St. Arbucks

A friend of mine of Facebook continually refers to Starbucks as St. Arbucks. I don't know the origin behind the change. Perhaps it was a typo initially and his phone just auto-corrects to it now? Perhaps he just believes that highly in Starbucks.

Another friend of mine posted an article from the Huffington Post about the CEO of Starbucks and his feelings about all of the recent turmoil in Washington. I read the article, which includes a letter written by Howard Schultz, and thought it was good enough to share again here. We need revolutions like this in our political system to get us back on the right track. Here is the letter:

August 15, 2011

Dear Fellow Concerned Americans:

Our country is better than this.

Over the last few weeks and months, our national elected officials from both parties have failed to lead. They have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States. They have stirred up fears about our economic prospects without doing anything to truly address those fears. They have spent a resource even more precious than the dollar: our collective confidence in each other, in the future, and in our ability to solve problems together.

As leaders in business, we have watched all this unfold, first with frustration and then with dismay. Like so many of our employees and customers, we are gravely concerned about the current situation. Today, with both humility and urgency, we propose to do something about it.

First, we aim to push our elected leaders to face the nation's long-term fiscal challenges with civility, honesty, and a willingness to sacrifice their own re-election. This means not kicking the can anymore. It means reaching a deal on debt, revenue, and spending long before the deadline arrives this fall. It means considering all options, from entitlement programs to taxes.

This is what so many common-sense Americans want. That is why we today pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the President and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing. And we invite leaders of businesses – indeed, all concerned Americans – to join us in this pledge.

We also believe in leading by positive example. And we believe that while the long-term fiscal challenge is serious, even more painful to millions of Americans today is the immediate crisis of jobs. Tens of millions are unemployed and underemployed. Right now our economy is frozen in a cycle of fear and uncertainty. Companies are afraid to hire. Consumers are afraid to spend. Banks are afraid to lend. Record levels of cash are piling up in corporate treasuries, idling. That cash is not being used to expand operations, train new workers, underwrite new ventures, or spark innovation.

The only way to break this cycle of fear is to break it. The only way to get the country’s economic circulatory system flowing again is to start pumping lifeblood through it. That is why we today issue a second pledge. Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs.

We do this because we want to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. We are not waiting for government to create an incentive program or a stimulus. We are not waiting for economic indicators to tell us it’s safe to act. We are hiring more people now. We invite leaders of businesses across the country to join us in this pledge as well – and to bring their stakeholders into the effort. Confidence is contagious. The best thing we can do now is to spread it.

This is a time for citizenship, not partisanship. It is a time for action. We don't pretend that our two pledges are quick fixes. We just believe that in this moment of great uncertainty, the government needs discipline, the people need jobs – and leaders need to lead.

Our country is better than this. Let’s get things moving now.

Respectfully,
Howard Schultz

Compartments

Compartment n. 1. a separate division or section; 2. one of the parts into which an enclosed space is divided.

I try to be honest. I try to be open. I think that has come through on some of my previous posts, both here and on Facebook. I was told once several years ago by my wife that there is a 'work Jim' and a 'home Jim'. I thought it was kind of odd and certainly didn't like hearing it. I mean, I was young(er) and thought 'nah, I'm the same old me everywhere I go'. Lets face it, most of us don't always take personal criticism all that well. I was hurt and didn't want to believe it but think subconsciously it stuck with me and I started changing that. I didn't want to be two different people.

A few years later the office that I worked at was closed. A lot of people were suddenly forced to find new jobs. Several people that used to work for me when I was a manager ended up being hired on at my wife's employer. One of those new employes met my wife and when she found out that I was her husband she said, "I know Jim. I used to work for him and he's a weeny". (I know!) My wife laughed of course then assured her that I may have been a weeny before but I'm certainly not that way now. Over time this employee got to hear about me and meet me again several times and I was able to convince her that I was no weeny.

I think that goes to show, appreciated or not, that little bit of feedback has helped make me a better person. Here I was a few years back compartmentalizing my life and acting different around different people. Reflecting back I think it's a crazy way to be. Don't get me wrong, I think it's perfectly fine to separate work life from home life and vice-versa, but who you are at work, home or out with friends shouldn't be any different than who you are any other time.

I felt this topic of compartmentalizing our lives is relevant for a few reasons. First, it was the focus of the sermon delivered two weeks ago at my church. The pastor asked the congregation why people would only represent God in certain aspects of their lives. Why would religion/church be separate from your work, social or home compartment? If you believe in something, you should feel comfortable with it and allow it into all parts of your life.

Second, Politicians. I see politicians doing this with their party affiliation. It's been very prevalent these past few weeks during the debt ceiling debates. Republicans only voting for Boehner's proposal and the Democrats voting only for Reid's proposal. Are you really telling me that these guys thought the ideas thrown up by their own party was absolutely the best - on both sides? Were they voting their heart or were they voting their political career? Do we really need these ridged party compartments? A person I'm friends with on Facebook once told me that he would always vote Republican because in his opinion the worst Republican was always better than the best Democrat. I also think that line of reasoning is crazy.

I guess the bottom line here is - take a hard look at yourself and see if you are showing the best version of you all of the time, or just when you think it counts.

(Gee, I hit both politics and religion in one post!)