I am right into the online education tutorial website Masterclass (www.masterclass.com)- right from when they had only 5 Instructors to now having over 50.
The Business Leadership Class, conducted by Howard Shultz, was one of those courses where it was effortless to keep playing class after class.
I was not very familiar with Howard Schultz but once the classes started rolling, it was easy to keep going; pearls of wisdom and insights, values and philosophy for business abound and fill each class.
A little about the instructor, he was a manager of a Starbucks store; became the owner, CEO and Chairman.
Starbucks is an American coffee and coffeehouse chain of companies. In 1987, he was offered and bought the chain (only 6 six stores were operating in Seattle, USA at the time) from the original owners who started the Starbucks brand in 1971).
Schultz took control of the company, set a different course and expanded it to a corporate giant with over 30,000 stores worldwide (as of 2019). He spent nearly 10 years trying to break into the China market with little success (taking his company to the brink of collapse) and with an epiphany- moment; was quick to take some much-needed advice when it was clear he didn’t know how to succeed in a predominantly Tea-Drinking country and make a substantial tuna-around.
Schultz shares the highs and lows (even crying during a major meeting at having ‘let everyone down.’) No-BS Spin leadership, be Honest with people- be Values-Orientated with high aspirational corporate goals. .
Basically, I took from his message that service businesses are dynamic; they should anticipate and be responsive to public demands- ask continual questions on how to improve customer service- look after your employees, he refers to as ‘partners’- with a ‘make it a joy to come to work’ outlook. Appreciate that employees have families and personal ambitions as well; that includes Starbucks providing health insurance coverage and even tertiary education opportunities to all their employees and the special needs of single parents etc.
From 6 stores to over 30,000 worldwide, I think its fair to say the guy knows what he is talking about and all businesses can benefit from the experience.
Great Insights; I really enjoyed this class. 5 Stars.
