A great business has to have a conscience. You have to know who you are and who you are not.

If you put on a lousy production with white actors, it's lousy. There is a problem, or can be, at this stage of our social evolution, with mixing the casts. It may not be a question of race so much as class. You would rarely find a black man in a high executive position where he was swinging his weight around.

Remember: You'll be left with an empty feeling if you hit the finish line alone. When you run a race as a team, though, you'll discover that much of the reward comes from hitting the tape together. You want to be surrounded not just by cheering onlookers but by a crowd of winners, celebrating as one.

Starbucks has a role and a meaningful relationship with people that is not only about the coffee.

Work should be personal. For all of us. Not just for the artist and entrepreneur. Work should have meaning for the accountant, the construction worker, the technologist, the manager and the clerk.

We are witnessing a seismic change in consumer behavior. That change is being brought about by technology and the access people have to information.

People in Washington need to put their feet in the shoes of working Americans.