When Howard Behar was the president of Starbucks Coffee, the local coffee shop went from 28 local stores to over 15,000 stores worldwide.
How?
They put people first.
Howard coined the term, “It’s not about the coffee; it's about the people,” and he helped create a culture that lived up to it.
In an interview with Jon Gordon, he talked about how he did it.
A couple of quick takeaways early in the interview include:
Have a purpose bigger than yourself.
Culture is how we treat each other. Every organization and family has a culture; the question is, “Is this the culture we want?”
How to Build a Great Culture
1 - When he was asked how to build a great culture, Howard said it starts with asking yourself, “Who am I? What motivates and drives me? What are my values?” He says always to be who you are. You want to have truth and honesty about who you are and what you want to achieve. People need to know what to expect from you, and that comes from consistently being you.
2 - Then, hire people who reflect your values and coach and develop them according to those values.
3 - He then says it’s important to define what success is for your team and the people and give the same speech 10,000 times to drive the message while recognizing and rewarding what you say you value. Mission drift is when people lose sight of the vision and mission, so you have to be consistent in words and actions.
The Number 1 Job of a Leader
Howard says the number 1 job of a leader is to serve others and help them achieve what they want so they can help you achieve what you want. When you grow people, the people grow the organization, and the organization grows the business. You mentor and coach the people around you and your direct reports, and they grow the people around them, and the organization grows with everyone.
Howard says the greatest reward is developing people, seeing them grow, and then watching them do great things and lead somewhere else.
Imposter Syndrome
Around the 25-minute mark, Howard talked about some of the insecurities he had early in his career. He didn’t have anywhere near the education that some of the top leaders at Starbucks had, and he said if he could do one thing differently, it would be knowing that the degree didn’t matter in leadership.
There is another way of leading. You don’t have to be a jerk to get results.
Do what you love and do it the right way and you can live with the result.
Your Best Piece of Advice
When asked what the best piece of advice that he has for others is, Howard said, “On the Journey of life, if you don’t know where you are going, any path will get you there.”
He says to define the 5-10 core values that mean the most to you and write them down. Then write a sentence for how you will define and use the word. Then, write a paragraph about how you want to live your life, then create a plan: 1, 3, and 5-year plan.
This was my biggest takeaway from his message.
His 6 Ps
Purpose - Have a purpose that’s bigger than yourself.
Passion - Be passionate about your purpose.
Persistence - There are lots of rocks on the river of life, some you will see, some you won’t, and some you put in the way yourself. The purpose is to get over and around them.
Patience - Not everything in life will come in the timeframe you want; you have to have patience with yourself and others.
Performance - Performance Matters
Serving People - We are put on this earth to serve people.
Book Recommendations
Howard said the following books impacted his leadership and life:
The Leader as Servant - Robert Greenleaf
The One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard
Max Dupree - Leadership is an Art
Love and Profit - James Oughtry
List to the full podcast here: Howard Behar: Putting People First