Schultz is a success story. Anything that makes our life easier

American entrepreneur Howard Schultz managed to instill in the people of the United States a love for grain coffee at a time when no one drank it. is a story of success and the creation of a product that was supported first by the Americans, and then more 72 countries(as of summer 2016).

short biography

Howard Schultz was born July 19, 1953 in Brooklyn, USA. His father was a truck driver and a retired military man. In his family, Howard was the first to graduate from college with a bachelor's degree.

At age 29, he took a job managing three Seattle entrepreneurs running the Starbucks coffee bean chain.

After visiting Milan, Schultz really liked the Italian coffee houses, allowing its visitors to enjoy good coffee and communication. He brought this idea to his leadership at Starbucks, but the owners of the company, being supporters of the traditions of the "home-made" drink, rejected it.

Il Giornale

In 1985, realizing that his business development ideas would not bear fruit at Starbucks, Howard Schultz quit his job and opened his own chain of coffee shops called ilGiornale (Il Giornale in Russian).

Americans, already accustomed to coffee beans, liked the idea of ​​coffee houses with the opportunity not only to enjoy a fragrant drink, but also to have a great time outside the home.

Howard's business went uphill, and he bought the Starbucks company from the founders. Now he had every chance to realize his old dream, he even renamed his coffee shops Starbucks.

"Pour your heart into her"

In 1997, Schultz co-authored the famous book "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built Cup by Cup". It has been translated into several languages, including Russian.

Howard's merits include the introduction of standardization at Starbucks. He insisted on constantly improving the quality of customer service in his coffee shops.

In 2016, Forbes magazine named Howard Schultz 222nd the richest man in the United States, and his fortune is estimated at $ 2.9 billion.

Company management

Howard Schultz was CEO companies until 2000. From 2001 to 2005 he was President and CEO Orin S. Smith.

In January 2008, Schultz took over as President and CEO after an 8-year hiatus, replacing Jim Donald, who took over in 2005 but was demoted after sales fell in 2007.

Schultz said he would try to rebuild the "unique Starbucks experience" due to rapid expansion, and succeeded.

Since January 2015, the post of executive director of the company has been Troy Olstead, although before that he announced that he would take an extended leave of indefinite duration.

From the post of chairman of the board of directors. We recall how a businessman was able to breathe soul into an ordinary coffee shop and turn it into a huge chain of coffee houses.

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Howard Schultz, photo by Reuters

Where was born and studied

Howard Schultz was born in Brooklyn to a poor Jewish American family. They lived in a block of low-income homes, and his father, a retired military man, constantly changed jobs to support his family, there was barely enough money. Schultz was surrounded by instability, poverty, lack of prospects and fear of the future.

One of the strongest episodes of childhood - when my father broke his leg. The lack of health insurance caused huge financial difficulties for the family. Then Schultz thought about creating a profitable company that would not depend on the "cast on the leg."

I saw my father lose his dignity and self-respect. I am sure that his condition was more due to the fact that he was treated like an ordinary hard worker.

Howard Schultz

First job and transition to Starbucks

At the age of 12, Schultz began delivering newspapers, then selling food in cafes, and at 16 he worked with fur - stretching the skins. It made almost no money. According to him, it was a good hardening and strengthened his desire to achieve something in life. In addition, his mother was a good influence on him, talking about outstanding personalities who managed to change their lives.

In 1975, Howard received a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Michigan and took a job at Xerox. After working in the sales department for three years, he moved to the representative office of the Swedish manufacturer of home appliances Hamamaplast. In sales reports, Schultz discovered a large purchase of coffee grinders by the small firm Starbucks in Seattle - far more than the famous coffee shops - and decided to go there.

In Seattle, Schultz met the owners of Starbucks: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, historian Zev Ziegal, and writer Gordon Bowker. They were united by a love of coffee - the trinity knew the intricacies of choosing varieties and preparing a drink and opened a small coffee shop with varieties of their own roasting.

