Sometimes You Have To Create The Thing

Starbucks Represents Something Beyond A Cup Of Coffee.

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.

I Think Starbucks Created A Platform And, Ultimately, A Runway For Many Other Companies To Emulate. I Suspect If We Had Not Achieved What We Have, There Would Have Been Many Regional Brands That Would Have Succeeded. But I'm Not Sure There Would Have Been A National Brand Of The Scope Of Starbucks.

In The 1960s, If You Introduced A New Product To America, 90% Of The People Who Viewed It For The First Time Believed In The Corporate Promise. Then 40 Years Later If You Performed The Same Exercise, Less Than 10% Of The Public Believed It Was True. The Fracturing Of Trust Is Based On The Fact That The Consumer Has Been Let Down.

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.