"Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it's based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions."

"Beverages have to be created. And they're created by looking at what trend is in, say, the fashion industry - what color's hot right now."

"I'm not losing any sleep over Dunkin Donuts."

"If Vancouver did not succeed as Starbucks from '87 on, our entire international business, which is now thousands of stores and a significant amount of growth and profit, may not have existed."

"Our history is based on extending the brand to categories within the guardrails of Starbucks."

"I'm not as interested in what you make as I am in what you're passionate about. What business are you really in?"

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

"I never took classic business classes in college, so I don't have the background that any of the people running large companies have."

"In many places where coffee is grown, deforestation is a major issue."

"I think what we're lacking in society, not only in the U.S. but also around the world, is to find heroes once again and to celebrate these kind of people."

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

"I was working probably at the age of 10, when I had my first paper route. I had every different kind of job you could possibly imagine as a young kid."

"I think many start-ups make mistakes because they are focusing on things that are farther ahead, and they haven't done the work that has built the foundation to support it."

"My kids probably started drinking coffee in their late teens."

"The Starbucks customer and the Teavana customer are two very different customers, two different need states that are highly complimentary."

"Americans reading the paper, listening to the news every single day, and all you hear is things are getting worse and worse. And that has a psychological effect on consumer confidence. That's what consumer confidence is."

"Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. The other side of it is that you can't cut enough costs to save your way to prosperity."

"Great opportunities can be and have been created during tough economic times."

"I am concerned about any attrition in customer traffic at Starbucks, but I don't want to use the economy, commodity prices or consumer confidence as an excuse."

"The lifeblood of job creation in America is small business, but they can't get access to credit."

"America's leaders need to put their feet in the shoes of working Americans."

"I'm optimistic about the country; I'm optimistic about the American people."

"Most business people today are not going to invest in the uncertainty that exists in America."

"When you start a company, it's a singular focus. You have the wind at your back."

"I'm much more concerned about America than the Democratic Party."

"Everyone must have a shot at the American Dream."

"We are witnessing a seismic change in consumer behavior. That change is being brought about by technology and the access people have to information."

"Don't buy preground coffee."

"The premium single-cup segment is the fastest-growing business within the global coffee industry."

"Do I take criticism of Starbucks personally? Of course I do."

"In the 1960s, if you were a blue collar worker or uneducated, and you had an injury on the job, the company basically dismissed you."

"Growing up I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks. I knew the people on the other side had more resources, more money, happier families."

"Anybody can leverage celebrity for profit."

"Starbucks is committed to evolving and enhancing our customer experience with innovative and wholesome food offerings."

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

"California, in a sense, is almost Starbucks' largest country, with almost 3,000 stores."

"As Americans, there are very few things we have confidence in."

"I always saw myself wanting to do something deemed successful and good at the same time."

"My parents really wanted me to get out of New York, be exposed to other people, other ways of life."

"London, a city where creativity and innovation have always flourished, provides a significant home for Starbucks and a significant gateway into Europe."

"We have a big opportunity in China. We think the number of stores here can rival the number in North America."

"Success in the United States is not an entitlement in China. You have to go there and earn it, and earn it the right way."

"Risk more than others think safe."

"We need to reinvent food at Starbucks. Less could be more."

"We think of Starbucks not as a coffee company but a media company."

"I really believe that you cannot use the stock market as a proxy for the economy."

"I could've just walked away but I never could have forgiven myself to allow Starbucks to drift into mediocrity or not be relevant. I just couldn't be a bystander."

"My mother taught me something at a young age - she said 'you are the company you keep'. To define yourself by some label or some level of resources - that's pretty shallow."

"I'm a voracious reader."

"When you're building a business or joining a company, you have to be transparent; you can't have two sets of information for two sets of people."