They dreamed of instilling in Americans a taste for good coffee. Starbucks was formed on the cult of coffee, all employees had to be able to cook it correctly and teach customers.

As he handed me a china mug filled with freshly brewed coffee, its steam and aroma seemed to envelop my face. Adding sugar or milk was sacrilege.

Howard Schultz

From the book "How Cup by Cup Starbucks was Built"

However, in the late 1960s, people had already abandoned instant coffee, and they were either not used to ground coffee or did not know about it at all, so there were few buyers. It was considered stupid to shell out a lot of money for a semi-finished coffee product, which is also not clear how to cook.

But the approach and enthusiasm of the Starbucks owners impressed Schultz so much that he began asking for a job at the company and pestering director Jerry Baldwin with his calls for a year. Schultz explained that Starbucks had huge potential and needed to open more stores. But Baldwin was afraid of change and believed that a sharp increase would kill the spirit of the company.

The development of Starbucks and the departure of Schultz

A year later, Schultz changed tactics, suggesting "do everything gradually, at the pace that the owners are used to, but create something really significant." Assessing the risks, Baldwin named Howard director of marketing, offering a salary half that of Hamamaplast. He agreed without hesitation and moved to Seattle. At that time, four Starbucks stores were open.

Despite the efforts, the company grew slowly and settled on a few thousand regular customers. A new look was needed, so in 1983 Schultz went to Milan.

Italian coffee houses were different from American ones: people not only drank coffee in them, but also had a good time at the tables, chatting with friends or working, and the premises did not resemble fast food, which Schultz really liked. The recipes he brought for latte and cappuccino helped to triple sales and interest buyers, but there was new idea- create a network of beautiful Italian establishments based on Starbucks.

Howard Schultz

From the book "How Cup by Cup Starbucks was Built"

The conservative owners of Starbucks dismissed the idea outright, insisting that their goal was to teach customers how to make coffee. As a result, Schultz quit his job to open his own chain of coffee shops II Giornale, took part of the money for this from Starbucks, and covered the rest with a loan.

If the boss plugs his ears when he hears about new ideas, he is most likely depriving his company of great opportunities.

Howard Schultz

From the book "How Cup by Cup Starbucks was Built"

In his own cafe, he relied on comfort: he added a takeaway coffee service, live music played inside. On the first day, the cafe was visited by 300 people.

The owners of Starbucks couldn't handle the growth: within a year, they had to put the stores, roastery, and brand up for sale. Schultz took out a loan again, promising to open 125 stores in five years, and bought the company outright, becoming the sole owner of Starbucks.

Howard Schultz

From the book "How Cup by Cup Starbucks was Built"

Schultz's Starbucks

The first thing Howard did was set up a bar counter and hired a barista who remembered customers by name, took into account their tastes and quickly prepared the right drink. To train baristas, Schultz traveled back to Italy, filming professionals pouring espresso with one hand and whipping cream with the other while interacting with patrons.

Starbucks developed aggressively: first, a stable income was established according to the Mc'Donald's franchise model, then several outlets opened in new states at once: one belonged to the franchisee, the rest were owned by the company.

Another innovation that Schultz used was self-service. Customers chose the type of drink, its quantity, determined the volume of milk and its fat content - this attracted coffee lovers.

Oasis. In an increasingly heterogeneous society, our coffee houses serve as a quiet haven where you can stop for a moment and collect your thoughts. Starbucks employees smile at you, serve you quickly without being annoying. Walking into Starbucks means getting away from the hustle and bustle for a while. We have become a breath of fresh air.

Howard Schultz

From the book "How Cup by Cup Starbucks was Built"

An active Starbucks advertising campaign inspired Americans with romanticism, comfort and soulful atmosphere of coffee shops, and slogans were remembered and cheered up. Words were confirmed by deeds - Schultz wrote six Starbucks principles that employees must adhere to:

• Provide great jobs and treat each other with respect and dignity.
• Embrace diversity as an integral part of the path we have taken in business.
• Apply the highest standards when purchasing, roasting and delivering fresh coffee.
• Work with enthusiasm, bringing pleasure to customers.
• Contribute positively to our community and to the environment.
• Recognize that profitability is the key to our future success.

