The Starbucks

Published on November 19, 2007

Joseph A Michelli

Published by McGraw-Hill

Available at Asia Books, Bt850

Today the Starbucks brand is famous the world over, but the secrets behind its climb to success remain mostly unspilled - and may stay that way even after a dip into this book.

Michelli, who describes himself as an outsider with no personal stake in Starbucks, makes it clear he's not trying to sell the company to readers or even convince them that it's one of the best global business enterprises. His aim, he writes, is to offer insights into the "unique Starbucks Experience".

He begins with how Starbucks started to take notice of the preferences of different customers for different kinds of coffees, and goes on to cover the company's sympathetic policies towards employees and its much-hyped concern for social causes, such as purchasing its beans from small farmers. All of which makes for interesting reading, except that anyone who has seen Starbucks founder Howard Schulz being interviewed will probably know all this already.

However, half way though the book, you begin to wonder how much of the Starbucks policy, other than the common marketing scheme, could actually be applied if you were thinking of setting up your own business.

An interesting chapter is "Embrace Resistance", which reminds us that nothing runs smoothly in business. But like any self-improvement book's advice, the solution sounds too easy to be true.

If you are thinking of opening a coffee shop, this book will certainly give you an overview of what Starbucks is doing, but it won't make you a millionaire.