Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, recently shared a striking encounter with Steve Jobs during a challenging period for the coffee giant. In a podcast appearance on ‘Acquired,’ Schultz recounted how Jobs once “screamed” at him, urging him to fire his entire senior leadership team.
Schultz’s leadership at Starbucks spanned multiple decades and included three stints as CEO: first from 1987 to 2000, then from 2008 to 2018, and a final return in 2022. His second tenure was particularly critical, coinciding with the 2008 financial crisis when Starbucks faced difficulties. His third return came during the post-coronavirus period, aiming to stabilize the company once again.
In the podcast, Schultz reminisced about a pivotal moment in 2008 when he visited Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California. At that time, Starbucks was grappling with serious issues, and Schultz sought advice from Jobs. “I was strolling around Apple’s campus, confiding in Steve about our company’s problems,” Schultz said, according to a report by Fortune.
Their first interaction was over the phone, discussing potential collaborations between Starbucks and Apple, particularly around mobile order and pay. This phone call led to a personal invitation from Jobs to meet at Apple’s headquarters. “Jobs had a whole thing about walking. He would go out and walk around the building. And so I went down there and basically we took a walk. I just told him all my problems – everything that was going on,” Schultz recalled.
During this walk, Jobs abruptly stopped Schultz and gave him blunt advice. “He just stopped me and said, ‘This is what you need to do.’ He looked at me and said, ‘You go back to Seattle and you fire everyone on your leadership team.’ I thought he was joking,” Schultz recounted.
Shocked by the suggestion, Schultz questioned Jobs. “I said, ‘What are you talking about, ‘Fire everybody’? He said, ‘I just told you. F-king fire all those people.’ He was like screaming at me in my face: ‘Fire all those people, that’s what I would do.’ I said, ‘Steve, I can’t fire all these people. Who’s going to do the work?'”
Jobs insisted, predicting that the leadership team would be gone regardless within six to nine months. “He was right. Except for one, the general counsel, they were all gone,” Schultz said on the podcast.
Reflecting on this advice years later, Schultz acknowledged Jobs’ foresight. “I talked to him since then. We were on stage together at an event, and I told him, ‘They’re all gone.’ He said, ‘Well, you’re six months, nine months late. Think about all the things you could’ve done.'”
This candid revelation highlights the intense, sometimes harsh realities of leadership and the drastic measures sometimes necessary for a company’s revival. It also underscores the influential and often uncompromising perspective Steve Jobs brought to his interactions with other industry leaders.