Good work was rewarded with bonuses and company shares, and employees with a 20-hour work week received health insurance. This compensated for the low salary and reduced staff turnover.

Compromise for the people

Schultz tried by any means to increase the audience. The founders of Starbucks sold only dark roasted coffee, while Americans like light coffee that can be drunk several times a day. Schultz changed his principles and introduced light roasts, which became a great success - the average attendance at Starbucks reached 1,000 people.

Californian Starbucks franchisees have found that coffee shop attendance drops during the summer because there are no cold drinks. Howard didn't want to add anything other than coffee to the menu, but losing customers wasn't profitable either.

Howard Schultz Starbucks - most often this name is next to the name of the world's most famous coffee chain, and this is by no means an accident. It is Schultz who is the founder of the Starbucks empire in its current form. At one time, Howard began his work as an employee in a small chain of coffee shops in Seattle. Later, he became the owner of the company, and made it a real empire.

Howard Schultz biography

This is now Howard Schultz, a world-famous businessman, executive director of a world-famous company, but it all started very differently.

Howard was born and raised in an ordinary American family. He was born on July 19, 1953 in Brooklyn (New York). His family was not poor, but they did not grab the stars from the sky either. Most of all, Howard's parents wanted him to grow up as a worthy person, then no one could have imagined how famous and rich their son would become.

His father was a simple worker who worked in many not the most prestigious jobs. In one of the periods of Howard Schultz's childhood, trouble happened to his father. He broke his leg and lost his job. This moment from childhood forever etched into the memory of the future coffee tycoon. The family was then in a decadent mood, no one knew what would happen next. Schultz Jr. did not want such a life, and sought to become a successful person.

He began working in a very early age. He sold newspapers, was a bartender at a local cafe, worked in a fur shop, and so on. These were far from the most pleasant types of earnings, and Howard himself always dreamed of opening his own business.

Howard Schultz was educated at Northern Michigan University. In 1975, he received his Bachelor's degree there, and began looking for a serious job. After working for Xerox for several years, he ended up at the American office of the Swedish company Hamamaplast. This company was engaged in the sale of a wide variety of household appliances. Among their products there was a place for coffee makers. Thus began the epic with Starbucks, which has been going on for many years.

A young employee of a Swedish firm selling household appliances was very surprised by one fact in the sales report. He saw that a small and completely unknown company from Seattle was buying many coffee makers from him, and the volume of purchases was much larger than many of the famous coffee shops in the country. This surprised Howard, and he decided to personally meet the owners of the company.

Arriving in Seattle and meeting the owners of Starbucks, Schultz was simply fascinated. He was so madly in love with the idea of ​​such coffee shops that he madly wanted to work there. For almost a year he literally terrorized by calls asking for the work of the owners of the company. Schultz had a lot of ideas to modernize and change Starbucks, but the owners were more conservative, and they were intimidated by this young, assertive guy who wants to turn everything upside down. However, a year later, Howard Schultz nevertheless achieved his goal, and he was hired by Starbucks. He got a position in the company. Howard Schultz became Marketing Director of Starbucks for a reason. He really had a lot of interesting ideas, and besides, he agreed to work for half the salary that he had at Hamamaplast.

Shops in Seattle specialized in selling coffee beans for further processing and consumption at home. After visiting Italy and being impressed by the local coffee houses, Howard Schultz got the idea to do something similar in the USA. He believed that just a coffee shop is too easy, you can make a real chain of coffee houses where people will come not just to drink coffee, but also to relax and discuss some issues.

