Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

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Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 3,245 ratings · 386 reviews

In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decision to return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became chairman. Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul.

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Hardcover, 350 pages

Published March 29th 2011 by Rodale Books

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May 09, 2011 Simon Ruddell rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Pour Your Heart Into It. Make no mistake, I love Starbucks, both as a customer and as an investor, but this volume lacks the warmth and sheer adventure of the account of the startup of Starbucks.
The most interesting aspect of this account, for me, is that it serves as a perfect illustration of how annoying American upper managament can be. Nothing is ever good enough or fast enough for this man. Everyone has to passionately commit. Everything has to be be...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Austin Storm rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks

There are interesting events detailed in this book, but you have to work through the murk of endless corporate jargon to get to them. I have no doubt that this is Howard Schultz's authentic voice, but he hasn't adapted himself to the medium here. A structure he uses frequently is to print a transcript of a speech he gave - a shareholder meeting or earnings call - and then intersperse his thought process. The repetition and positivity are grueling - it's a tract for die-hard fans.

A few moments re...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Gil rated it 5 of 5 stars

Howard Schultz is very passionate about coffee. He treats it on the same level as brain surgery or the NASA space program. It's fun to read about the inner-workings of such a high profile company.

I'm an orthodox Mormon, and don't drink coffee. Schultz' descriptions of the roasts and blends are so enticing that I have almost stopped in and broken my vows several times. Not because I'm going to become a regular coffee drinker--because I want to taste their different roasts, machines, and cappuccin...more Howard Schultz is very passionate about coffee. He treats it on the same level as brain surgery or the NASA space program. It's fun to read about the inner-workings of such a high profile company.

I'm an orthodox Mormon, and don't drink coffee. Schultz' descriptions of the roasts and blends are so enticing that I have almost stopped in and broken my vows several times. Not because I'm going to become a regular coffee drinker--because I want to taste their different roasts, machines, and cappuccinos for context. I'm only halfway through this book and I'm sure at some point my drive for context will take me to a Starbucks. Note to self: to avoid temptation, don't ever read books which shamelessly promote drugs, alcohol, or prostitution.

UPDATE: I'm finished with the book. Amazingly, I didn't go to Starbucks and get five different blends of coffee and line them up and taste them, even though I really wanted to while reading this book. I stuck to my Mormon roots.

I first found out about the story of Howard Schultz by listening to a private equity fund manager who raved about Schultz' passion and ability to take over Starbucks. For those who don't know, Schultz worked at a gourmet coffee distribution company called Starbucks. Schultz kept pitching the idea of opening consumer coffee retail store and selling gourmet cups of coffee. His bosses never thought it would work. So Schultz went and opened up several consumer coffee retail stores and when he became big enough, he purchased Starbucks, the distribution company. I really wanted to hear about how that happened. Unfortunately, he glossed over that story, mentioning it almost as an afterthought.

The majority of this book focused on how Schultz and Starbucks created an entirely new economy of gourmet coffee houses. I think that is certainly the case. In fact, just yesterday (July 6, 2011), a Wall Street Journal article hypothesized that Starbucks groomed the palates of coffee drinkers here in the U.S. to the point that many people are searching for even better coffee than Starbucks can provide, driving them to find smaller gourmet coffee houses that can provide even higher quality brews than Starbucks can (since Starbucks must serve millions and can't possibly maintain quality that small coffee houses can).

This story was fascinating. Schultz left the CEO position and then during the recession Starbucks stock price dropped 42% returned as CEO and performed a turnaround. Listening to him go on and on about the intricacies of the fresh roast of Ethiopian Arabica beans and the clover filtering system firmly impresses in me the fact that Mr. Schultz will never be able to leave Starbucks in anyone else's hands than his own (which are quite capable).

Onward was a great read--and I don't even drink coffee. I can't imagine if I was a consumer--I probably would have liked it even more.(less)

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May 12, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decisionto return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became chairman. Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul. In Onward, he shares the remarkable story of his return and the company’s ongoing transformation under his leadership, reveali

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Jan 13, 2013 Mykola Dumenko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Onward by Howard Schultz

My overall feel of this book:

I enjoyed reading this book. I bought it because I wanted to know more about Starbucks, about how to build a global brand, about how to expand and build a successful, meaningful and lasting business. Howard gives a pretty good picture of his experience after returning as CEO in 2007. This book paints a detailed story about the various difficulties that Starbucks experienced during the last financial crises, and Howard also provides details of...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Mavpion rated it 4 of 5 stars

Onward tells the story of the CEOs return to Starbucks when he notices it is in the process of slowly self-destructing. He goes over his process of turning it around and tells why he did it, what was successful, and what failed. The book suffers from ghostwriting and feels like propaganda, but the story it tells is real and worth reading.

