Lesson Learned from Starbucks: Stay Focused

In his book “The Gospel According to Starbucks”, Leonard Sweet praises Starbucks for its growth and influence over the past four decades. What started out as a small little shop in Seattle back in 1971 has grown to over tens of thousands of stores world-wide. It is truly impressive.  But Starbucks’ influence didn’t just sweep the coffee industry off it’s feet.  With it’s huge popularity, Starbucks even started impacting the music and movie industry.  For example, it has won at least 8 Grammy Awards and was instrumental in the production and promotion of “Akeelah and the Bee” (p. 11). With all that Starbucks has accomplished in such a short time, Leonard Sweet argues that Starbucks has “become a leading purveyor of music and a shaper of USAmerica culture” (p. 12). I believe Leonard was exactly right…up until a few years ago. It was at that point Starbucks, much like most of the companies around the world, began to suffer setbacks.  In fact, they struggled so much that on July 1, 2008 Starbucks announced it was closing at least 600 coffee shops and 12,000 U.S. jobs (See Fox News footnote below).  An amazing turn for a company going so strong just a few years prior.  How could this happen to such a great company? Although some will argue that Starbucks problems were because of the overall global setback (which to some degree it was), I believe the main reason was because of a bigger issue. I believe that it was because Starbucks lost their focus.  They got too spread out, working on too many things and began to falter. In addition to the music and movie business they started to get into, they started focusing on sandwiches and coffee makers.  They got distracted on other things rather than focusing on making a great coffee and creating an amazing environment for their customers. The lesson learned here is that we, as ministers, need to stay focused on our task at hand. If we are a youth minister, we need to focus on everything concerning youth ministry. If it doesn’t pertain to youth work, then forget about it.  The same applies to ALL ministry positions – children, adult, college, etc.  We can get so caught up in doing good work for the Lord that we sometimes lose focus on what our purpose is for the ministry we lead.  I have firsthand experience at this many times (as I’m sure other small to medium sized ministers have as well).  The more we take on that is not in our job description or our calling, the less effective we can be in our ministry. The reality is IT IS EASY TO GET DISTRACTED. That is why it is so important that we stay true to our calling and focus on that – strictly that.  So when Sally Mom and David Dad want you to get create a ministry for knit loving orphans, you can put it to the test of your calling.  Is that what God is calling you to do in your ministry?  Although it may be a noble calling, it may not be what you need to focus on.  Stay focused on your ministry calling. The great thing about the Starbucks story is that it is continuing to be written.  Former CEO Howard Schultz came back to Starbucks and got the company refocused.  Sure it came at a cost as he had to eliminate stores and cut jobs.  But he also focused Starbucks back on what it did best – making coffee and creating an environment that drew people back in.  And it is working.  Since Starbuck’s stock hit a low of $7.48 per share in Nov. 2008, their sales have increased and their new products (i.e. Via – an instant coffee) have helped propel their stock price to a high of $28.24 in June.  He got Starbucks back on track and rolling in the right direction. You can too!  Right now TAKE A MINUTE and examine your job description (I hope you have a job description).  What are you called to do?  Then, look over what you are actually doing – not just event wise, but day to day.  Is everything you are doing daily going towards those goals?  Spend some time processing your job description and what you do. Then, bring it before the Lord and allow Him to show you where you need to make changes. Staying focused can be extremely hard to do, especially for an ADD youth minister like I was.  But, in the long run, if you are able to stay focused, you, your students and your ministry will benefit greatly if you can. Sources:

1. “The Gospel According to Starbucks” by Leonard Sweet
2. Fox News