When I’m off the mark, I own it.
A few months ago, I called out Starbucks, among other companies, in a Forbes piece for faking empathy. And when they started announcing changes like mandating the Sharpie-on-cup policy (personalized messages baristas had to write on each cup) , I was skeptical.
I even said as much on Instagram. It felt like band-aids for a deeper injury of losing connection and empathy for their customers. Just surface-level fixes that missed the real problem.
I stand by that critique. Performative empathy and connection is never the right answer. But I also believe in giving credit where it is due. And Starbucks has earned some.
This Is Not a Band-Aid
CEO Brian Niccol recently announced that Starbucks is investing more than $1 billion to overhaul the barista and customer experience. We’re talking better equipment, a simpler menu, and a redesigned store environment built around connection rather than throughput. A change ot bring people back into the store as their “Third Place” to gather, connect, and work.
This is not just a PR move. It’s too expensive for that. This is operational empathy at scale.
That is a meaningful distinction. Real empathy requires understanding what people are actually experiencing and then doing something structural about it. Not just posting about it. Not just training people to smile more of write “Have a nice day!”on their cups.
Changing the systems, tools, and environment that make people’s work and experience harder than it needs to be.
Starbucks spent years optimizing for speed and mobile orders, and I get it. It saved them during the Pandemic. But by doubling down on that approach to increase margins, it lost the thing that made people loved it in the first place: the feeling of being a regular somewhere. The warmth. The ritual. The sense that someone behind the counter actually saw you.
Getting Back to Mission Is Always the Smarter Business Move
This is something I talk about constantly in my workshops and coaching. You have to be crystal clear about mission so people are not only aligned and on the same page, but so that you can make sound strategic decisions that live up to that mission every single day.
When organizations drift from their core mission and start chasing metrics that feel safe, they often sacrifice the very thing that made them special. And rebuilding it costs far more than protecting it would have.
Starbucks is now learning that lesson at billion-dollar scale. But here is the thing: they are actually doing it. They are swallowing their pride, acknowledging that the efficiency-at-all-costs strategy was a mistake, and investing seriously in human connection. That takes courage.
It also takes a certain kind of leadership empathy: the willingness to listen to what employees and customers are telling you and take feedback as a gift, not a threat, even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it’s expensive.
The Leadership Lesson
You don’t need a billion dollars to make this shift. But you do need to be honest about where your organization has drifted from its mission by sacrificing human connection for efficiency, cost-cutting, or short-term metrics.
Where have you optimized the humanity out of your product, your culture, or your customer experience? What would it take to bring it back?
Starbucks is betting that human connection is not a nice-to-have. It is their competitive advantage. Of course, I think they’re right. And I, for one, am rooting for them. And going back to the days where I show up with my laptop, set up shop, and enjoy my decaf sugar-free vanilla latte and petite vanilla scone while writing or meeting with colleagues.