Let me start with my complaints before I get into why I like this book. First, this book comes across as a barely disguised piece of propaganda and really seems...more Onward tells the story of the CEOs return to Starbucks when he notices it is in the process of slowly self-destructing. He goes over his process of turning it around and tells why he did it, what was successful, and what failed. The book suffers from ghostwriting and feels like propaganda, but the story it tells is real and worth reading.

Let me start with my complaints before I get into why I like this book. First, this book comes across as a barely disguised piece of propaganda and really seems to lack the honesty and introspection from a good "This is how I succeeded" business book, but perhaps this is because it is ghostwritten. For instance, whenever he talks about having to lay people off or fire someone, he always talks about how emotional he gets. Or when a bunch of Starbucks employees listen to him or show up to mandatory meetings and then clap he says he's blown away by how much they are responding to his ideas (really--maybe it's because he's their boss). Another example is how he says that he loves coffee so much, and then proceeds to act like Starbucks is the best coffee available. I think Starbucks has really done a great job of familiarizing people with good coffee, but it's definitely not the best available...

Now, for the good stuff. Even though the book comes across as dishonest in tone, every fact I found in there checks out. For instance, he talks about what was wrong with Starbucks when he came back as CEO--and these things are exactly the reasons I stopped going. And the fixes he applied actually worked--after reading this, I went to Starbucks again and it was so much better than it had been. His description of his turnaround and financial performance matches the stock prices during that period--and he is pretty straightforward about which of his changes worked and which didn't. One of the projects he was immensely proud of was the Starbucks "Via" product (freeze-dried coffee), and he has a right to be--it's the only instant coffee which smells and tastes like the real thing.

So, even though this book feels dishonest, I felt that the actual message and stories were real, inspiring, and completely worth reading. This is one time where the message is definitely more important than the telling.(less)

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Aug 31, 2012 Jun rated it 4 of 5 stars

See full review at my blog: http://liketoread.wordpress.com/2012/...

I don’t drink coffee but have always been fascinated by the popularity of Starbucks, and its customer loyalty. After reading this book, Onward, made me want to work for Howard Schultz (founder & ceo)/Starbucks, even as a non-coffee drinker.

The book is not about the company’s inception and so forth but is about Starbucks 2.0 – return of Howard Schultz as the CEO to save the company from collapsing. There is a brief introducti...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Huey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I came to know the sincerity of Howard Schultz's words while doing a Sports Marketing module in school. This book was sincere, heartfelt, touching, reflective and engaging. I felt Schult'z passion as a coffee lover, a businessman and a human through each and every of his narration in the book. His every chapter hit a different emotion and I felt as though I was "live" throughout every step of the Onward journey of Starbucks.

This book documents what many people and company goes through and Mr Sc...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Carla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Passion. That's the word that comes to mind when I read this book and if you would ask me to summarize it. Howard Schultz is passionate about Starbucks and this passion is what Starbucks makes the company, stores and the people. In good and bad times. This book describes all parts of the organization, from the coffee to the Lean method that was implemented. Schultz is not shy to tell what went wrong, what needed improvement (sometimes desperately) and where he failed himself. I think that's brav...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Brad Hopkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm sitting in a Starbucks. Let me be a bit more accurate. I'm sitting in a Target, with a Starbucks. The Starbucks in Target is not an official "Company Store." Because of this, certain promotions may not apply or be available at a Target Starbucks and employees at these Target Starbucks are employees of Target, not Starbucks. Regardless, I generally drink black coffee, so for me, the proximity trumps the experience of going to a company store, the closest of which is either Hagerstown or Winch...more I'm sitting in a Starbucks. Let me be a bit more accurate. I'm sitting in a Target, with a Starbucks. The Starbucks in Target is not an official "Company Store." Because of this, certain promotions may not apply or be available at a Target Starbucks and employees at these Target Starbucks are employees of Target, not Starbucks. Regardless, I generally drink black coffee, so for me, the proximity trumps the experience of going to a company store, the closest of which is either Hagerstown or Winchester.

