Howard Behar is one of three top executives who have helped shape one of the most recognized companies in the world: Starbucks. A widely acclaimed leader, Behar, with his signature energy, smarts, high expectations, and belief in people, has become a symbol of the soul and candor of the Starbucks culture.
InIt's Not about the Coffee, Behar outlines his simple yet effective approach to success: focus on people over profits. He offers ten fundamental leadership lessons we all need to practice as well as preach every day, including clarity of purpose, listening, truth telling, accountability, and persistence. Each chapter explores one of these principles, incorporating inside stories of turning points in the development of Starbucks' culture and business and offering inspiring advice.
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"If you are a Starbucks Partner, this book will speak volumes to you. Especially if you are in or are seeking a leadership position. Many reviews say it is vague, but I think that unless you understand or a part of the Starbucks culture, you won't get it as truly as we do. I am currently being promoted to assistant manager and this book opened my eyes to many new ideas."
— Dylan (5 out of 5 stars)
“The tips inside are intelligent, heartfelt, tested and honed in reality. Bravo.”
— David Allen, author of Getting Things Done“It’s Not About the Coffee offers the true ingredients for enduring results: a set of proven principles we can all aspire to work and live by.”
— Bob Fisher, former chairman, Gap Inc.“Howard Behar, the keeper of Starbucks’ soul for many years, has given us a book about how to succeed anywhere—not just in business. His ten principles should be required reading for every government official and college president.”
— Former US Senator Bill Bradley“The voice of experience and in-house examples from a popular company make for a decent read for those wanting to develop or refresh basic business leadership skills.”
— Publishers Weekly" Great leadership book with lots of ideas for application. I enjoyed it most when highly caffeinated ;) "
— Suzy, 2/18/2014" Readable little book of thoughts on how to be a good manager and/or a good employee, and how to carry those skills over to your organization. "
— Stephanie, 1/24/2014" It was interesting to learn a little more about the Starbucks corporate culture. "
— Lesley, 1/24/2014" This may be the worst book I have ever read. I felt like I read a 160 page advertisement for Starbucks. Every chapter is the same "Starbucks is successful because I found a way to put people first." You will read about countless example of how the author put people first and learned a life lesson. He is definitely a fan of tooting his own horn. "
— Kevin, 1/22/2014" Excellant leadership principles. "I decided to lead, not by trying to be a leader, but by trying to live in a way that was more true to me as a human being' p.15 "
— Marty, 1/20/2014" Great biz book. It's all intuitive but nice to reinforce. "
— Michele, 1/4/2014" Lots of little tidbits and reminders about how to keep heart in business, keep people the focus. Profits and flourishing follow when the focus is held on the people. This book certainly increased my opinion of Starbucks. "
— Maria, 12/20/2013" I only read half of this book after it was given to me after I listened to a great talk by Behar. I had great expectations but he covered everything in the book in his hour long presentation. "
— Calsee, 11/4/2013" Ok for "required reading" for work. Pretty much stated the obvious for me, but it's priciples were still valuable. "
— Katie, 9/29/2013" pretty interesting and inspiring. "
— Tanya, 6/19/2013" Great leadership insight and relevant to leadership in many arenas, not just the professional world. "
— Abby, 5/29/2013" Cute. Hopefully they do "put the people first"! Large corporations tend to forget the value of their human capital... "
— Jennifer, 1/16/2013" I really loved this book. I think it's a great read for anyone interested in Starbucks and/or leadership. Howard had some great insight into truly understanding your true self. "
— Brent, 7/30/2012" Even if you don't like coffee (or Starbucks) this book presents important leadership ideas with concrete examples from a successful entrepreneur. "
— Paula, 11/28/2011" I have read this been two or three times and will likely read it again. It provides in site and leadership skills and ideas that will last a life time. It also shares ideas that makes the idea of the worth of all persons easy. "
— Wayne, 5/8/2011" Another great leadership book. Read it twice and Howard Behar is on my list of people I'd like to meet before I die (or he does). "
— Chris, 4/5/2011" A good quick read. Some of the analogies were a little weird, but the underlying thoughts were quite good. I jotted down several items from this book to try out and use for personal enrichment. "
— Amy, 1/27/2011" I love Starbucks. Just do. This lets you know its driving force: Howard Behar. "
— Brendan, 5/15/2010" This is a great book. It would be a better world if all companies had the same outlook on how to treat their people and their customers. I have a lot of respect for the company now, and will no long look at it with an ounce of cynicism. All proceeds from the book goes to charity. "
— Regina, 3/22/2010" I'm sure he's a nice guy - donating his fee to charity etc, but I couldn't get into this. It was vague and too full of bits from other people's books - like an essay. I like personal accounts of how people run a business with concrete details, so this one wasn't for me. "
— Louise, 5/16/2009" Great book on leadership. Mr. Behar writes about his experiences as a leader at Starbucks. Interesting and relevant to all fields! "
— Alison, 3/26/2009" I learned some very good principles from this book. Especially ones that I can carry over into the work place. I learned that I can view overall humans as good people, but I also learned that Starbucks seems to not use these principles in their stores right now. "
— Bridget, 3/16/2009" Great book about leadership. Simple, but not easy ways to give your organization a sense of purpose and direction. Values based leadership that focuses on people... what a concept. The bottom line is that it's about people. Worth reading twice to catch all the little nuggets. "
— Carey, 1/6/2008Howard Behar is the former president of Starbucks Coffee Company North America and Starbucks Coffee International. He joined Starbucks in 1989 as vice president of sales and operations and oversaw the retail business growth from 28 stores to more than 400 stores in six years.
Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. Named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 250 audiobooks.