Balancing Curiosity & Focus
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.
That’s not to say that I don’t see the value in resolving to grow as a person, but why wait until January 1st?
It’s the first week of Q4 (and FY27 at Starbucks), and for me, that means it’s the 4th time this year that I’ve set new goals for myself.
I’ve always prided myself on being a lifelong learner. So this quarter, I’m going to be taking in the wisdom of the Starbucks leadership team through Starbucks Global Academy and a series called “The Craft of Leadership.”
The first session features global chief brand officer, Tressie Lieberman.
While reflecting on this session, I got the benefit of hearing from Tressie for a 2nd time last week, as she was also featured on the Best Brands on Earth podcast.
Across the two conversations, a core idea became clear: through the lens of curiosity, not only can you learn more about your customer, but you can fuel creativity and urgency on your team.
One concept that I found particularly interesting was Tressie’s breakdown of Attention Brands vs. Intention Brands.
Starbucks is an Intention Brand. We believe in perfecting every detail of the customer experience and always have. The little things ARE the big things at Starbucks.
At the beginning and end of the day, we are the world’s local coffeehouse. We share your rituals with you, and continue striving to uplift your everyday.
But there’s something to be said for being curious about where the customer is right now.
2026 as the new 2016 was the perfect example of this.
Starbucks was there in 2016 - creating culture with the limited-time Unicorn Frappuccino. And this summer, we were able to relive that memory with our customers by bringing it into the here and now. Only a brand as special as Starbucks can do that.
“Starbucks has always led the culture, but we were not leveraging culture. The opportunity was to embed the mindset of being culture builders and culture activators across the entire company.”
I’ll be doing my part by empowering my team to stay customer-centered and continuing to share with you all the amazing things we have coming up.
See you soon for Halloween and the new Black Cat Frappuccino!
