“We would take something old and tired and common – coffee – and weave a sense of romance and community around it. We would rediscover the mystique and charm that had swirled around coffee throughout the centuries.”

Beverages have to be created. And they’re created by looking at what trend is in, say, the fashion industry – what color’s hot right now.

I don’t have any secret sauce and I’m no smarter than anyone else. I will say I have surrounded myself with unbelievable talent that has made my job easier.

Everyone starts strong. Success comes to those with unwavering commitment to be at the end.

My passion. My commitment. This is the most important thing in my life other than my family.

I conduct my life with an expectation that people will do the right thing. Yet even with all my experience, I am still surprised when they do not.

Every step of the way, I made a point to underpromise and overdeliver. In the long run, that’s the only way to ensure security in any job.

Grow with discipline. Balance intuition with rigor. Innovate around the core. Don’t embrace the status quo.

One of the fundamental aspects of leadership, I realized more and more, is the ability to instill confidence in others when you yourself are feeling insecure.

China traditionally has been a tea-drinking country but we turned them into coffee drinkers.

When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture.

You cant build any kind of organization if you’re not going to surround yourself with people who have experience and skill base beyond your own.

Be bold, but be fair. Don’t give in. If others around you have integrity, too, you can prevail.

You must find something that you deeply love and are passionate about and are willing to sacrifice a lot to achieve.

When companies fail, or fail to grow, it’s almost always because they don’t invest in the people, the systems, and the processes they need.

My mother taught me something at a young age – she said ‘you are the company you keep.’ To define yourself by some label or some level of resources – that’s pretty shallow.

Risk more than others think safe.