Why does this matter? In Onward, How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul, Howard Schultz (Starbucks ceo) tells the story of the heritage of Starbucks and how that deviating from that heritage had caused Starbucks to lose its magic.

To say that a Starbucks in Target has any of that magic would probably be disingenuous. To be frank, it doesn't. It doesn't really have the same vibe. There's no wireless internet so there are fewer people working on computers than you would see in a typical Starbucks and the smell of coffee is overwhelmed by the smell of the marinara from the Pizza Hut. But, the coffee is good and the lack of people makes it a good workspace.

How important is the smell? Early on in Onward, Howard Schultz pinpoints the breakfast sandwich, or more accurately, the offensive smell of burnt cheese that was released from the sandwich as an acute example of the deteriorating Starbucks store experience. The breakfast sandwiches, which were popular and profitable, were just one in a growing list of problems that was tearing away at the essence of Starbucks. This list would ultimately bring Schultz back to the role of ceo.

The story of Starbucks and how they regained their footing during difficult times provides not only a good history of the company - the failures of Sorbetto, the hard work and effort that went into products like Via, the development of Pike Place Roast, the importance of the New Orleans leadership conference and the overhauling of the supply chain management - but also a good lesson for entrepreneurs that there is no one silver bullet that will help you transform your business.

Transformation of this type is only done through hard work, focused management, dedicated employees and everyone buying in to the direction that the company has embarked upon. Much of the book is focused on the "Transformation Agenda" which was essentially a long-term vision of what needed to be done to change the negative direction of the company.

Why the need for transformation? Starbucks had "trapped itself in a vicious cycle that celebrated the velocity of sales instead of what we were selling. We were opening as many as six stores each day, and every quarter our people were under intense pressure from Wall Street - and from within the company - to exceed past performance by showing increased comparative store sales, or comps, which are year-to-year differences in revenue generated by a retailers existing stores." (Page 35)

Eventually, this vicious cycle along with a faltering economy manifested itself with a breathtaking drop in every metric that mattered.

"At the end of April 2008, we faced Starbucks' second-quarter earnings. The numbers told a dispiriting story.

Compared to a year earlier, global operating income for the quarter had sunk an unbelievable 26 percent, to $178 million. Earnings were down 28 percent, to $109 million, as our operating margins shrank from 10.7 percent to 7.1 percent of net revenues. Most frightening of all, the company's total comps were negative for the first time in Starbucks' history. In the United States alone, customer transactions were down 5 percent and ticket sales, how much each customer spent per visit had gone up a mere 1 percent! … After almost 16 years of 5 percent or higher comps, such poor performance was so unfamiliar, even unthinkable, that it quite literally took our breath away." (Page 144)

As a fan of Starbucks and the owner of a small business, I found the history interesting and the thought process behind the turnaround enlightening. The book has also helped me think about the guiding principles of my own business. I also find that I look at Starbucks - the physical location and employees, or partners as they call them - differently, probably more critically. I look at the products that they create, like the new Starbucks K-Cup and Blonde Roast and think about the work that must have gone into developing them and how closely they align with what I read.

When it comes to Starbucks, or any business that captures our attention (like Apple, Inc.), we tend to make sweeping judgements about them based on their users or those who espouse the products. Starbucks, and its so-called $4 coffee, or funny names for small, medium and large, is often an easy target. After reading Onward, I feel like I have a better understanding of what makes Starbucks, Starbucks.
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Feb 15, 2012 Bill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Onward was recommended by a student who spent his last semester of high-school doing field work related to customer service and the customer experience. He was very excited about the book, and I'm glad to have read it. My primary interests were the topics related to customer service. I also found the messages about how the treatment of staff relates to customer service interesting. Even though I'm not a coffee addict and my feelings about Starbucks as a place to shop are pretty neutral, I did fi...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Charles rated it 3 of 5 stars

I want to give this book 3.5 stars. Its interesting as a drama capturing the turn around of Starbucks in 2008 during the financial crisis. Like so many things during that era, the damage was self inflicted. The internal machinations of Schultz to return to the soul of Starbucks while updating and modernizing are relevant to many companies in the midst of incredible growth.What fascinates me is the emotion both positive and negative Starbucks evokes. I give them credit for many advancements but d...more

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Sep 20, 2011 David Taitelbaum rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of I should say I've never been a hardcore Starbucks person. I was interested in this book mostly because their economic woes seemed to closely follow the trends for the larger economy. The highlights of the book were the Starbuck company get-together in New Orleans when the city was still trying to recover from hurricane Katrina, and Schultz's visits to Rwanda as the company worked to expand its fair trade initiatives. I gained a lot of respect for their social responsibility.

