Tag Archives: Starbucks

A Primer in Company Culture from a Fool, a Soap Maker, and a Grocer

When corporate culture junkies gather around the fire, we tell stories and recount legendary figures in our mythos like Herb Kelleher, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines, who offered to competitors all details of his business knowing that without Southwest’s culture–the focal point of its business–competitors would never gain traction. Drawing us around the fire […]

Are Sustainable Businesses Roadblocks To Change?

Slovenian philosopher and theorist Slavoj Žižek swings a sledge hammer at the knees of ‘cultural capitalism’ in this 10-minute video. And I admit, my knees buckled for some moments as I listened to his critique of Starbucks for its fair trade coffee, of philanthropist George Soros and of ‘charity businesses’ like TOMS Shoes. Žižek argues that […]

“Yay” on Starbucks’ Social Corporate Responsibility

Starbucks’ latest act of social responsibility is offering a free cup of joe to anyone who pledges 5 hours of volunteer time during the five-day promotion. The coffee retailer joined with nonprofit HandsOn Network to support Barack Obama’s national call for service and encourage individuals to ‘create the change they wish to see.’ Last December, […]