People want guidance, not rhetoric. They need to know what the plan of action is, and how it will be implemented. They want to be given responsibility to help solve the problem and authority to act on it.
One of the fundamental aspects of leadership, I realized more and more, is the ability to instill confidence in others when you yourself are feeling insecure
To be an enduring, great company, you have to build a mechanism for preventing or solving problems that will long outlast any one individual leader.
Work should be personal. For all of us. Not just for the artist and entrepreneur. Work should have meaning for the accountant, the construction worker, the technologist, the manager and the clerk.
There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust.
Mass advertising can help build brands, but authenticity is what makes them last. If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.
Authentic brands don’t emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does…
The evolving social and digital media platforms and highly innovative and relevant payment capabilities are causing seismic changes in consumer behavior and creating equally disruptive opportunities for business.
Any business today that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is going to be on a death march.
This may sound a bit naive, but I got here by believing in big dreams.
I think my whole life, because of where I came from, I had a fear of failure.
At an early age, my mother gave me this feeling that anything is possible, and I believe that.
I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create community.
I think there is probably no better person to aspire to emulate than Steve Jobs and what he has done at Apple in terms of his leadership, his innovation, not settling for mediocrity.
Great companies that build an enduring brand have an emotional relationship with customers that has no barrier. And that emotional relationship is on the most important characteristic, which is trust.
Many companies today are reducing hours of full-time people to get under the minimum so they don’t have to pay health care costs. I just shake my head because that’s not going to build long-term value and trust with your people.
Companies should not have a singular view of profitability. There needs to be a balance between commerce and social responsibility… The companies that are authentic about it will wind up as the companies that make more money.
Starbucks has a role and a meaningful relationship with people that is not only about the coffee.
The future of America is not an entitlement. We have been given a treasure chest of gifts and opportunities, but some people are being left behind, and success is not sustainable unless it is shared.
Social and digital media is a bullet train, and that bullet train is not coming home.