There's a gr...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

This was a tough book for me to read and comment on. In some respects the inside look at Starbucks decline and return to profitability is a great case study for the 21st century. For me, however the story is overshadowed by the tone and attitude of Schultz. It is evident that Schultz sees Starbucks as a religion, going so far as to opine on the analogy of local Starbucks outlets having the value of churches in their communities. To this end Schultz envisions himself as the hero of his own story,...more This was a tough book for me to read and comment on. In some respects the inside look at Starbucks decline and return to profitability is a great case study for the 21st century. For me, however the story is overshadowed by the tone and attitude of Schultz. It is evident that Schultz sees Starbucks as a religion, going so far as to opine on the analogy of local Starbucks outlets having the value of churches in their communities. To this end Schultz envisions himself as the hero of his own story, dare I say even the Starbucks messiah. In my mind the book was filled with false humility and double speak.

For example, Schultz states that "Family has always been the most important thing in my life..." yet he doesn't get around to talking about his family until Chapter 7 to make matters worse he then spends athe entire chapter justifying his need to work during his annual family vacation, or as he puts it "the only time of the year when the four of us took time out from our busy lives to reconnect." In another chapter he details calling a member of his executive team on Christmas eve insistent that he meet "that day." Schultz has an interesting take on what it means to value family as the "most important thing."

In a similar vein Schultz opens the book talking about his initial inspiration for the Starbucks chain, citing the art of a pulled espresso he first witnessed in Italy and the sense of community found in the coffee culture of continental Europe. Throughout the book he laments the fact that during Starbucks rapid expansion the company had moved from manual espresso machines to an automatic espresso machine preventing customers from truly experiencing this art. Yet several chapters later he justifies, and exemplifies using a new automatic machine over a return to a manual machine because it is "4 inches shorter" and allows better interaction with the barista.

It is clear that Schultz sees himself as a knight riding in on a white horse rescuing one of America's premier companies - in turn we should all be thankful to him, flocking to Starbucks outlets, praising their progressive business model and the man responsible for it all. I found it all a bit much to swallow. Like many have said about the coffee Starbucks brews this book left me with a bitter taste.(less)

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Sep 10, 2011 Stephen E rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I like coffee, and I like reading about how things work.

But this book has a very self-congratulatory tone. Even the parts where they admit to errors in the past seem like "I thought they were errors, but realize that they were just learning experiences on my way to awesomeness".

Schultz has definitely accomplished a lot. He built a very successful chain, handed off the control to someone else, and then made big steps to rebuild it in a tough ec...more I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I like coffee, and I like reading about how things work.

But this book has a very self-congratulatory tone. Even the parts where they admit to errors in the past seem like "I thought they were errors, but realize that they were just learning experiences on my way to awesomeness".

Schultz has definitely accomplished a lot. He built a very successful chain, handed off the control to someone else, and then made big steps to rebuild it in a tough economy after it was failing. He realizes that there is a community element to the coffee experience, and believes people are paying for more than coffee, and he is right. And his vision has been rewarded.

But the reading is difficult. It is 80% business jargon. And it also benefits from 20-20 hindsight. For example, he describes 2 big undertakings, which had different outcomes: Sorbetto, which failed, and Via Instant, which appears to have succeeded. The mistakes that caused the Sorbetto to fail are described as surprises, out of his control, etc., when it's really that someone just messed up figuring out the costs and planning for contingencies. There's flowery discussion of learning from mistakes, and the heartache of disappointment. But when it comes to Via, it's all "there were people who said it couldn't be done but I stuck to the vision". I'm sure there were similar voices for Sorbetto, but they are not discussed.

They also call employees at Starbucks "partners", which they clearly are not, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Their opinions are clearly valued, and they are important, and they are the "front line", but they are not partners... baristas were not consulted about the massive layoffs and store closings as one would consult a partner. To me, this "partner" phrase just emphasizes the fact that they aren't, and comes across as insincere. Well, not insincere. It's just a corporate kitschy thing. But every time I read it, I kept thinking it meant some kind of vendor or something, and then realized, oh no, it's their code word for employees.

