Howard Schultz

Throughout history, there have been a variety of well-known leaders, but many of them share some common characteristics. Although Steve Jobs and Gandhi are very different, they were inspired and they changed by the civilization in which they lived. Warren Bennis once said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” I believe that Howard Schultz proves this to be true through his demonstration of the traits of innovation, persistence, charisma and persuasion.

Howard Schultz, CEO and chairman of Starbucks Corp., was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 19, 1953. Schultz attended Northern Michigan University on a football scholarship in 1970. According to Biogaphy.com, after graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in communications in 1975, he worked as a salesman for a Hammarplast, a company that sold European coffee in the United States. (Schultz noticed that a great deal of their coffee was being sold to a small company in Seattle, Washington named Starbucks Coffee Tea and Spice Company. The vision of this company intrigued him so much that he decided that he needed to go Seattle.

Starbucks Coffee Tea and Spice Company was originally founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, the latter of the three came up with the familiar mermaid logo (Biography.com). The company only had been in business for approximately 10 years and only operated in Seattle when Schultz discovered it.

Schultz eventually met the founders of Starbucks, who explained the story behind their goal of simply providing good tasting coffee. “Ever since his first meeting with the trio, Schultz was persistent in seeking a job and one year later was hired as the director of retail operations and marketing” (Biography.com). Persistence is one of Schultz’ most valuable leadership traits.

Another trait proved to be innovation, as Schultz helped the Starbucks owners realize that they should sell coffee beverages during a time when they only sold...