50 Inspirational Howard Schultz Quotes On Leadership & Success

Updated: August 3rd, 2021

Howard Schultz is an American businessman and author.

He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Starbucks Coffee Company from 1986 to 2000, and then again from 2008 to 2017.

Howard Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team from 2001 to 2006.

We've put together an incredible collection of Howard Schultz quotes to read.

Here they are:

50 Inspirational Howard Schultz Quotes On Leadership & Success

List of Inspiring Howard Schultz Quotes

"Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners." -Howard Schultz.


"Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. Care more than others think wise." -Howard Schultz.


"There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, that go against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust." -Howard Schultz.


"I am convinced that most people can achieve their dreams and beyond if they have the determination to keep trying." -Howard Schultz.


"Success is not sustainable if it is defined by how big you become or by growth for growth’s sake. Success is very shallow if it doesn’t have emotional meaning." -Howard Schultz.


"In times of adversity and change, we really discover who we are and what we’re made of." -Howard Schultz.


"The world belongs to the few people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty." -Howard Schultz.


"Everyone starts strong. Success comes to those with unwavering commitment to be at the end." -Howard Schultz.


"I think my whole life, because of where I came from, I had a fear of failure." -Howard Schultz.


"If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold." -Howard Schultz.


"You have to be authentic, you have to be true, and you have to believe in your heart that this is going to work." -Howard Schultz.


"You have to have a 100% belief in your core reason for being." -Howard Schultz.


"Whatever you do, don't play it safe. Don't do things the way they've always been done. Don't try to fit the system. If you do what's expected of you, you'll never accomplish more than others expect." -Howard Schultz.


"Believe in your dreams and dream big. And then after you've done that, dream bigger!" -Howard Schultz.


"I think that sometimes the difference between winning and losing, success and failure, is this gray line between will, passion, and self-belief that says, I'm going to do this." -Howard Schultz.


"Success is something that has to be earned every day." -Howard Schultz.


"If you pour your heart into your work, or into any worthy enterprise, you can achieve dreams others may think impossible." -Howard Schultz.


"If you don’t love what you’re doing with unbridled passion and enthusiasm, you’re not going to succeed when you hit obstacles." -Howard Schultz.


"You must find something that you deeply love and are passionate about and are willing to sacrifice a lot to achieve." -Howard Schultz.


"One of the fundamental aspects of leadership, I realized more and more, is the ability to instill confidence in others when you yourself are feeling insecure." -Howard Schultz.


"The hardest thing about being a leader is demonstrating or showing vulnerability. When the leader demonstrates vulnerability and sensibility and brings people together, the team wins." -Howard Schultz.


"Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day." -Howard Schultz.


"When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible." -Howard Schultz.


"Business leaders cannot be bystanders." -Howard Schultz.


"To be an enduring, great company, you have to build a mechanism for preventing or solving problems that will long outlast any one individual leader." -Howard Schultz.


"At its core, I believe leadership is about instilling confidence in others." -Howard Schultz.


"I think the currency of leadership is transparency." -Howard Schultz.


"Treating employees benevolently shouldn’t be viewed as an added cost that cuts into profits, but as a powerful energizer that can grow the enterprise into something far greater than one leader could envision." -Howard Schultz.


"Any business today that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is going to be on a death march." -Howard Schultz.


"You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed your employee’s expectations of management." -Howard Schultz.


"You have to be honest and authentic and not hide. I think the leader today has to demonstrate both transparency and vulnerability, and with that comes truthfulness and humility." -Howard Schultz.


"Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can't tell you whether someone will fit into a company's culture." -Howard Schultz.


"Effective leaders share two intertwined attributes: an unbridled level of confidence about where their organizations are headed, and the ability to bring people along." -Howard Schultz.


"Starbucks is rekindling America's love affair with coffee, bringing romance and fresh flavor back to the brew." -Howard Schultz.


"Starbucks represents something beyond a cup of coffee." -Howard Schultz.


"The most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart." -Howard Schultz.


"The lifeblood of job creation in America is small business, but they can’t get access to credit. The response to the Starbucks brand has been phenomenal in our international markets." -Howard Schultz.


"Starbucks has a role and a meaningful relationship with people that is not only about the coffee." -Howard Schultz.


"Starbucks is in my blood. It is such a part of me that letting it unravel simply was not an option." -Howard Schultz.


"When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture." -Howard Schultz.


"We think of Starbucks, not as a coffee company but a media company." -Howard Schultz.


"If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand." -Howard Schultz.


"We establish the value of buying a product at Starbucks by our uncompromising quality and by building a personal relationship with each customer." -Howard Schultz.


"While we are a coffee company at heart, Starbucks provides much more than the best cup of coffee. We offer a community gathering place where people come together to connect and discover new things." -Howard Schultz.


"Coffee will always be the core of what we do. " -Howard Schultz.


"What Starbucks has created around coffee is an extension of the front porch." -Howard Schultz.


"China traditionally has been a tea-drinking country but we turned them into coffee drinkers." -Howard Schultz.


"We are not in the coffee business serving people, we are in the people business serving coffee." -Howard Schultz.


"Certainly, the caffeine in coffee, whether it's Starbucks or generic coffee, is somewhat of a stimulant. But if you drink it in moderation, which I think four or five cups a day is, you're fine." -Howard Schultz.


"I was taken by the power that savoring a simple cup of coffee can have to connect people and create community." -Howard Schultz.

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.