Starbucks was supposed to be a real place for leisure

Such ideas did not arouse much support among the owners of the company, and Schultz had to leave. However, he did not leave his idea, having gained loans, he opened his own coffee shop in Seattle, in which he embodied his ideas. The institution became very popular in a short time. And soon Howard Schultz learned that the owners of Starbucks stores were going to sell their business. Schultz went into even more debt, but was able to buy out Starbucks. He assured creditors that within some 5 years he would open 125 coffee shops throughout the States. The result surpassed even Howard's wildest guesses. He opened many more coffee shops, gradually turning them into an All-American brand.

Howard Schultz at Starbucks is an ongoing story full of twists and turns and surprises. His out-of-the-box approach to business and love for what he does have made the Starbucks network a global brand that is recognized everywhere, and the company's shares are traded on stock exchanges.

Schultz often went to various experiments that did not really fit into the strategy of chains of establishments for the sale and preparation of coffee. So, for example, when it became clear that coffee sales are falling in summer, and visitors would like some kind of soft drinks, Schultz, having weighed all the pros and cons, went on an experiment. Then a milk-coffee cocktail was created, called Frappuccino. The cocktail became legendary, and soon PepsiCo bought the license to bottle it.

There are a lot of similar stories during the existence of Starbucks under the leadership of Schultz. Perhaps that is why Starbucks remains the market leader and the most popular coffee shop chain in the world today.

Howard Schultz

July 1953 New York, Brooklyn area. A boy was born into a poor Schultz family. His parents named him Howard. Their cherished dream was simple. They wanted their son to grow up as a worthy person, able to provide for his family. Then they could not even imagine that their child would become one of the greatest businessmen of our time. Howard Schultz turned coffee, which was constantly declining in America, into a mass product, creating an aura of romance around "a steaming cup of aromatic drink" and making visiting a coffee shop "a luxury for everyone." Today his company is a global brand and global network coffee houses. In 2011, Schultz's fortune is estimated at about a billion dollars.

The Schultz family - father, mother and three children - lived in a modest apartment. In a house for 150 families was one elevator. The father changed many jobs, and the mother, according to Howard, an imperious woman with a strong character, served as a secretary.

The childhood of the future billionaire was spent in Projects, a block of state-subsidized homes for low-income families in Brooklyn, where, of all the entertainment for children, there was only a basketball court at an elementary school. Most of the inhabitants of the quarter were very poor. It was believed that local children had little chance of expressing themselves and achieving something. Howard also understood how difficult it would be for him to break out of this pool of poverty. But his dream of success was stronger than any obstacles.

Once Howard's father broke his leg, and the family was completely left without money. The atmosphere at home was saturated with fear of the future. It was then that the boy had the idea - to create big company, which would bring a constant income, regardless of the "cast on the leg."

He started working early. At the age of twelve he sold newspapers, then stood at the counter of a local cafe. He had the hardest time at sixteen: in the fur shop he had to stretch the skins, earning more calluses on his hands than money. However, hard work hardened character and further strengthened the desire to realize his dream. Moreover, his mother supported him in this - she constantly told her son about great people who were able to achieve success in life.

In 1975, Howard, the first in his family to graduate from college, received a bachelor's degree from Northern Michigan University. He acquired practical management skills by working first at Xerox, and then at the representative office of the Swedish company Hammarplast, a coffee wholesaler. He moved to Starbucks in 1982. It was love at first sight. In a company that retailed roasted coffee beans and brewed real "European" coffee for visitors, Howard saw great potential and realized that he wanted to connect his life with this company. Therefore, he agreed to work there even for half the salary than he was paid at his previous place of work.

Starbucks was founded with $10,000 in 1971 in Seattle by three friends, an English teacher, a history teacher, and a writer.

They didn't think about creating a coffee empire, they just wanted to sell good coffee.

It took Schultz a year to triple sales with his Italian espresso, latte, and cappuccino recipes. However, such incredibly rapid growth was contrary to the ideology of the leadership. And Howard left to return after a while - already as the owner of Starbucks. He bought the company for $4 million, which he borrowed, and five years later turned it into the largest chain of coffee shops in the United States, where before that there was no tradition of drinking good coffee at all. Howard Schultz, with a fair amount of perseverance and ingenuity, captured this almost empty market, for which he was awarded the honorary epithet "coffee Bill Gates" by USA Today. And Starbucks is new national symbol North America almost like McDonald's.

