By way of background, the Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Shultz felt that he should use Starbucks as a platform for race relations after Ferguson and other racial flash points in the past several months. This was executed by the creation of a hashtag (#racetogether) that was meant to spur dialog about race relations.
The problem is Starbucks is a coffee company and their employees are not trained sociologists so the whole effort just came off as self serving and looked to most consumers as a large corporation trying to capitalize off of a current event.
During one of the more embarrassing moments of the campaign the SVP of Communications at Starbucks refused to answer real questions from real minorities, blocked some of the questioners and then deleted his Twitter account. As you could imagine, this effort fell flat on its face amid public ridicule.
According to the Associated Press, the company’s chairman Jim Olson claims the phasing out of the handwritten notes was part of the plan since the beginning of “Race Together.” He also asserted that the changes are not a response to public mockery and outrage over the concept.
Per the AP:
A recently released memo from CEO Howard Schultz says the cups were always “just the catalyst” for a broader conversation, and the company will still hold forum discussions, co-produce special sections in USA TODAY and put more stores in minority communities as part of the Race Together initiative.While there was probably a genuine desire on the part of Schultz to have a positive impact this is a classic example of a company not finding good alignment between core values, people and its messaging. The whole campaign was even parodied in this skit from SNL.
2. I read an article in Fast Company entitled "6 Steps to Being Viewed as More Powerful at Work" and I had the thought that while many of the items on the list are truly effective strategies of being viewed in this way, it begs the question - 'is this truly the objective we should be putting our energy behind?'
Even the title implies that you have to make someone think you are more powerful than you really are and connotes some form of manipulation. The six steps are as follows:
1. Find the Most Significant Player
2. Make a Strong Connection
3. Be a Helper
4. Flattery Will Get You Everywhere
5. Put Yourself in the Middle
6. Stay Confident
While some of these things such as 'be a helper' is just important to being a good human and teammate. But I would prefer to think that instead of trying to be seen as something you are not - try being yourself and lean into the strengths that you were hired for in the first place.
The article is one of many in traditional media that contributes to the predominant corporate culture in America that keeps people from being the best versions of themselves in the context of the culture and thus squashes engagement and productivity.
3. I wrote two weeks ago about the detailed article in Vanity Fair about the NBC News implosion over the past couple years. This is an article from a few months ago, published in the Huffington Post, regarding the other side of that coin and how competitors - namely Good Morning America used that to their advantage and thought differently about their morning show.
One of my favorite quotes in the article that captures the essence of brave management and decision making came from Tom Cibrowski, Senior executive producer, Good morning America.
"Rather than open on the traditional shot of two somber anchors, Good Morning America decided last year to open with all five anchors riffing on sports and viral videos. "We always said, if we're No. 2, and we wnat to be No. 1, why are we doing the same show?" says Tom, who oversaw the shift, making the cast seem more like buddies just as longtime leader Today was suffering the on-air awkwardness caused by off-air discord. The fun paid off, with GMA unseating its rival for the first time in more than 16 years.
Read the full article to get the full scope of the changes and how they came out on top.
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