The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary

“Keen insight on the transformational power of Starbucks.”-Dr. Jackie Freiberg, bestselling coauthor, Guts! and Nuts!

“Practical, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately.”-Brian Tracy, bestselling author of Million Dollar Habits

How did Starbucks turn a cup of coffee into a worldwide business phenomenon? With unique access to Starbucks personnel and resources, Joseph Michelli isolated the 5 key leadership principles that transformed an ordinary idea into an extraordinary experience.

• Principle 1: Make It Your Own
• Principle 2: Everything Matters
• Principle 3: Surprise and Delight
• Principle 4: Embrace Resistance
• Principle 5: Leave Your Mark

Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D., is the founder of Lessons for Success, a training, consulting, and keynote presentation company. He also hosts an award-winning daily radio show on KVOR-AM in Colorado and speaks to various organizations throughout the world. Visit josephmichelli.com

Publishers Weekly

In this paean to "one of the truly exceptional American success stories," Michelli convinces the reader that Starbucks is a great company, but he stumbles when trying to extract "precepts that can enhance your business and your personal life." He explores the various levels on which Starbucks succeeds, from its generous HR policies and lively work environment to its attention to detail and genuine concern for social causes all of which highlight how singular a company it is. (Michelli throws in the word "unique" as often as twice a sentence.) But when it comes to advice for businesspeople, his "simple, yet not simplistic" tenets are too vague to be very helpful. Michelli notes that he has no personal stake in Starbucks: "I am not here to sell you on the company." But his enthused exclamations "It is difficult to imagine all the great things that are yet to come for Starbucks" give The Starbucks Experience the ring of an authorized book. Still, the company's practices are undeniably innovative and inspiring, and even if most of them aren't directly relevant, there's surely something in this book that's applicable to most businesses. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.