Visionary – Howard Schultz

Visionary is a person who having or showing a clear idea about what should had to do in the future. They able to see the big picture and then develop the ideas or plan to achieve the goals. They can see the possibilities that other cannot see.

This trait showed clearly from Howard Schultz. Howard Schultz is CEO and chairman of Starbucks, which is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. Although he not the founder of Starbuck, but he is the one who built the Starbucks empire.

Howard Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating, Schultz worked as a salesman in a company that was selling coffee makers, Hammarplast. In 1981, he decided to visit Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, which was a coffee bean roaster and retailer. This is because he curious as why a small company which only have 4 stores order so many coffee makers compared to the other big company in Seattle. This trip to Seattle has totally influenced his whole life. Because of a cup of Sumatra, he made a decision to resign his high salary paid and join into Starbucks as a director of operations and marketing to grow the sales of the company. Therefore, a trip to Milan, Italy was changed his mind.

In 1983, while traveling at Milan, Italy, he was captivated by the atmosphere of an Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience. He had the vision to make a new change to the Starbucks. He thought that Starbucks should not just sell coffee beans only, also need to sell the coffee drink. This is because he want to create a place for conversation and a sense of community. He said that everybody does not just want to drink a cup of coffee, but they want to enjoy the coffee’s time. This is the Starbucks want to do.

Nevertheless, the founders of Starbucks did not agree and accepted with his idea. They did not want to make a change on their company. Schultz disappointed with their decision. In 1985, he left Starbucks and opened a coffee bar chain which named II Giornale. Two years later, he as a chief executive officer to purchase Starbucks with the help of some local investors. After that, he rebranded II Giornale to Starbucks, and he aggressively developed the market of Starbucks to many countries. Today, we can see Starbucks on every corner, over 16700 Starbucks located in more than 50 countries. Starbucks is the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world.

In the conclusion, Howard Schultz is a good example for the trait visionary. For the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company compared to other company. Starbucks is one of the coffee company that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition but it purpose is also want to bring a feeling of connection between people. Their mission is “One People, One Cup, and One Neighborhood” at a time. This is the reason that make Starbucks continue success until now. Therefore, someone who wants to be a success entrepreneur like Howard Schultz must have openness, imagination, persistence, and conviction.