So, I can't say I recommend it, even if you're interested in coffee. I'm amazed at what he's done, it's just not a great read.
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May 20, 2011 Karen Jett rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: entrepreneurs, business people, business owners, ceo's

I have been an ardent Starbucks fan for many years. While I don’t drink coffee, I am in love with Starbucks’ Chai Latte (a black tea with spices – try it, you’ll like it!). And I find pleasure in the welcoming ambience of almost every Starbucks location. Therefore, I was dismayed in 2008 when Starbucks was floundering financially. What made it worse was that when I looked honestly at many of the reasons press gave for the decline I had to admit to myself that there was at least a kernel of truth...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: business, audiobook

""Onward" covers roughly 2005 - 2010 in the life of Starbucks, a time when the stock hits a long-term low and starts to recover, and the author returns as CEO. Schultz spends a lot of time describing his and others angst over decisions and cheerleading about passion, which are all too common in these types of books. Schultz comes across as passionate about his shops, but also quite pompous. His story about the foray into social media makes it sound like Starbucks took big risks early on, but tha...more ""Onward" covers roughly 2005 - 2010 in the life of Starbucks, a time when the stock hits a long-term low and starts to recover, and the author returns as CEO. Schultz spends a lot of time describing his and others angst over decisions and cheerleading about passion, which are all too common in these types of books. Schultz comes across as passionate about his shops, but also quite pompous. His story about the foray into social media makes it sound like Starbucks took big risks early on, but that is being over dramatic. There were four sections I appreciated for their business insight. One was the consideration of working with the "World of Warcraft" folks to try to draw the young male demographic into their shops. It didn't pan out, but this anecdote showed how Starbucks was open to odd ideas. Second was the description of one of Schultz's trips to China. This story illustrated well that Starbucks employees, in China even, have the ability to try things out, like new foods, even if they will likely never be sold by Starbucks. The story about Via instant coffee showed the company's willingness to do extensive research on a product extension. However, Shultz undercuts this story by mentioning that instant coffee detractors are mostly in the US, but instant coffee sells much better in overseas markets -- makes you wonder why they didn't speed that product to market more. The best part was the description of the Clover brewed coffee machine and the theater of espresso-based drinks. I hadn't noticed the theater aspect until I read this, but I see his point - baristas face the customer while working these drinks but not others. The Clover machine sounds wonderful, but even now, two years after the book was written, they aren't in many stores, and that isn't explained in the book. Schultz describes using "lean" concepts in optimizing store operations, and that, along with the Clover story, shows great use of the "time and motion" school of optimization. He even describes how the stores went from bean grinding once a day to once a pot to better optimize the customer experience of the smell of the coffee shop. On reflection, Schultz comes across as Steve Jobs-anal, but not all that Steve Jobs-brilliant. The book does explain why Starbucks is Starbucks, and is worth reading for that.(less)

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May 07, 2012 Siri rated it 5 of 5 stars

i've always been a client of Starbucks. Over the years i have questioned my loyalty to the consistency of the brand based on its ubiquitous presence and large corporate-seeming personality especially in the face of friends promoting the idea of supporting the local mom-and-pop coffee shops--which only sometimes have better coffee and more often than not do not. After reading Onward, i feel more strongly than ever about maintaining and increasing my support of Starbucks stores. he was a mom-and-p...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Cassy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-in-2012, non-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really liked this book, but you have to take it with a grain of salt when you read it. It's a book by the Starbucks CEO about Starbucks. He's going to make Starbucks sound as great as he possibly can.

Now, there were a lot of things that I learned about Starbucks that impressed me. They're a company that really tries to reduce their carbon footprint. They're making entire stores out of reusable materials. They also do tons to donate to charities, to bring aid to struggling areas. They held thei...more I really liked this book, but you have to take it with a grain of salt when you read it. It's a book by the Starbucks CEO about Starbucks. He's going to make Starbucks sound as great as he possibly can.

