Business Energetix

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else

by Michael Gates Gill, (2007)

Reviewed by Marti Benjamin, MBA, PPC

When I started to read this book I had no intention of reviewing it in this ezine. I heard the author interviewed on a radio program and he described his experience so vividly that I bought the book and began what I thought would be a light, recreational read. About halfway through, I realized that Gill was providing insight into effective management from the perspective of an appreciative employee and that there might be value for business leaders to hear his message.

"This is the true, surprising story of an old white man who was kicked out of the top of the American Establishment, by chance met a young African-American woman from a completely different background, and came to learn what is important in life." (Page 1) That's the beginning of Michael Gates Gill's story of being fired after 25 years from a senior position in an advertising firm and landing a job at Starbucks, a job that came to mean more to him than his high-status executive position with all the perks and benefits imaginable.

A job was not the reason for Gill's being at the Starbucks that morning and when Crystal, the Starbucks manager conducting a job fair, asked him if he wanted one, his affirmative response was something short of sincere. As the conversation proceeded, he became more interested in the idea of working with this young woman, serving the lattes he had come to see as one of his last available luxuries as he struggled to survive without the privilege he had always known. Mike, as he chose to be known in the partner-world of Starbucks, went to work in a neighborhood previously beyond his defined comfort zone in Manhattan. Day one as a barista was the beginning of a new lesson in management for Mike.

Asking Respectfully
One of Starbuck's practices is to make requests; no one ever orders anyone to do anything. Managers make polite requests and partners respond with grace and courtesy; partners ask one another, "Could you do me a favor?" The behavior flows from a conscious commitment to the individual dignity and respect of each individual.

Showing and Telling
Crystal began immediately with Mike modeling the behavior that she expected from the partners in her store—she served coffee and added lightness and graciousness to the interaction. She shared her product knowledge and let him know that she expected him to learn about the origin of the various coffee varieties and to be able to speak knowledgeably about them. She made learning the product and job responsibilities enjoyable.

Starbucks uses a model they call "training by sharing" to orient new hires. Not unique to this company, but executed very well, this model has a seasoned employee mentoring and being mentored by the new hire. In working together, they both gain a new view of the work tasks and the procedures to be completed.

No Job too Small
The atmosphere of respect for the individual and commitment to team began to work on Mike and he found himself liking this work that had previously seemed demeaning. Mike found real joy and satisfaction where he least expected it—cleaning the store. True to the training by sharing model, Crystal showed Mike, who had never cleaned anything in his privileged life, how to detail the bathroom. "I was surprised how little revulsion I felt for a job I would have previously thought too far beneath me and much too humiliating to even contemplate. But since Crystal seemed to be so positive about it, her respect for the challenge of cleaning a bathroom made me feel differently. It was a worthy effort to her, and who was I to argue with Crystal's view of work and the world?" (Page 78)

Respect as a Business Strategy
Respect is extended in the Starbucks world to everyone who enters the store, whether they are buying something or not. They are guests not customers and they are welcomed. The respect becomes a loop, circling back to the partners and particularly to the self. Gill's sense of self-respect unfolds as he spends his first year as a Starbucks partner experiencing dignity and accomplishment in physically challenging work in an environment he once thought beneath his station in life.

Feedback and Move On
Feedback from Starbucks management is timely and specific. After an incident in which Crystal was clearly angry, she informed Mike of the standard of behavior expected in the store, stated the guideline and moved on. "I was to learn that Crystal didn't harbor grudges. She let you know when she didn't like something you did, the moment you did it. And she never brought it up again." (Page 80)

Praise Generously and Sincerely
Throughout his story, Gill describes the praise and acknowledgment that Crystal generously handed out to everyone in the store. He frequently describes feeling like he had just won a major competition when she recognized one of his efforts with a smile and, "Good job." Not only was Crystal a great manager, she had become that way through a culture that behaved as it said it would. "At Starbucks, everyone was respected, and many, if not most, were recognized…not just at special forums, but every day, in every store." (Page 201)

View from the Receiving End
Management lessons from the employee perspective, this book turns the weighty academic tomes into a real life experience and shows that it can be done—business can be profitable and respectful at the same time.