Howard Schultz Quotes

Our culture is the foundation for our company.

I love being part of a company, and telling a story.

The future of any corporation is as good as the value system of the leaders and followers in the organization.

A sour corporate culture can actually make an entire society unhappy. This means that a strong corporate culture can have a positive impact on a society.

If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn't have done it.

Company culture is my number one priority. It's more important than the team, the product, the business model, or the investors. All of those things can be fixed and made better over time. But culture has to be established on Day 1.

I think the company that has the clearest set of values is Amazon. That company knows what it is. It may be that it's not your cup of tea, but every single person at that company knows what the Amazon values are.

The culture or environment of a company starts from the top. The leadership. The leadership of a company sends a message to its employees of what is tolerated and what is not.

Defining, embedding, and living core beliefs set the stage for executives and employees to connect. Through actions that consistently convey who we are and how we act, executives can inspire employees to believe in the organization's values and buy in to its brand.

Culture used to be viewed as the 'touchy-feely' side of business, but that's no longer the case. If you don't have a defined culture behind you, then you aren't going to be effective at executing your strategy.

Having a clear mission and making sure you know that mission and making sure that mission comes through the company is probably the most important thing you can do for both culture and values.

For me, I've learned about what it means to focus on a culture, to build social responsibility, and the idea of a company as a super-organism.

When you are led by values, it doesn't cost your business, it helps your business.

You won't find a CEO who doesn't talk about a 'powerful culture' as a source of competitive advantage. At the same time, you'd be hard-pressed to find a CEO who has much of a clue about the strength of that culture.

Companies have to be innovative in leading with values the same way they have to be innovative in their products and services.

Culture is what happens when the CEO isn't in the room.

Microsoft's culture is very strong.

The Ford Motor Co. should stand for something more than cars and trucks. There is a Ford way of doing things that we cannot lose... We need to be continuously polishing that Ford oval.

I don't know if a company can have a soul, but I like to think it can.

Companies that understand the purpose and philosophy behind the 'why' are usually astute, high-performing organizations that tap directly into the pulse of those they benefit the most.

It's not just hours and pay that are important anymore. People want to know what the company is like, what the culture is.

Most of the time, when you need something at a company, you make it. If you want to sell a product, you create it. If you need a head of marketing, you hire one. If you want to create a great company culture, what do you do? The lack of a clear answer on this is why I believe most companies don't have a great culture.

The right people don't care about a corner office - they care about the culture, if you're mission-driven, what you're going to do to make the world a better place.

As a former CEO and senior executive, there was a time when I did not quite understand the profound impact a CEO has on the culture of a company, even though I always knew culture was important.

Your employees have lots of opinions about everything - your strategy and vision; the state of the competition; the quality of your products; the vibe in the workplace. There are tons of things you can learn from them.