Yesterday, I was catching up on The Daily Show. One of the episodes had an interview with Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks. He was on the show promoting their new program that will send employees to college for free. He talked about how he was concerned about the rising cost of college and the debt it was creating for young people today. He mentioned that we cannot wait on the government to fix the situation and that profits should not be the only goal of a corporation. That got me thinking about the Chick-Fil-A. This too is a company that does not seek profits as the end all be all.
It is funny that these two corporations both have goals other than profits and have a sense of social responsibility. Now, I am not saying these two corporations have all the same values because they do not. However, both corporations have created a very positive environment in their stores. This is a result of money not being the determining factor in all decisions.
I am a huge fan of both places. I have always been impressed with Chick-Fil-A's employees asking how they can serve you. It might not seem like much but that is a very humbling statement and these days, humility is in short supply. At Starbucks, the employees really do seem to take pride in their work and enjoy the place. Pride in one's craft and enjoying work is also in very short supply these days.
What is my point? It is this, finding a purpose greater than money in life will lead to even better things. If more corporations would find ways to help their employees and foster better environments then the world will be a better place. Yes, I know that sounds like a statement from a third grader but it is so very true. If everyone went into work, knowing that on some level the company took some interest in their well-being then maybe we would not have fast food employees out protesting to make $15/hour and CEO's would not crash companies into the ground by making greedy decisions just to walkout with a multi-million dollar severance package while the investors lose their life savings. It starts with the leadership. Schultz said in this interview that Starbucks is not just a coffee business but a people business. If you go onto the Chick-Fil-A website, you would see they find ways to keep the environment clean. They also offer scholarships to employees and help to send disadvantaged youth to college.
These are not the only companies out helping others. I do find it interesting that the founders of these companies are opposites politically. Those on the right would demonize Starbucks for having a founder that supports Obamacare. Those on the left would demonize Chick-Fil-A for having a founder that speaks out against gay marriage. How about instead of painting people with the brush of politics (colors would be Fox News Red and MSNBC Blue), we start looking at how these people are leading the way in helping their fellow man?
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