Thread by @AarohMankad

Thread: How do you scale an intimate experience to an international stage? Former Starbucks CEO @HowardSchultz chimes in on this @mastersofscale episode. Some excerpts follow:

mastersofscale.com/how-to-scale-i…

First and foremost, @Starbucks is not a coffee business serving people. Starbucks is a people business serving people.

This foundation makes sure that every decision made is for the good of the customer *first*, not the bottom line.

To back this point, @HowardSchultz leads meetings with one thought.

Every meeting has two empty chairs, one for a customer and one for a partner (employee). If they wouldn't be proud of the decision, it doesn't go through.

Starbucks has to think of the customer first. A coffee shop is like a barber. You have *your* coffee shop, there's loyalty involved.

So how does Starbucks gain the loyalty of their customers? It starts with the employees.

25 years before the Affordable Care Act, Starbucks became the first company in America to offer comprehensive health insurance and stock options to ALL of their employees.

Even college tuition through @asuonline was compensated!

All of these incentives cost a lot of money. So why offer them at all when they hurt the bottom line in the short-term?

Because employee loyalty leads to a lower attrition rate, and increases sense of belonging to the company.

If your business relies on folks LOVING your company, invest in your employees.

Happy employees create meaningful interactions with customers.

/thread