Now, there were a lot of things that I learned about Starbucks that impressed me. They're a company that really tries to reduce their carbon footprint. They're making entire stores out of reusable materials. They also do tons to donate to charities, to bring aid to struggling areas. They held their conference in New Orleans just a few short years after Katrina, bringing in tons of revenue to the area, and donated their time. They built homes and parks and fixed entire neighborhoods while down their. You can tell that they are genuinely a company that cares, which, let's face it, not a lot of them do.

They also offer health insurance to all of their employees. Not just their full-time employees, their part time employees also. As someone whose gone without that, I think that's HUGE. It's so hard to be a part-time working because you don't get any health benefits. So many companies try so often to try and take that away from their employees. Even in their darkest hour, Shultz refused to cut it and I think that's a pretty noble and gutsy thing.

However, Shultz doesn't see his own downfalls. He has a bit of a hero complex, thinking that he can pull Starbucks out of anything, he can acomplish anything and that there is no room for failure. He expects the people around him to have as much ambition as he does and they never really seem to.

If I had to hear him talk about sticking to the core values of his business one more time, I might have screamed. I understand he wanted to make the point that you couldn't compromise your values as company, that he refused to do that, and I admire that. But eventually, if you drive that point to hard, it become moot.

The other thing that bothered me was that he sits and talks about family and community and how important these values are but I heard almost nothing about his family or anything outside the Starbucks community! I have to assume that his family is heavily involved in Starbucks but I heard almost nothing about how they became involved. I don't even know his wife's name! (I'm pretty sure he mentioned it but it was so few that I can't remember.) I understand that you want to focus your book on your business, because that's what it is, a business book, but you can't preach about family values and not oncrporate your own family in it.

The thing I did like was that he didn't hide the mistakes that Starbucks made. Yes, I'm sure Shultz shed the company in a much more favorable light. But he also admitted that they had a lot of problems. They made mistakes. They got cocky and messed up and that, just as much as the economy, contributed to their massive downturn.

I also really liked being able to relate this book to my own Starbucks experiences. To be honest, I've never had a bad one. The people in Starbucks always say hello to me, I'm always greeted with a smile and, the one I frequent the most, they strike up a conversation with me. In fact, at "my" Starbucks they have a magnetic chalkboard on the side of their expresso machine. Every day it has a different question on it, testing the customers trivia knowledge. Usually, I don't know the answer. But I liked to guess and then ask the baristas if they know, or if they knew before that morning when they went and looked it up. It's little things like that which make the individual Starbucks experiance enjoyable.

I enjoyed the book but I think my enjoyment came more from the fact that I was a fan of Starbucks than anything else. I liked making the connections from the book to my own store experiences. If you're into business, you might also enjoy this book.(less)

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Sep 03, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, time-4some-nonfic

3.5 stars...As much as I do not like the company's products, it's good to read this semi autobiographical review of the three year Starbucks Struggle (2008-11) written by it's CEO.

Starbucks has exposed many American people into an entirely different world in the past 40yrs it's been in operation. Over the past decade unfortunately, arrogance replaced service and quality and Howard admits this.

One thing about the writing of this, aside from the frequent repeats of the same facts, is a lack of o...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book, then also downloaded the audiobook. I have been listening to it on my commute to/from work each day for a week now and am just over half way through. It's amazing to read/hear about what decisions Howard Schultz was making to "turn Starbucks around" when they started declining, unrelated to the downturn in the economy; but then was starting to become a victim of the economy merely on circumstance.

While I am a Starbucks advocate, it was interesting to see what was going on wi...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Kristiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, at-work, non-fiction

I keep tweaking a review I wrote of Onward, but every time I work on it I dislike it more, so I will resort to bullet points, which is apparently my new favorite writing style. Who needs paragraphs?

I really liked this book.
I had low expectations of it, but didn't have anything better to read. I am so glad I read it.
Going into it I knew nothing of the history of Starbucks, so everything was fascinating.
Howard Schultz comes across as a passionate, driven man, who believes in his company. This wa...more

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Apr 11, 2011 Nini Villanova rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading Howard Schultz's description of returning to Starbucks as ceo and attempting to turn his company back around. While the book is certainly self-promotional and a promotional piece for the coffee giant, this book also provides an interesting look at life as a CEO in general, and specifically as ceo of Starbucks.

In more than one case Schultz outlines hour by hour the decisions he had to make, or the meetings he had to lead, or the news he had to reveal. What is evident in t...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Margot rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, business, memoir, 2012

As a memoir or a biography, this was a terrible example. Actually, it reads more like a biography written by someone else. The narrative is distant from Schultz, giving you zero insight into him personally or how he personally coped with the struggles of these years bringing Starbucks back to profitability.

