What Starbucks Taught Me About Building With Heart

Hi there, friend —

Most builders are in a hurry.

Racing toward exits, pushing for scale, chasing timelines that serve the spreadsheet instead of the soul.

But one of the best parts about leading in a family business?

We don’t have to play that game.

We get to set our own time horizon.

No artificial deadlines. No forced exits.

Just a long-term game with long-term people.

That’s why It’s Not About the Coffee by Howard Behar is one of the most important leadership books I’ve ever read.

Behar was the former President of Starbucks — and the human heartbeat behind its culture.

He built with care.

With presence.

With soul.

And for anyone leading a family business, his message is deeply affirming:

Humanity isn’t a weakness. It’s a strategy.

Here are five takeaways I keep close:

1. “If you grow people, the people grow the business.”

This book is a fine example of what we’ve always known to be true:

Humans are not resources. Humans are the point.

At Century, we invest in growth.

Books. Coaching. Peer groups. Second chances. Stretch assignments.

We train people well enough to leave — and treat them well enough that they don’t want to.

That’s not idealistic.

That’s how you build something that lasts.

2. “Leading others begins with an obligation to lead yourself.”

Leadership is an inside job.

You cannot expand a business beyond your own internal capacity.

That’s why I invest so much in mornings, mindset, and meaning.

Because I’ve seen what happens when you skip the soul work.

And I’ve felt what’s possible when you don’t.

3. “Results without caring are empty. They’re just not sustainable.”

You can grow a company without love.

But it won’t last.

Behar reminds us that culture is a compounding asset — and the only real way to build it is to actually care.

Building with care is building with brick.

4. “You have to be relentless about getting people to say what’s on their minds.”

I’ve worked in places with artificial harmony.

It’s a slow, suffocating kind of poison.

So now I do everything I can to build the opposite: a safe space where tension is invited, because passion is present.

If you want a workplace with no tension … get a dog.

But if you want real progress?

Build a container where people feel safe enough to speak up.

5. “There’s no better feeling than being encouraged to fully use your abilities.”

That’s the job of leadership.

Not just to grow the business — but to grow the people who make it run.

Because when people bring their whole selves to work, the whole company levels up.

This book is both a permission slip and a challenge to lead with love.

It belongs in every family business builder’s library.

Right next to Everyday Matters, The Second Mountain, and BE 2.0.

If you want to build something lasting — this is a great place to start.

Onward,
Matt