Eugene Cho

Monday, August 15, 2011 • 12:01 am 11

building bridges > burning bridges

Do yourself a favor and watch this. It’s 7:15 minutes long but well worth your time.

Such a substantive leadership lesson in itself by Bill Hybels as he explains why Howard Schultz withdrew his commitment as a speaker at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit (held on August 11-12). And furthermore, how he and Willow Creek are responding…

I was particularly convicted and stirred by these  leadership ideas:

Build rather than Burn Bridges

I’m not a huge Howard Schultz fan. Honestly, I’m sure he’s a swell guy but the whole Seattle Sonics fiasco has left me a little very bitter. I would have used the Read the rest of this entry »

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009 • 12:49 am 24

starbucks “de-brands” itself as your local cafe

photo from Seattle PI

By now, many folks know that Starbucks has chosen to experiment by “de-branding” themselves by opening up three “neighborhood” coffee & tea shops called 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea. Along with coffee and tea, these stores will also sell wine and beer. I have yet to visit one of these shops but intend to at some point to see what the fuss is about.

The question is: “Will it work?”

I was told my Starbucks employees that they’re goal is to entice people that don’t normally go to Starbucks. And while some may go, they should be smart enough to know that that folks that are reasons why folks don’t go to Starbucks.  De-Branding yourself isn’t going to change that, will it?

Will it? Good idea?

Here’s my take: Read the rest of this entry »

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008 • 1:47 am 22

what if starbucks marketed like a church?

This video entitled What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable is making the rounds around blogosphere.  It was created to “help churches to truly understand the disconnection between how we do things and the people we’re trying to reach.”

Take a look. Thoughts?

My thoughts:  

  • Well made video.  Helps visualize some great points since it’s so easy for a church to grow disconnected in our insular world.  
  • As I’ve shared on a post entitled Soul of Starbucks, it’s a great company to work for but brutal to compete against. 
  • And interesting that this video was released about a week before Starbucks released news that their profits decreased 97% during their 4Q.  They’ve laid off over 1000 people this year and closed or in the process of closing 600 stores this year.   
  • And at least here in Seattle [headquarters of Starbucks], it doesn’t help that their CEO, Howard Schultz, currently ain’t the most popular people for selling off our NBA professional basketball team to someone who eventually moved it over to Oklahoma.
  • But something about this video freaks me out.  I know it’s a parable but do we really want to see Starbucks or a corporate giant as a good juxtaposition?

So, while there are lessons to be learned in this video, maybe there are other lessons to consider.  No? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: church, emerging church, religion,

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 • 9:52 pm 5

starbucks barista donates organ to customer

“Umm, I’ll take a tall double shot non-fat hazelnut latte with a kidney, please.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: health, , ,

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 • 2:31 am 35

the soul of starbucks?

Yesterday, Starbucks was again in the local and national news because about 7100 of the national Starbucks stores were closed around 5.30pm so that their 135,000 employees could undergo about 3 hours of training for:

Part back-to-basics tutorial, part pep rally, the teach-in aimed to reacquaint baristas with the art of pulling the perfect shot of espresso and steaming milk to add a subtle hint of sweetness to a latte and give the velvety foam on top just the right thickness. [full article]

This is one of the many recent changes that have taken place at Starbucks since the return of Howard “I Sold out the Seattle Supersonics” Schultz.  There are too many to name but I’d love to hear what your thoughts are about these changes.  Read the rest of this entry »

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