Starbucks & Industry: Leadership Profile
Starbucks was fortunate enough to have a head start on the coffee shop boom, circa 1990, as they opened their first store in Seattle, Washington in 1971. As an initial patron of Starbucks in 1981 Howard Schultz was fascinated with the company and thorough persistence, leadership, and influence over investors he was able to purchase the company in 1987. Today Starbucks is one of the most widely known and respected organizations and industry leader of specialty coffee and related retail products (Starbucks Corporation, 2014).
This profile explains how the leaders and managers of Starbucks and members of the coffee shop industry, recruit and develop future leaders through leadership traits, leadership development, balancing competing values and priorities, and avoid current and future derailment and failure.
Leadership Traits
In the premium caffeinated beverage industry, the Starbucks Corporation is one of the most recognizable and profitable in the world. Having grown to over 20,000 retail stores in over 65 countries worldwide, it is safe to say Starbucks has been fairly successful (Starbucks Corporation, 2014). However, this success has not occurred through sheer luck or by accident. Having the right leaders in the right place within the organization has contributed greatly to Starbuck’s success. From the Board of Directors, to store level employees, recruiting personnel with the right qualities to lead in this industry is important. One may wonder, what are the qualities or traits necessary to be successful in this industry? After all, industries vary greatly throughout the world. A set of traits that may prove to be extremely valuable in one market may prove to be a detriment in another. Starbucks operates within the premium beverage market. Although Starbucks started with and is primarily known for coffee beverages, the corporation has expanded its brand portfolio to
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