I admit it. I love Starbies. Not so much for the coffee but for the feng shui. For me, it really is the ‘third place’ (between work and home) that Founder Howard Schwartz likes to call it.
I spent four hours there Sunday afternoon thinking and writing. Only problem was, the music was way too loud, even for me (and I’m going deaf).
I asked very nicely if the music was “SET AT A SPECIFIC VOLUME”?
Answer was, “Yes. We know it is too loud for most of our customers… but it is set by ‘corporate’.”
Thus, the LISTEN… and RESPOND. In this case, Starbucks’ ‘response’ was to leave the volume alone, because it was set by ‘corporate’ (regardless of customer complaints or suggestions).
Apply this same LISTEN… then RESPOND to your own daily work. Are you really, really LISTENING… and RESPONDING to the people you serve? To your investors? To your staff/team?
It’s a little thing that’s a big thing. Turn down the music.
Special Note: Re-read Nick’s post on Vocabulary Wars. He ends with the same thought: The way to avoid a ‘vocabulary war’ is to LISTEN!