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Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz is an American businessman who was born on July 19, 1953 and
raised in a Brooklyn, New York housing project. Howard Schultz was brought up in a
poor family and this made him to find out an alternative to earn a living. It is because of
this that he saw an escape in sports such as football, basketball and baseball. While in
Canarsie High School, he mostly succeeded in sports and this resulted in an award of a
football scholarship to North Michigan University (Behar et. al. 18). By joining North
Michigan University, Schultz became the first person to acquire a college education in his
family. In 1975, he graduated from North Michigan University with a bachelors degree
in communication and worked a variety of jobs until becoming manager of United States
operations for Hammarplast in 1979. Schultz's adventure began when he visited Seattle to
check out a famous coffee bean store known as Starbucks which has been a regular

customer to Hammarplast. One element which made Howard Schultz to fall in love with
business was the Starbucks owners care in roasting and choosing the beans (Schultz and
Joanne 35).
It took Howard Schultz a year to persuade the Starbucks owners to hire him. His
goal oriented mind contributed greatly in bringing Italian coffeehouse tradition to
America because his goal was to create a place for conversation, a place that fostered a
sense of community and a place for human connection. This is one of the qualities of
Schultz which can really motivate any developing entrepreneur (Marie 76). The current
success of Schultz shows that regardless of which background one may come from,
excelling in life and reaching the destiny is very simply provided one has goal oriented
mind. According to Schultz, he only relied on four basic principles, these included
Confront anything but your core values, do not be threatened by people smarter than
you, everything matters a lot and pursue to renew yourself even when you are striking
home runs. Currently, Starbucks is the leading source of the finest coffee in the universe,
with around 30,000 stores in 70 countries (Schultz and Joanne 35). Being the current
chief executive officer of Starbucks, Schultz states that the company is in its infant stages
of growth of business in America and bearing in mind what it has done now. The future
development of Starbucks will shock people.
However, Howard Schultz has contributed so much on development of Starbucks.
Referring to his vision, Schultz main aim when he arrived in Starbucks was to create a
different kind of company. He started modifying it by creating two landmarks programs
that form the foundation of Starbucks culture. It was the first company to offer
comprehensive health coverage for all workers regardless of their ranks and status. This

is one of the program which has transformed Starbucks to be the leading source of the
finest coffee in the world. The other program was about ensuring partners or employees
equity in the company in form of stock choices which were referred as the Bean Stock.
These primary investments introduced by Schultz show that one can construct a business
that is profitable while distributing its success with its partners as well as the community
(Marie 76).
Generally, Schultz can be described as the role model to any developing
entrepreneur in this world and his determination gives a lot of motivation to the
contemporary entrepreneurs. Since his comeback at Starbucks in 2008, he has led a
transformation of the business, getting the company to profitable, sustainable growth with
a renewed concentration on Starbucks coffee legacy, customer experience and innovation.
His success has also stirred up leaders both outside and inside the company to take deed
to assist local communities.

References
Behar, Howard, and Janet Goldstein. It's Not About the Coffee: Lessons on Putting
People First from a Life at Starbucks. New York: Portfolio, 2009. Print.
Bussing-Burks, Marie. Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press, 2009. Print.
Hess, Edward D. Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks
of Growth. New York: Columbia Business School Publishing, 2010. Print.
Schultz, Howard, and Joanne Gordon. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life
Without Losing Its Soul. West Sussex [England: Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.