The Starbucks Experience

So - I have this goal for the summer to read at least 15 books! I visited Amazon.com last week and made my first order of 7 books. I'm on my way - AND - getting a head start on my reading! I'm starting with "The Starbucks Experience" and as of last night, I am on page 55. What a GREAT read! Check it out here. It's all about the 5 BASIC principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary and Starbucks seems to have the market cornered on customer service! I don't even like coffee and I enjoy going to a Starbucks simply for their exemplary service!

The five key leadership principles that transformed an ordinary idea into an extraordinary experience are:

Principle # 1 - Make It Your Own
Principle # 2 - Everything Matters
Principle # 3 - Surprise and Delight
Principle # 4 - Embrace Resistance
Principle # 5 - Leave Your Mark

One of my favorite sections in the book (well, so far at least) comes from a quote from Starbucks Chairman, Howard Schultz. He says, "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee... we continually are reminded of the powerful need and desire for human contact and for community... the Starbucks environment has become as important as the coffee itself."

Wow - let's take that in the church environment. We have the MOST important message on the face of the planet, bar none! How can we learn to incorporate the thoughts and ideas from Starbucks to create a fantastic experience for our "customers"? After all - couldn't we say that we are not in the God business serving people, but in the people business serving God? I think we can learn a lot about serving God to people in and through our churches from Starbucks and I am prepared to absorb all I can from this book and put it use within my serving/leadership role in my church.

At Starbucks they have what they all the "Green Apron Book". It consists of 5 basic principles that Starbucks managers have provided to their employees to infuse themselves into their work, so that they can inspire customers in legendary ways. They call these the "Five Ways of Being":

Be Welcoming
Be Genuine
Be Considerate
Be Knowledgeable
Be Involved

These same principles could apply to us as a church body. When serving our guests in church, who have come to hear, possibly for the very first time, the most relevant message on earth, we need to make sure that all of the above are taken into account to ensure a quality experience!

Okay - so you just need to go out an buy the book! I'm giving too much away... more to follow on this topic later. :)