Building The Starbucks Empire w/ Howard Behar

Nov 9, 2021

Howard Behar, the former president of North America and founding president of Starbucks International, shares his journey in shaping Starbucks into a global phenomenon. He emphasizes his philosophy of servant leadership, revealing how empowering employees led to a unique culture of care. Topics include the significance of fair compensation, the six Ps of purposeful leadership, and the power of listening in effective leadership. Howard's insights on prioritizing people and fostering creativity provide valuable lessons for anyone aiming for exponential business growth.

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ANECDOTE

The Banana Story

Howard Behar's father, a grocer, gave bananas to a struggling family without charging them.
This taught young Behar that not everything in life requires payment, a principle he applied when joining Starbucks.

ADVICE

Value Independent Thought

Entrepreneurs should embrace independent thinkers within their teams.
Hire those who complement your strengths and bring diverse perspectives, fostering creativity and growth.

ADVICE

Empowerment through Choice

Empower employees by letting them make decisions, even seemingly small ones.
The "person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom" principle fosters ownership and innovation.

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Despite Starbucks employees seeking to unionize, the company prides itself on being a place that deeply cares about the workers. In today's episode, you will meet the man that helped make that happen.

How often do you get the chance to tap into the mind of one of the MOST SUCCESSFUL CONSUMER-ORIENTED BUSINESS LEADERS for more than 50 years?

Do you want to learn first-hand what it was like to grow STARBUCKS COFFEE from only 28 STORES TO MORE THAN 15,000 stores spanning five continents?

This week’s guest, HOWARD BEHAR, has done that and a lot more.

He is best known for guiding the Starbucks brand for 21 years as President of North America and as the founding President of Starbucks International. His philosophy of SERVANT LEADERSHIP is memorable for introducing lessons such as “The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom” and “Only the Truth Sounds Like the Truth.”

If you want to LEAD OTHERS MORE EFFECTIVELY and EXPERT ADVICE on what it takes to grow your current business exponentially, you must listen to how Howard did it using servant leadership and how you can too.

Howard and I also discuss why and how the right business CULTURE is a primary driving force of any company’s growth. He reveals some of the policies he implemented to EMPOWER employees to make decisions that put customers first. Part of this culture also involved recognizing employees, making sure they’re paid well, and that their voices were heard daily.

Let me leave you with two final (and INCREDIBLE) facts.

The systems and practices Howard and others put in place continue to breed success to this day. Although he retired when Starbucks had 15,000 stores, today, there are almost 33,000 STORES IN 83 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE.

Finally, and perhaps the most amazing thing of all, HOWARD SHARED HIS PERSONAL PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL and encourages YOU to reach out and contact him because it brings him joy and purpose.

That’s only happened one other time in all the shows I’ve taped, and quite simply one of the most impressive displays of servant leadership I’ve ever seen.

If you want to know what success is all about, grab a hot cup of coffee and get ready to enjoy a great hour filled with valuable lessons you can use in your own business and personal life.

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