Hardly coincidental

The re-ascendancy of Starbuck's CEO Howard Schultz to Fortune magazine's top executive ranking comes as no surprise. His company, or should we say the existing one he was hired into and then proceeded to re-invent, is a household name and just completed a record year of revenues and profits. It seems as though customers are still willing to pay five bucks for a latte even in these "most uncertain times."

What's revealing about the Schultz story, however, isn't so much about dollars and cents although record performance plays a leading role. It's more about Schultz's ability to straddle the growing fence between political crusader, community activist and business steward. These skills have increasingly grown in demand as large companies navigate an era defined by big government, regulation and environmental accountability. Schultz and Starbuck's have been at the forefront of this trend. Their continuing stamp of success reveals a few undeniable truths for leaders and businesses alike, mainly:

1.) Having a point of view about the issues impacting your business matters more than ever. When Congress and the president nearly ground government to a halt last summer over the debt ceiling, Schultz came out swinging, calling for a boycott on contributions to office holders and candidates alike who espoused obstructionist views. This was classic POVing at its highest form. Pro-active, controversial and lone wolf in tone and content. During a time when most companies are playing both sides of the aisle with contributions, Schultz made the calculation that it was in no one's interest to maintain the status quo. He of course didn't have to make this stand but did so because he evidently believed in the action. If more leaders and companies would follow suit maybe more of the "change we believe in" could occur? The recent more reactive response to immigration by Chipotle CEO Monty Moran partially qualifies although admittedly espousing a POV on an issue after an offense can be perceived as spin.

2.) Being willing to take a stand on unpopular but proper business practices, even when it represents great cost, can make a difference over time. This used to be called investing in a business. Despite high costs of doing so, Starbuck's still provides health care coverage to its part-time and full-time employees. Schultz has continually gone on record saying that will never change. The rewards come in the form of employee loyalty and lower turnover, which results in more consistent service, which leads to higher revenues and profits. Again more companies and leaders would be well served to track this line without solely focusing on short-term financials as a primary outcome. Easier said than done. But necessary.

Click here for the original Fortune magazine profile if you didn't already have the pleasure of reading over the holidays: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/17/starbucks-howard-schultz-business-person-year/

Thanks for viewing. Happy New Year,

JG