But, unlike hamburgers, coffee is an elegant product. And in order to "hook" on him a simple American, accustomed to fast food, it was necessary to try very hard. It seemed unrealistic to lure people into a non-smoking establishment where there is virtually nothing but the intoxicating smell of freshly brewed coffee. Therefore, Schultz can, to a certain extent, be called an adventurer, but absolutely confident in the ultimate success.

His strategy was carefully thought out - and completely "crazy". In order to turn the minds of Americans, he decided to "beat" the quantity, quality and ubiquitous advertising. In the 1990s, one Starbucks coffee shop per day was opening in the US - just an unprecedented rate! At the same time, an extensive advertising campaign was carried out. Americans were told that it was romantic to drink real coffee in special Starbucks establishments. Advertising slogans were well remembered, caused a smile and the thought of a cup fragrant drink. At the same time, the head of the company made sure that advertising did not disagree with reality.

In general, Schultz's approach to business can be characterized by one capacious phrase: "Less talking - more doing." Howard is dynamic, passionate and assertive. The speed of implementation of his ideas, especially at the beginning of his career, was colossal, and the results were always impressive. For the sake of the development of the company, Schultz agreed to give up some of his original plan to make his fellow citizens fall in love with real strong coffee. He realized in time that Americans like “light” coffee, which you can drink several cups in a row without risking a heart attack. In coffee shops, the assortment immediately increased, and the number of visitors increased significantly.

Bank One CEO Jamie Dimon, Howard Schultz, and Visa CEO Carl Pasquarella with mock-ups of the new Starbucks Visa (2003)

In the future, Schultz “lost ground” more than once: he allowed, along with coffee, to sell fresh pastries, other food and drinks, as well as food containers in coffee shops. For the sake of attracting new customers, he was ready for a lot, but he always remained true to himself in the main thing. In the first place for him was coffee - no other product was supposed to drown out his aroma. To this end, Schultz even forbade his sellers and waiters to use perfume.

The popularity of coffee shops grew, but there was a problem of maintaining quality. Coffee beans were supplied to Starbucks establishments. Two-kilogram packages were opened, after which, within seven days, all their contents had to be used for their intended purpose - or thrown away. For expensive varieties, this approach was very wasteful. And Howard Schultz spared no expense to create a whole Research Center to develop a new type of coffee powder. In the end, we managed to get instant coffee, as close as possible in quality to natural.

Having captured the American market, Howard turned his eyes to the rest of the world. Starbucks coffee houses open in Canada, Great Britain, Asian countries. Their owner does not want to stop. It goes ahead, without swinging, without long planning. This is the whole Schultz.

“Dreaming about something small, you will never succeed at something big. Who needs a dream that you can reach with your hand?

The businessman himself is sure that the key to his success is a passionate attitude to business. “At a critical moment, I feel an adrenaline rush. I run chasing what no one else sees, long after others have stopped,” says Schulz.

If he has a goal, then with her and her constant companions - faith in ultimate success and a great desire to achieve it. Everyone around them says: it's impossible! – but Howard is sure otherwise. The old management of Starbucks was afraid of change, big sales, staffing. Fear made them stagnate, while he called Schultz to exploits, forced him to generate new ideas.

The contradictory nature of Schultz helped him achieve a lot. In some ways, he forever remained a boy from the Brooklyn slums, afraid to fail. But always, despite the circumstances, he made this fear work for him. Incredible perseverance, a constant desire to make his dream come true allowed Howard to achieve excellent business results in a short time.

But there is another valuable quality in him, without which such a breakthrough would not have been possible. Schultz has always been very good with people. He hired creative and talented managers. For him, diplomas from prestigious universities did not matter, the main thing was the ability to work for the good of the company. He created a truly close-knit team of professionals united by a common idea.

