Mission Statement Redux

Good morning... What can I get for you?

I hope you had a good weekend. It was nice to get back home after being away last week.

So let's get to it! First things first... In the sidebar is a poll to help determine the next CEO of Starbucks. It's year end and I'm sure they're will be a shakedown soon. We also have about 3 months until it is revealed that Q1 sales didn't hit the "stretch goal" and times are gonna get real lean. Unless you're at the top of the pyramid and you get your bonus.

Today is also the first day of handing out iTunes freebies... another great idea to take the focus away from what's really going on and ignore yet again another opportunity to get back to basics at all levels of the organization.

So... I think today is as good as any to do the rewrite of the M&GP. I think rather than try to fix what has been done and bring the current direction/performance up to the Mission, it might just be easier to amend the Mission to meet the current and near-future level of performance. I hereby give permission for the italicized content below to be used only by Starbucks... consider it a "gift"... a "freebie" if you will.

Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee related and non-coffee related merchandise in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow the number of dollars in our executives' pockets while at the same time reducing our stock price...

The following seven guiding principles will help us to attract folks to fill seats and finish all of the work that has no actual business driver attached to it:

• Provide a great work environment for our corporate folks and treat each other with respect and dignity... unless we don't like what the person has to say... then we'll promote them to customer.


• Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business... unless it costs us too much money or if we can get away with not embracing it.


• Apply the highest standards of excellence to all of the extraneous crap we buy that has nothing to do with coffee... oh, and we'll buy some coffee too...


• Develop somewhat satisfied customers the majority of the time.


• Contribute positively to our communities and our environment... unless it means that we'll need to do something new that costs us more money.


• Recognize that profitability is essential to our executives getting their bonuses and folks getting their paychecks.


• Get while the gettin's good...

As you can see, I added a 7th... it was time.

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat Nerr...