Howard Schultz quotes: Sir Starbucks schools us on success.
“You have to have a 100% belief in your core reason for being.”
“There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.”
“I believe life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all, it’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t see and pursuing that vision.”
“In anything we do, any endeavor, it’s not what you do; it’s why you do it.”
“You must find something that you deeply love and are passionate about and are willing to sacrifice a lot to achieve.”
“You have to be authentic, you have to be true, and you have to believe in your heart that this is going to work.”
“Expect more than others think possible.”
“Dream more than others think practical.”
“I am convinced that most people can achieve their dreams and beyond if they have the determination to keep trying.”
“If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.”
“But when you really believe in yourself, in your dream, you just have to do everything you possibly can to take control and make your vision a reality. No great achievement happens by luck.”
“You have to create the thing you want to be part of.”
“Success is not sustainable if it is defined by how big you become or by growth for growth’s sake. Success is very shallow if it doesn’t have emotional meaning.”
“Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners.”
“Success is best when it’s shared.”
“Care more than others think wise.”
“Work should be personal. For all of us. Not just for the artist and entrepreneur. Work should have meaning for the accountant, the construction worker, the technologist, the manager, and the clerk.”
“And with the right mentor, don’t be afraid to expose your vulnerabilities. Admit you don’t know what you don’t know. When you acknowledge your weaknesses and ask for advice, you’ll be surprised how much others will help.”
“Don’t be threatened by people smarter than you.”
“If you don’t love what you’re doing with unbridled passion and enthusiasm, you’re not going to succeed when you hit obstacles.”
“Entrepreneurs must love what they do to such a degree that doing it is worth sacrifice and, at times, pain. But doing anything else, we think, would be unimaginable.”
“I think if you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve got to dream big and then dream bigger.”
“What I would say to young entrepreneurs is there’s so many moments in your life where you have these dreams, and people are trying to protect you, and they say, perhaps, friends, family, parents sometimes, they don’t agree with it, they think, ‘This is just too high of a hurdle.’ And I don’t agree with that.”
“A great business has to have a conscience. You have to know who you are and who you are not.”
“Great companies that build an enduring brand have an emotional relationship with customers that has no barrier. And that emotional relationship is of the most important characteristic, which is trust.”
“The most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart.”
“I think my whole life, because of where I came from, I had a fear of failure.”
“I was born on the other side of the tracks, in public housing in Brooklyn, New York. My dad never made more than $20,000 a year, and I grew up in a family that lost health insurance. So I was scared at a young age with understanding what it was like to watch my parents lose access to the American dream.”
“Growing up I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier families.”
“At an early age, my mother gave me this feeling that anything is possible, and I believed that.”
“In life, you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity, or you can pick yourself up and say, ‘Listen, I have to be responsible for myself.’”
“Because not everyone can take charge of his or her destiny, those who do rise to positions of authority have a responsibility to keep the enterprise running, not only to steer the correct course, but to make sure that no one is left behind.”
“You have to be honest and authentic and not hide. I think the leader today has to demonstrate both transparency and vulnerability, and with that comes truthfulness and humility.”
“The hardest thing about being a leader is demonstrating or showing vulnerability. When the leader demonstrates vulnerability and sensibility and brings people together, the team wins.”
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”
“When you start a company, it’s a singular focus. You have the wind at your back.”
“Managing a business, small or large, today, requires an extremely disciplined, thoughtful approach with regard to the pressure that people are under.”
“You can’t build any kind of organization if you’re not going to surround yourself with people who have experience and skill base beyond your own.”
“Great opportunities can be and have been created during tough economic times.”
“Even though people are under economic pressure, they still want to support those brands with values that are compatible with their own.”
“You walk into a retail store, whatever it is, and if there’s a sense of entertainment and excitement and electricity, you wanna be there.”
“Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. The other side of it is that you can’t cut enough costs to save your way to prosperity.”
“Profitability is a shallow goal if it doesn’t have a real purpose, and the purpose has to be: share the profits with others.”
“We need to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers. That is my new battle cry. Live and breathe Starbucks the way our customers do.”
“It was not the calling of coffee, but the calling to try to build a company that my father never got a chance to work for.”
“I could’ve just walked away but I never could have forgiven myself to allow Starbucks to drift into mediocrity or not be relevant. I just couldn’t be a bystander.”
“I never took classic business classes in college, so I don’t have the background that any of the people running large companies have.”
“Starbucks is in my blood. It is such a part of me that letting it unravel simply was not an option.”
“As a business leader, my quest has never been just about winning or making money. It has also been about building a great, enduring company, which has always meant striking a balance between profit and social conscience.”
“I always saw myself wanting to do something deemed successful and good at the same time.”
“Everyone must have a shot at the American Dream.”
“I feel so strongly that the reason I’m here is I dreamed big dreams. I dreamed the kind of dreams that other people said would not be possible.”
“My passion. My commitment. This is the most important thing in my life other than my family.”
“I can’t imagine a day without coffee. I can’t imagine!”
“I never wanted to be on any billionaires list. I never define myself by net worth. I always try to define myself by my values.”
