"Every step of the way, I made it a point to underpromise and overdeliver. In the long run, that's the only way to ensure security in any job."

"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."

"All great companies have passed through bad years that forced soul-searching and rethinking of priorities. How we deal with them will be the litmus test."

"When you’re in a hole, quit digging!"

"After the storm, many citizens left New Orleans to live elsewhere, but those who stayed were determined to rebuild. They loved their city."

"Life is a sum of all your choices,” wrote Albert Camus. Large or small, our actions forge our futures, hopefully inspiring others along the way."

"When we love something, emotion often drives our actions."

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

"But the reasons against going to New Orleans--that spicy southern city known for jazz and Mardi Gras and hospitality--were the very reasons we had to go."

"People have come to me over the years and said to me: 'I admire the culture of Starbucks. Can you come give a speech and help us turn our culture around?' I wish it were that easy. 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."

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, . . . begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. —GOETHE"

"When it comes to Starbucks, I take every threat very personally."

"Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible."

"People around the world, they want the authentic Starbucks experience."

"Work should be personal. For all of us. Not just for the artist and entrepreneur. Work should have meaning for the accountant, the construction worker, the technologist, the manager and the clerk."

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

"There's a metaphor Vincent Eades likes to use: "If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn't be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn't know that, so it flies."

"If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn't be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn't know that, so it flies"

"The evolving social and digital media platforms and highly innovative and relevant payment capabilities are causing seismic changes in consumer behavior and creating equally disruptive opportunities for business."

"Success is best when it's shared."

"The future of America is not an entitlement. We have been given a treasure chest of gifts and opportunities, but some people are being left behind, and success is not sustainable unless it is shared."

"I think the most important thing that I think everyone in America must have is belief that wherever they live, whatever station they have in life, that the American dream is alive and well. I think the fracturing of trust and confidence is in the American dream."

"Authentic brands don't emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does..."

"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"