1. Get Back to Brand Essentials Howard Schultz’s return sent a powerful signal to many audiences, not least the internal one. Starbucks is first and foremost about coffee. It needs to cherish and build its reputation for coffee expertise, and Howard Schultz felt that the reputation had slipped. The change in the coffee market, driven to a large extent by Starbucks over the last three decades, meant that the taste for better coffee was now an irreversible trend throughout the world. Forays into music, once seen as an interesting and possibly vital part of the future, were now considered a distraction because they softened the focus on coffee. At the same time, as part of this reassertion of fundamental values, Schultz was restating his belief in Starbucks’ people and its core values that are centred on people. He was not afraid to take principled stands – for example, in favour of employee healthcare and gay marriage – that would make him and Starbucks deeply unpopular in many constituencies. As a symbol, Schultz took to brandishing the key to the original Pike Place store in meetings, emphasizing his personal, emotional commitment to original Starbucks principles. As part of this process, a team redrafted the mission statement (very much in tune with the 1990 version) to begin with the following words: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” 2. Become More Respectfully International In the early years of the millennium Starbucks seemed hell-bent on growth. It expanded into new regions and countries at a rapid rate, opening new stores at dizzying speed. In doing so, a large element of homogeneity entered the brand and its store design. It seemed that one size/one design would fit all, and there was a sense of Seattle imposing its view on the rest of the world. And the rest of the world, with a wider range of competitors now on offer, was signalling that it no longer wanted to accept this. As a result, Howard Schultz initiated a number of important design changes to the stores, the products and the graphics. Experimental ‘new look’ stores opened to test the market. Customers responded well. Now, more than previously, new stores are individually designed to reflect the places where they are situated. Centralized design has been abandoned. In