The Rise and Fall of Starbucks

Orginally published on Monday, April 02, 2007 at 6:03 AM
by Earl Creps

I have visited hundreds of Starbucks on the road in the last few years. I really did need all those caffeine jolts. Also, I like their atmosphere and the values pamphlets they keep in racks next to the cream and sugar. The brand continues to expand at a rapid place, with something like 10,000 stores now operating in the US, and 3000 stores in 37 other countries. Starbucks influence can be seen in the many churches around the country that look like they used the same architect. But I am also noticing some troubling trends recently in my coffee stops. The quality I have come to expect is faltering in some ways that are strikingly familiar to the dynamics of a ministry that is verging on decline...

1. The first thing to go is your self-talk: Entering a ‘Bucks in Tulsa early one morning, I overheard the crew talking pointedly among themselves about aspects of their training they did not appreciate. I was shocked. This was my first experience of hearing their personnel speak negatively about the company. But remember, we’re not in Seattle anymore. This is 10,000 stores later.

2. The next thing to go is your other-talk: In another store, I stood at the counter (alone) and waited to place my order while the crew ignored me for what seemed to be a very long time. Being used to friendly service delivered just as rapidly as humanly possible, the delay seemed to drag on forever. Two years ago, even one year ago, this kind of experience was unthinkable.

3. The last thing to go is your culture: One of the best parts of visiting ‘Bucks is listening to the baristas describe your order in the language of their tribe: “Skinny Mocha Latte Frappacino with a Shot!” Then I went into a store where the coffee priesthood treated their sacred language like a joke, as if mocking their own tradition. With the loss of the lingo, everything else about the experience (like the cleanliness of the store) suffered as well.

In between these visits, I had many positive experiences at Starbucks. But I am no longer sure that going for coffee will be what I think it should be. Something has been lost.

I want to suggest an implication for leaders: The most challenging part of staying on mission may be defending the organizational DNA that got you there.

1. The first thing to go is your self-talk: First Church began as an urban, campus-oriented congregation reaching out to the students and staff of a large state university. But as the leadership aged, their conversations began to include questions like this: “Maybe we’re never going to be able to have the kind of programs our families need unless we build somewhere else…”

2. The second thing to go is your other-talk: In its early days, First Church was known for its emphasis on relationships. Infrastructure was considered a distant second to friendship. As self-talk about moving to a larger venue increases, ministry infrastructure is developed in anticipation. In a year or two, more visitors are welcomed by greeters in the lobby, than are attending with their friends.

3. The last thing to go is your culture: Eventually, First Church dedicates a lovely new facility at the first exit on the new beltway surrounding the city’s suburban ring. Now in its forties and fifties, key leadership feels good about the evolution of the group from a down and dirty outreach center to a much more sophisticated enterprise with the kind of production values that suburbanites expect. All this is fine, but in the process, something has been lost.

If the Starbucks monolith is showing the first cracks, then no one is exempt from patterns like this.

Leadership means monitoring the extent to which our ministries are on mission and both nurturing and defending the traits that achieve that focus.

For Discussion:
1. What are some of the traits that keep ministries on mission?
2. Are there other patterns that emerge when the direction is drifting?
3. Do you know of a leader who has recovered from this trend? How did it happen? 

About the Author:  Earl Creps has spent several years visiting congregations that are attempting to engage emerging culture. He directs doctoral studies for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri (http://www.agts.edu).  Earl and his wife Janet have pastored three churches, one Boomer, one Builder, and one GenX. He speaks, trains, and consults with ministries around the country. Earl’s book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, was published by Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network in 2006. Connect with Earl at http://www.earlcreps.com .

 

 

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