If you get a chance try and catch a rerun of the Charlie Rose interview with Chairman Howard Schultz of Starbucks.
The interview is captivating because the former CEO now Chairman and Chief Global Strategist knows his business model and especially his customers so well.
The interview reminded and underscored for me as it will you how important a thorough understanding of your customer is for your business future and your ability to innovate and stay ahead of the curve for success. People often pay lip service to customers and employees but this guy attempts to walk in their shoes. He travels the world to check in on the various shops and how they are meeting their customers needs. His employees are gold to him because they stand between him and his customer. He believes that the way he treats his employees will be passed on to his customers on some level. Therefore, Starbucks is considered one of the best employers in the world.
Operationally he praises the good things a store staff is doing. He is not looking for faults when he goes into a store to do a walk through. He is looking to accentuate the positives and look for the next success. There are so many important business lessons to be taken from the segment but one that sticks out is his ability to laugh at failure and move past it for growth. Charlie pokes fun at him for some of his admitted failures and his reaction to the ribbing really supports the idea that if you don't fail some of the time you can't succeed big. This guy is someone who grew up poor and was told by his father-in-law to reconsider doing the coffee business thing.
In our culture of instant gratification it is difficult to overcome public failures. I love the way this guy uses it to his advantage. He truly represents the "American Dream" and has become perhaps one of the most influential business people in our history. Do you avoid failure or chase success? Do you let others discourage you or do you press forward. If you do the latter you are bound to falter somewhere along the way but the risk of having courage and pushing forward will be rewarded by an education of how not to do it the next time and position you and your organization for bigger things.
Has the fear of failure prevented you from maximizing the marketing your product or service? If so, what things could you do to tackle this villain and make it your friend for building a lasting and successful business? In addition, when was the last time your really walked in your customers shoes? How does it change the way you look at your business and what can you do to improve the way you market it to your target customer?
