Howard Schultz - A Leader?
STARBUCKS
Howard Schultz
We examined various leaders throughout the course of history. In each session, we saw how certain leaders exercised specific traits of leadership. Transferring these learnings to the case of Howard Schultz and STARBUCKS, one can see that it is exactly because of Schultz’ comprehensive leadership capabilities, that he was able to lead the successful turn-around of the organization in 2008. Through the following detailed analysis, we’ll highlight critical instances when Schultz employed the ten pillars focused on during class.
Exploration and Discovery.
The idea for STARBUCKS came as a result of a personal trip Schultz took to northern Italy. While there he observed the Italian café culture. He interacted with and gained an understanding of the local culture and was convinced that it had something to offer to Americans.
Commerce and Society.
Previously in Seattle, wealthy women would gather in each other’s homes during the day to drink tea or coffee and socialize. Schultz’s plan was to monetize this experience. He wanted STARBUCKS to become “The Third Place,” (the other two being the home and the office).
Culture.
Schultz was convinced that the Italian café culture was something that would mesh well with Americans and American culture; Americans, themselves, just didn’t know it yet! It was only through Schultz’ knowledge of both cultures that he was able to make this idea a reality.
Emotional Intelligence.
Schultz had a very high level of emotional intelligence. On many occasions, he directly demonstrated these attributes in an array of situations.
Self-awareness “We had to admit to ourselves and the people of this company that we owned the mistakes that were made.”
Self-regulation “’Are you out of your mind?’ -- ‘I am doing the right thing.’”
Motivation “We are living in a society where there is a need for human connection…and what we do is bring
Howard Schultz
We examined various leaders throughout the course of history. In each session, we saw how certain leaders exercised specific traits of leadership. Transferring these learnings to the case of Howard Schultz and STARBUCKS, one can see that it is exactly because of Schultz’ comprehensive leadership capabilities, that he was able to lead the successful turn-around of the organization in 2008. Through the following detailed analysis, we’ll highlight critical instances when Schultz employed the ten pillars focused on during class.
Exploration and Discovery.
The idea for STARBUCKS came as a result of a personal trip Schultz took to northern Italy. While there he observed the Italian café culture. He interacted with and gained an understanding of the local culture and was convinced that it had something to offer to Americans.
Commerce and Society.
Previously in Seattle, wealthy women would gather in each other’s homes during the day to drink tea or coffee and socialize. Schultz’s plan was to monetize this experience. He wanted STARBUCKS to become “The Third Place,” (the other two being the home and the office).
Culture.
Schultz was convinced that the Italian café culture was something that would mesh well with Americans and American culture; Americans, themselves, just didn’t know it yet! It was only through Schultz’ knowledge of both cultures that he was able to make this idea a reality.
Emotional Intelligence.
Schultz had a very high level of emotional intelligence. On many occasions, he directly demonstrated these attributes in an array of situations.
Self-awareness “We had to admit to ourselves and the people of this company that we owned the mistakes that were made.”
Self-regulation “’Are you out of your mind?’ -- ‘I am doing the right thing.’”
Motivation “We are living in a society where there is a need for human connection…and what we do is bring