Moe and Dale Partridge discuss the seven core beliefs that create success by putting people first.
People Over Profits — the Most Elusive of Corporate Responsibilities
In the June, 2015 issue of Fast Company, senior writer, Austin Carr wrote a telling piece on what happens when a well-intended CEO, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, goes into unchartered waters without much thought of having a safety net. The article, The Inside Story of Starbucks’s Race Together Campaign, No Foam, chronicled a brave, decisive, and beloved leader on a quest to leverage the economic influence of one of the world’s most respected brands to bridge the racial issues facing a nation still divided.
The deaths of African-American teens, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin before them, have haunted many in the black community, and left Schultz sleepless and contemplating why he ‘can’t just run this company and not say something, not have an opinion, and not allow others to have an ability to talk about what we’re not talking about.”
Schultz is obviously not black, and most likely in the dark on how a young, poor, and isolated black teen lives, still on March, 15th of this year, he took a stand for his partners of color by launching the Race Together campaign. His singular intent was to stimulate conversation around an issue that no other senior executive in America would dare touch; but not everyone bought in. Anyway you measure it, the campaign has been a PR fiasco and continues to receive its share of criticism; still it personified a courageous leader who’s not afraid to walk the lonely road.
Since taking over Starbucks in 1987, Howard Schultz vowed never to do to his partners what his father’s company did to him. From day one, he knew that Starbucks would never be able to “attract and retain great people if their sole purpose is to make money, because people, especially young people, want a sense of belonging – to be part of an organization they really believe is doing great work” “You can’t create that emotional attachment if you stand for nothing” he told Carr.
In his book, People Over Profits: Break The System. Live with Purpose, social entrepreneur Dale Partridge reminds us why leaders like Howard Schultz are a rare breed. While their example is often revered, their actions are hardly duplicated. In this conversation with Dale, we focus on the pivotal experiences that shaped his entrepreneurial journey.
Here’s a glimpse of our dialogue:
The birth and impact of Sevenly.org
The business cycle that most businesses don’t know they’re going through
The process of pleasing investors without compromising your values
Learning to spot a deceptive business
The seven beliefs that define a purpose driven business
Why telling the truth is so easy, and so hard
- What business can learn from school age children