Pour Your Heart Into It (Highbridge Distribution)

by Howard Schultz

[wyvernfriend]

Howard Schultz tells his side of the story. Some of his background, joining Starbucks, leaving Starbucks, buying Starbucks and continuing to work with Starbucks. The copy I had came into the libraries in 2007 but was originally published in 1997, before Schultz's 8-year hiatus from managing the company (he returned in 2008 after sales went down under the previous president), and before bombings and riots, so the view is a little rosier than it may be from an independent view and from a smaller viewpoint than is current.

Still it's interesting to see the view of someone who has worked his way up the ladder from being on the breadline to a multi-million business that he seems to have a great enthuaism for. He is a fan of good coffee and really seems to want to spread the joy of coffee as far as he can.

However there are moments where the mask slips. Where he talks about unions (he is adamantly anti-union, fine in a small business but sometimes large corporations need someone to keep them in check or to back up people being bullied by management) and in some other places where he basically had to be talked into doing things another way in order to make things work better.

Overall an interesting look at a life consumed by coffee.