His "fatherly" attitude towards subordinates, even the lowest level, amazes many. If in business he is an aggressor, capturing more and more new territories, then in relations with employees he is a fair and caring leader. Increasing profits could not bring him peace of mind if the company's employees were somehow disadvantaged. Howard often says that when he created Starbucks, he thought about his own father, about how difficult it was for him to live without health insurance. Schultz promised himself that in his own company everything will be different.

“We are trying to create an oasis in our coffee shops, a place next door to your home where you can rest, listen to jazz and reflect on world and personal problems”

When he became the owner of Starbucks, he made a decision that completely changed the internal policy of the company, and also provided it with an edge over competitors for many years to come. Even part-time employees were eligible for stock options and comprehensive health care. It was a real revolution! So far, the company's employee turnover is five times below the US average for retailers and restaurants.

“I know from experience how precarious and insecure the situation of a family without health insurance can be, and what this can lead to. Therefore, I firmly believe that if our employees feel protected, we will gain a huge competitive advantage, ”Schultz explained his decision.

At the end of the financial year, each Starbucks employee receives company shares (the so-called coffee shares - Bean Stock) in an amount equal to 14% of his base salary, as well as year-round - the right to full medical care. Thanks to this decision, Schultz forgot about the recruitment problem forever. There has been a long queue of people wishing to work at Starbucks, and now the number of employees of the company around the world is approaching one hundred and forty thousand.

One of the main merits of Howard Schultz is that he forced the company he created to follow uniform standards. In accordance with his plan, not only all establishments have the same design, but the taste of coffee drinks should be identical everywhere. “Ritual and romance” are important to Schultz - to enable a person, having crossed the threshold of a Starbucks coffee shop, to feel at home even in a foreign city. To enhance the effect, Schultz ordered that music be constantly played in the cafe. But not just like that: a composition that sounds in a New York coffee shop is played back at the same minute via a central server in, say, Seattle.

Thus, following his business principles, Howard Schultz rallied not only the company's employees, but also coffee lovers from all over the world. Today, a Starbucks mug is not just a convenient container for coffee, but a real symbol of comfort, friendly atmosphere and reliability.

The company's fame has reached such a level that The Eco-nomist magazine introduced the Starbucks Index, an indicator of the economic situation in the country, which is defined as the price of a standard cup of coffee in the company's restaurant.

Howard Schultz is certainly proud of his accomplishments. But in public he tries to talk more about the company than about himself. He was not noticed in secular scandals, the family plays the leading role for him. As his parents dreamed, Howard became a good family man, the father of two children, whom he often talked about his life in Brooklyn. A couple of times I even took them there on an excursion, although I didn’t feel a sense of security on the familiar streets at all. A fresh bullet hole that he saw on the wall of one of the houses was an excellent confirmation that he did the right thing by choosing his own path in life.

Howard Schultz is sure that the fear of falling into poverty again made him strive for success. Heavy memories of childhood did not allow him to stop, to be content with little.

True, when Schultz considered the company to have achieved prosperity and stability, he decided to plunge headlong into the sports business. Bought a well-known basketball team and temporarily moved away from the direct management of the company. Only the global financial crisis of 2008 forced him to take the reins of power back into his own hands. To save Starbucks, he had to take a number of drastic measures, such as laying off some of the staff. Due to the crisis, Howard Schultz dropped out of the list of 400 richest Americans published by Forbes magazine, but by 2011 he made up for lost time, becoming a billionaire again, and, according to Forbes, has every chance to return to the list of 400 richest Americans.

Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz at the Apple Special Event in San Francisco (2007)

“I can't offer you any secret, a recipe for success, a perfect plan to get to the top of the business. But my own experience tells me that starting from scratch and achieving much more than I dreamed of is quite possible, ”says Howard Schultz.

HOWARD HEAD IS INTUITIVE "Without intuition, we'd still be in caves," says futurist writer Marilyn Ferguson. Einstein said: "The really valuable factor is intuition." Webster defined intuition as "direct by knowledge and" unconscious by comprehension. Weston