Starbucks Again?

As I read the news of Starbucks closing 600 of its corporately owned stores I had a couple of thoughts. One thought was that I was wondering if this was going to affect any Wausau Starbucks, where I live. I would hate to have to drive an extra 5-minutes to get my triple-venti non-fat latte. The other thought was that it was rather ironic that this news developed the week after I had written about them and a week after Howard Schultz showed up on the cover Conde Nast Portfolio magazine. I also wondered for a moment if this was perhaps bad timing on my part…but then I realized that this was more likely good timing.

The decision to close 600-stores obviously is not an easy one. The cost to the company will be approximately $350 Million…not a small cost to any company. But I believe the harder decision for a company that values its people, and always has, was the impact that it would have on the employees of those 600 stores. Starbucks has committed to either find a new job for of the employees affected or if that is not possible they have agreed to provide those employees with a severance package.

A decision like this doesn’t happen overnight. So it is quite obvious that Howard Schultz was keenly aware of the probability of these store closings when he was interviewed for the article I read in Conde Nast. So was Schultz’s portrayal of the company dishonest? I don’t think so. He chose his words carefully and he projected a very positive future for Starbucks…but he also did not downplay the struggles and the challenges that they were facing.

For me this was rather enlightening. Not that it is a new concept or a new idea…but rather a “real life as it is happening” look into the growing pains of a 37-year old company. Howard Schultz was probably quite happy that they had 16,000 locations world-wide but yet he isn’t content with that. His goal is to have 40,000. The obvious here is that if your goal is to more than double your size…a bad start is to begin by going backwards. Yet sometimes the necessary thing that must happen is that we must take a step back to move forward.

In the article the author mentions that Howard Schultz is basically calling a “re-do” or a “do-over.” His desire is to bring Starbucks back to the point it was at when it was at its highest point. When stock was climbing continually and it seemed as though the world couldn’t get enough of Starbucks.

As you grow the choices don’t necessarily get easier. The challenges don’t go away. And the hurdles don’t get lower. It seems as though Starbucks may have skinned a knee going over its last hurdle…but it also appears that they aren’t willing to give up on the race. And neither should we as we continue to run our own race.

Galatians 5:6-8 – “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.”

Have a blessed day,

RodZ

© 2008 – Rodney Zimmerman – All rights reserved