In 2008, I returned to Starbucks amidst a financial crisis, where the market cap had plummeted from $30 billion to less than $7 billion, and we faced negative sales growth for the first time in our history.

Starbucks had a 6:1 debt-to-equity ratio, which limited our ability to innovate due to high debt service payments.

I proposed giving stock options to every employee, which was a groundbreaking idea at the time, and we announced that we would give 14% of everyone's base pay in stock options, which changed the culture of Starbucks and made everyone partners.

Starbucks' approach to employee retention mirrors Costco's, emphasizing that it's more cost-effective to retain existing employees than to train new ones.

Starbucks has become an institution, facing higher expectations for success compared to smaller, disruptive organizations.

Starbucks is not merely a beverage company; it is a coffee company serving people, and it must focus on enhancing the customer experience rather than just executing transactions.

Starbucks was seven months away from insolvency, and I had to communicate the gravity of our situation to employees, emphasizing that we were trying to save the company.

I faced significant challenges raising $3.8 million to buy Starbucks, including competition from investors who wanted to take over the company without due diligence.

The quality of coffee and the experience of drinking it were key to positioning Starbucks as an affordable luxury.