Starbucks Coffee Corporation held their 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, March 22nd at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. It was significant in that it was their 25th annual meeting as a public company and Howard Schultz’s last as CEO. As an executive coach who helps leaders…
DetailsIn strategy + business magazine, Theodore Kinni asked Tom Peters for his current short list of book recommendations “Tom Peters Wants You To Read“. The list is both useful and impressive. Busy leaders tend to be so busy that they are not reading enough. Not enough business related copy, nor enough fiction (not 1000 page novels). Tom’s list is a…
DetailsIf you were to ask your employees and customers what flavor your company is (product, service or culture), what kinds of responses would you get? Is it spicy like a hot salsa or bland like plain oatmeal? Is your product line or company culture as exciting as it is at Ferrari or Apple? Could your…
DetailsA feel-good business story about employee paychecks! Congratulations to Dan Price, CEO of Seattle’s Gravity Payments, for making such a bold move. A study on happiness convinced him to pay all of his employees at least $70,000 a year. A great step towards reinventing the middle class! Check out the articles here: New York Times & Slate
DetailsToday people are busier then ever, trying to accomplish as much as they possibly can. Many employees are spending nearly as much time at work as they do at home. Electronically, once we head home we are still connected to work. At some point in time the quality of our work tapers off and the…
DetailsIn January, upon conclusion of all the New Year’s festivities, I see some events that occur year after year. They are positively intended and excellent in theory, yet I don’t believe that they work very well for most people. The first event I see, is a flurry of stories in newspapers, on television and on…
DetailsIt seems like with some people, interacting with them can be like pulling teeth or walking on egg shells. You have to be ultra careful in what you say or do. It is almost as if you are darned if you do and darned if you don’t. We often live in fear of causing harm…
DetailsFeedback is one of the most powerful tools available to improve organizational effectiveness and leadership success, yet so many organizations don’t use it at all, use it ineffectively, or not nearly as much as they should. It can be gathered in a variety of ways and from a variety of sources, but is really only…
DetailsIf you are an organizational leader, I hope you have had an opportunity to watch several episodes of the reality television show Undercover Boss on CBS. On each episode the CEO or top executive goes undercover in their own company to see first hand what kinds of things go on on the front line. Before…
DetailsLocation is an extremely powerful non-verbal cue. If you go inside yourself and think about any special memory from the past, location is often paramount. When you reflect back on a favorite vacation or think about the moment when you proposed or were proposed to by your significant other, the location is often one of…
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