Starbucks trying to build a different kind of company around the balance of profitably and benevolence. A social conscience. And that isn't a program it has to be a way of life.

You walk into a retail store, whatever it is, and if there's a sense of entertainment and excitement and electricity, you wanna be there.

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

We would take something old and tired and common - coffee - and weave a sense of romance and community around it. We would rediscover the mystique and charm that had swirled around coffee throughout the centuries.

Always challenge the old ways.

In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we're made of.

I could've just walked away but I never could have forgiven myself to allow Starbucks to drift into mediocrity or not be relevant. I just couldn't be a bystander.