Often, organizations need bold, grand gestures to galvanize people towards a new mission or refocus their attention.

Great companies are defined by their discipline and their understanding of who they are and who they are not.

There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust. But we lean forward nonetheless because, despite all risks and rational argument, we believe that the path we are choosing is right and best thing to do. We refuse to be bystanders, even if we do not know exactly where our actions will lead.

Even though people are under economic pressure, they still want to support those brands with values that are compatible with their own.

I think Starbucks created a platform and, ultimately, a runway for many other companies to emulate. I suspect if we had not achieved what we have, there would have been many regional brands that would have succeeded. But I'm not sure there would have been a national brand of the scope of Starbucks.

At an early age, my mother gave me this feeling that anything is possible, and I believe that.

China traditionally has been a tea-drinking country but we turned them into coffee drinkers.