Book concerns an older white male who got fired at age 53 by a younger women he had hired. He had worked for 30 years at the company, made good money etc. and was now considered an "old guy" by new, young management and is laid off for no reason. He mentioned he got the job through "contacts" (graduated from a prestige University etc.) and had been very successful, both career wise and financially.
He was a "consultant" after he was fired. Due ot an affair, he divorced his wife, his "consulting" business was rapidly diminshing and he was beginning to hit bottom.
Through an accidental meeting, he is (lprobably as a joke) offered a job at Starbucks by a young, female, Black Starbucks Manager. He suddenly becomes one of "them"-a minority in all ways-while with an all Black crews, priveleged in a group of poor, educated versus uneducated older (64) in a group of young, and now the "sever" rather than the "seved".
The first part really made me think about how I manage "people not like me". He mentioned how he gave lip service (and probably meant it) to diversity etc., but realizes now he hadn't really considered the other person and how their background was different. I am reviewing this myself and will continue to do so to see if I am considering the different backgrounds etc. of both customers and employees.
Another theme that is reinforced by his experience and by the Starbucks Manager is true "Respect"-not just politeness or patience, but true respect. (In one example, a street person comes in to use the bathroom he just cleaned. He tells him it is "closed" and the Manager informs him anyone who enters is a guest, whether a paying customer or not. Being a part of the "Team" (or Partners as Starbuck employees are called) is an important aspect. A large part of the success of Starbucks (and loyalty of the Partners), according to this book, is that Starbucks provided benefits that showed the company actually cared for the the Partners. I get the emphasis from the book of the importance of the health plan, how it not only made the Partners healthier, but also felt they were respected by the company.
Starbucks emphasizes that all Partners are encouraged to make suggestions and his experience indicates they do this in a successful manner. Starbucks success is partly showing respect for and taking care of the Partners.
I found it interesting at the close of the book, they are discussing how "Partners are the first priority" of Starbucks and then decide "Partners and customers are both the first priority").
It is interesting to note that after reading the book, I noted where someone was threatening to buy Starbucks and "make it efficient", probably thus destroying the culture and destroying the company and making a lot of underwriters rich.
