I cannot recommend The Starbucks Experience, by Joseph Michelli.  This book is little more than a long infomercial for a company that does not need one.  What Starbucks has done, and continues to do is extraordinary, but this book does not do it justice.

Michelli is not a very good writer.  The writing in this book is flat and some of is just plain garroted.  What's worse he jumps around and the headings oftentimes have little to do with the content of a section.

He makes a lot of statements with no backup whatsoever other than anecdotes and sometimes quotes from Starbucks VPs.

Book Organization

The book is organized around Starbucks five principles,

1. Make it your own
2. Everything matters
3. Surprise and delight
4. Embrace resistance
5. Leave your mark

Each chapter is supposed to describe one principle, but it doesn't quite do the job.  A big part of the problem is that the anecdotes, which make up the bulk of the book, are oftentimes inconsistent with the principle in question.

Recurring Inconsistencies

For example, in the chapter on Everything Matters, for the first five pages of the chapter the author goes on and on about how partners are encouraged to pay attention to detail and to make sure that the whole experience for patrons is consistent with the Starbuck's brand.  Then, on page 53, he says,

Uh?  Can you say non sequitur?  I thought "Everything Matters" meant attention to detail, not following procedures.

He tried to fix it by closing the paragraph with this sentence,

Unfortunately, it actually makes it more confusing because prior to this, the "focus" had been on "brand," not "procedures."

The Five Principles

1. Make It Your Own.  Employees are encouraged to take action as if the company were their own.
2. Everything Matters.  Employees are trained to pay attention to the smallest details.
3. Surprise and Delight.  Employees are encouraged to delight customers and go beyond their expectations.
4. Embrace Resistance.  Employees are trained to accept feedback, both positive and negative, and using the negative feedback to make improvements.
5. Leave Your Mark.  Employees are encouraged to be involved and contribute to their local communities.

For a more complete, and positive review of this book, see Ron Bieber's blog post.

Maslow Everywhere

The highlight of the book, for me, came on page 38, where the author quotes Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, as saying,

I found the quote interesting and useful, but, alas, Michelli does not include a tractable reference to this interview. He mentions that it came from "Know," but was it KNOW: The Science Magazine for Curious Kids or Know: A Magazine for Paralegals?  Thanks to Joe McCarthy's blog post I did locate the article in the correct Know Magazine.

The interview, The Art of Creating Passionate Consumers: Howard Schultz is definitely worth reading.  It makes the Maslow influence evident: people are driven to transformative experiences, not simply money (for employees) and products (for customers).

For a much better and useful treatment of how to shape company culture, read Peak, or Tribal Leadership or some of the other books listed in my Recommended Reading List.

The Green Apron Book

Throughout the book, Michelli talks about the Starbucks Green Apron Book.  In it, Starbucks reminds employees to be,

1. Welcoming.  Offer everyone a sense of belonging.
2. Genuine.  Connect, discover, respond.
3. Knowledgeable.  Love what you do. Share it with others.
4. Considerate.  Take care of yourself, each other, and your environment.
5. Involved.  In the store, in the company, in your community.

According to the book, and the Starbucks webiste, you can ask for one of the booklets at any Starbucks.  Well, I've asked for it at three Starbucks so far and they've refused to give me one.  In two of the locations I got puzzled looks when I asked for it.  One of the partners said, "oh, that's just a booklet they give you when you start to work here."

It Makes Business Sense

The thing that has made Starbucks extraordinary is their well-balanced execution.  They've maintained a balanced focus on their employees, their customers and their investors.  Other companies don't do as well because they focus on one audience at the expense of the others.

For example, in the Know interview, Schultz points out why it makes business sense to take care of their employees,

And why it makes business sense to take care of the communities they are part of,

These "soft hearted" actions ultimately make business sense.  Just check out Starbucks value: a market cap of almost $10B and still one of the most valuable companies in the US.