Tag Archives: education

Starbucks’ Sweet Smell of Success

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cap-and-gownWith the announcement this week that Starbucks is partnering with Arizona State University (ASU) Online to offer Starbucks workers college tuition reimbursement, it positions both Starbucks and its workers in a favorable light. The coffee giant’s College Achievement Plan provides a win/win for both employer and workers.

How it positions Starbucks: This new plan complements the Starbucks mission: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” It positions Starbucks as an industry leader, encouraging its workers who work 20 hours or more a week (either part time or full time) to complete their college education through convenient, online courses. It also demonstrates that Starbucks is paying it forward, investing in the future of its workers. And of course it solidifies the iconic Starbucks brand by building a stronger workforce since workers will remain at Starbucks over the long haul.

How it positions Starbucks partners (they are not called employees): It encourages partners to enroll in college and apply what they learn directly to their work. The more partners learn outside the realm of their daily jobs, the more well-rounded they become. As they continue through college, they may work their way up in the organization. When they apply the “pay it forward” philosophy to their own lives, they become more philanthropic and involved in their communities.

Some are criticizing this plan, claiming it creates another corporate monopoly. Within the College Achievement Plan, when partners complete their freshman and sophomore online courses through ASU, they will be given a discount. Completion of their junior and senior year coursework is fully paid by Starbucks. How refreshing for a corporate employer to offer tuition assistance to its workers. Wouldn’t it be nice if more employers invested in their employees’ futures?

What investments are you making in others and in yourself? How are you paying forward?

Enroll in the Graduate School of the Mind

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human-head-business-thinking copyImagine that you could create your own graduate level course to complete on your own timetable and for little or no financial investment. You can. Today, anyone can take the equivalent of a graduate level course by reading and studying books or taking online courses through Apple’s iTunes U or other free website resources. Even select colleges and universities offer complimentary courses for curious minds. With this approach, of course, you won’t have the tests, papers, theses or dissertations to complete yet the education is all there.

Let’s say you have been promoted into a management position within your organization and you want to learn more about leadership. Decide how much time you will dedicate each week to reading and studying. For now, we’ll say ten hours. At the end of one year, you will have invested more than 500 hours and educated yourself in a deeply focused way on the topic of leadership. When those studies are complete, if you like, you can choose a new educational topic theme, say, human performance. Each year, you could receive a new “degree” in a new topic area from the Graduate School of the Mind. To learn, retain information and grow, you must put what you learn into practice.

When people begin asking you questions like, “How do you know so much about leadership?,” you will answer with confidence, “I am very interested in the topic of leadership and have studied it extensively.” So the next time your organization is looking for someone with top leadership skills, who do you think they just might turn to? Think of the exciting topics you could explore and master if you just remained focused.