The Starbucks Experience

Book 1 of my 2009 Reading List was “The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles of Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary” By Joseph A. Michelli.

This great read discusses the 5 key leadership principles that have transformed the ordinary experience of coffee into an extraordinary experience.

Some quick hits from the book:

• “We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee.” This goes along with something Cole says that has always resonated with me. Cole says, “We don’t teach the Bible to people, but we teach people the Bible. Its all about people.”
• Be knowledgeable, love what you do, and share your knowledge with others.
• Listening is just one part of creating a connection. We also need to discover each person’s specific needs and and unique situation and then find ways to help meet those needs.
• EVERYTHING MATTERS.
• It is just as important to create a great experience for employees as it is for employees to create an experience for customers.
• A company’s brand is nothing more than the sum total of the individual actions its people take.
• EVERYONE MATTERS.
• Retail is detail. Missed details produce dissatisfied customers who go elsewhere.
• A small detail is often the difference between success and failure. (A 7 cent valve helped Starbucks become a publicly traded company!)
• These details live in both that which is seen AND unseen by the customer.
• You CANNOT hide poor quality.
• Customers want a consistent and predictable product with the occasion prize or extra surprise thrown in. (Like when Cracker Jacks started inserting prizes in 1912. Today’s examples are cell phones with cameras, cars that talk to us telling us when to turn, etc.)
• Your efforts to surprise are a contagious force.
• When breakdowns occur, businesses can still delight customers by making things right.
• Delight is the result of an unwavering commitment to creating a comfortable and trusted relationship
• EMBRACE RESISTANCE.
• Nothing in nature grows without facing limiting forces.
• While it’s natural to avoid contact with detractors, much can be gained by welcoming them into the early stages of problem-focused discussions.
• When the concerns of critics are allayed, those critics can often become your most ardent supporters.
• It is essential to correct misinformation swiftly.
• When errors are made it is important to take direct, unequivocal responsibility and follow up with corrective action.
• LEAVE YOUR MARK.
• Successful business leaders realize that a key part of their success is leaving a powerful and positive mark on their communities.
• The value of a business’s brand is 100% linked to the trust people place in the company to do what it says it will do.

Overall I recommend it. There is TONS of stuff that Churches could apply particularly to their greeting and cafe ministries in this book. You could literally build your entire “frontline framework” from it by gleaning what it means to be welcoming, be genuine, be knowledgeable, be considerate, and be involved.