2009 Number of pages: 208 Book Description: During his many years as a senior executive at Starbucks, Howard Behar helped establish the Starbucks culture, which stresses people over profits. He coached hundreds of leaders at every level and helped the company grow into a world-renowned brand. Now he reveals the ten principles that guided his leadership-and not one of them is about coffee. Behar shows that if you think of your staff as people (not labor costs) they will achieve amazing results. He discusses the importance of building trust, telling hard truths, thinking independently, and more. And he shares inside stories of key turning points for Starbucks, as it fought to hang on to its culture while growing exponentially. |
My Take on Book: True to the title, It’s Not About the Coffee, provides the innumerable motivations and explore the path of success. It provides various ways that helps to build a long-lasting brand. Howard Behar talks his experience of Starbucks, how he achieved the success and all the criteria's he kept in mind to gear up to reach the set goals. He asserts that knowledge sharing, independent thinking, genuine caring and accountability are powerful ways to grow the human connection in an organisation, leading to greater productivity and brand loyalty.
He incorporates thought-provoking quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt, Rabbi Hillel and Buddha to communicate the importance of listening and trust. He also uses a variety of examples from Starbucks’s successes and failures to demonstrate responsibility, team-work, creativity and persistence. He outlines his principles that helped him on the path of leadership in the clear and concise language. A must read to build the established brand in the market. Principles laid in this book not only helps in business but also in day to day activities in the personal life.
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