Onward comes off more as a biography of the company itself. Or, more accurately, as a very detailed presentation to investors and potentially investors: here's how we messed up, here's what I...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Anne Dunham rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Anne by: annedunham@abovefault.net

All companies start small with the expectation of finding a sustainable market niche. A few find this sweet spot. They may be companies that have an entrepreneur that has a passion. Howard Schultz comes across as this kind of business man. His passions seem to be for both coffee and success. From a single store in Seattle to a global enterprise, Starbucks has traversed the marketing landscape by following, then losing and rediscovering, its vision. The book, Onward, is a fascinating look into th...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This is the story of how Howard Schultz, once he became CEO (sorry, Howard, but I capitalize it) of Starbucks again, managed to turn around the company's finances during the recent recession by modernizing it while remaining true to its mission.

I enjoy going to Starbucks, so I was predisposed to enjoy the R&D and marketing stories of the various products (Pike Place Roast, VIA, Vivanno) that I'm familiar with. One thing this book proves is that Schultz knows and loves coffee! When he writes...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am a bit confused as to how to describe this book.

It could be a case study for an MBA program. It could be a marketing tool to connect with customers. It could be a confessional. It could even be a bit of a rewrite of history.

There were many situations where I thought I'd come back to this book if I ever was in that type of situation, such as when all US Starbucks stores were closed for barrister retraining. ... or when I needed to go forward and the shareholders wanted immiediate solutions. ....more

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Dec 13, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, business

I haven't had the chance to read "Pour Your Heart Into It," so I can't compare the two, but Schultz does something I really like: instead of having people write his biographies, he writes them himself in first person, using co-authors. I wrestle with compartmentalizing his work in my brain and on goodreads: business memoir, autobiography, biography? Joanne Gordon in this case did a fascinating job in showcasing his voice because you hear Schultz speaking directly to you.

My favorite part is the s...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow. At first, I thought this book would be boring because who really wants to read about the fall and rise of a company that has taken over the world? And the fact that I try not to buy Starbucks coffee because I want to support my local, independent coffeehouses... But it actually turned out to be pretty good and has shifted my perspective on Starbucks to a more positive one. While I will still continue to support my local coffeehouses first, trips to Starbucks won't feel like I'm cheating on...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Laura K rated it 5 of 5 stars

I generally don't read books that are about one particular company or business, but I read every word of this book. I wanted to read it because I am a loyal Starbuck's customer, and was in the shops during all of the transformations that Mr. Schultz details in this book. It covers the time from 2007- 2010, a time when not only Starbucks, but the entire business world was fighting to increase efficiency, lower costs and stay true to original principals.

I have a lot of respect for Starbucks as a...more

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About Howard Schultz

Schultz is an author and businessman. He was born on July 19th of 1953. He is mostly known for owning Starbucks; he is also the CEO and chairman of that compagny.
He graduated Northern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in Communication.
Schultz authored the book Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time with Dori Jones Yang in 1997. His second book Onward:...more

More about Howard Schultz...

Books by Howard Schultz

Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time

Knowing Yourself - Poems on Life - The Good and the Bad: Poems for the Average Person

It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks

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Quotes from Onward: How Starbucks ...

“Grow with discipline. Balance intuition with rigor. Innovate around the core. Don't embrace the status quo. Find new ways to see. Never expect a silver bullet. Get your hands dirty. Listen with empathy and overcommunicate with transparency. Tell your story, refusing to let others define you. Use authentic experiences to inspire. Stick to your values, they are your foundation. Hold people accountable, but give them the tools to succeed. Make the tough choices; it's how you execute that counts. Be decisive in times of crisis. Be nimble. Find truth in trials and lessons in mistakes. Be responsible for what you see, hear, and do. Believe.” — 32 people liked it

“There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is the right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.

This is the kind of passionate conviction that sparks romances, wins battles, and drives people to pursue dreams others wouldn’t dare. Belief in ourselves and in what is right catapults us over hurdles, and our lives unfold.

“Life is a sum of all your choices,” wrote Albert Camus. Large or small, our actions forge our futures and hopefully inspire others along the way.” — 26 people liked it

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Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

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