SEATTLE – Although the outspoken chairman and CEO of coffee giant Starbucks has dabbled in big issues before—his well-intentioned but quickly abandoned “Race Together” initiative had baristas writing racial harmony messages on cups—Howard Schultz is not running for president.
“Despite the encouragement of others, I have no intention of entering the presidential fray,” the chairman and CEO of coffee giant Starbucks said in an op-ed in The New York Times. “I’m not done serving at Starbucks. Although we have built an iconic brand while providing even part-time employees with access to health care, free college education and stock options, there is more we can do as a public company to demonstrate responsible leadership.”
But the fact that Schultz is not running … yet … doesn’t mean he has no opinion on what’s wrong with Washington and how a great leader should operate.
“We cannot afford more false promises, slogans, theatrics and fool’s gold,” he wrote. “Our nation has been profoundly damaged by a lack of civility and courage in Washington, where leaders of both parties have abdicated their responsibility to forge reasonable compromises to expand the economy, rebuild our infrastructure, improve schools, transform entitlement programs and so much more. We have become too desensitized to the horrendous metrics that define today’s America, from student-loan debt to food-stamp dependency to the size of our prison population.”
He continued, “The values of servant leadership—putting others first and leading from the heart—need to emerge from every corner of American life, including the business community.
“While Americans have diverse views in what they want from Washington, I reject the notion that our divided and dysfunctional government is merely a reflection of what the political class calls the red-blue divide. Too many of our political leaders are putting party before country, power before principle and cynicism before civility. The common purpose that created this great nation, which has united us in difficult moments, has gone missing.
“Our country is in desperate need of servant leaders, of men and women willing to kneel and embrace those who are not like them. Everyone seeking the presidency professes great love for our nation. But I ask myself, how can you be a genuine public servant if you belittle your fellow citizens and freeze out people who hold differing views?”
He concluded with a provocative challenge: “Our country deserves a candidate courageous enough to select a member of the other party as a running mate. Our country deserves a president humble enough to see leadership not as an entitlement but as a privilege."
Click here to read the complete New York Times op-ed.
And following on Shultz’s lead, as we head into the next presidential election cycle, what insights can politicians glean from the convenience-store, retail and restaurant industries? Send your ideas and comments to Greg Lindenberg, editor of CSP Daily News, at glindenberg@winsightmedia.com.
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