This book is about a previously high-flying
advertising executive at JWT who is shown the door by the company now
looking
to cut costs by employing college graduates who could do the same work at a fraction of the costs. This is the story of Michael Gates, former executive and now working with Starbucks—the book follows his trail through the days post JWT, a cancer diagnosis, and then a bump in to the local Starbucks.
At Starbucks, Michael gets into a chance conversation with Crystal, a manager at Starbucks who is
looking for talent. Crystal, in half good humor, offers Michael an interview for a job at the coffee chain and Michael accepts. Soon, he is inducted into Starbucks society and is learning to clean toilets, handle change, assist guests, and make coffee—more or less, in that order. Working with the crew at this new place, Michael realizes the huge divide in work cultures and begins to appreciate the empowered culture that Starbucks has created; where being courteous and giving praise was more a norm than an exception—compared to his previous organization where there were instructions not to praise a person on paper, lest it later become difficult to fire the employee.
Michael comes in contact with a diverse group of individuals at Starbucks and learns a lot about life that his previously sheltered lifestyle protected him from. He also earns back the respect of his children, especially daughter who now begins to appreciate the new Michael Gates.
All in all, this is a good read. The author does not go too deep into his experiences and feelings, but provides a good couple of hours of thoughtful reading. I would recommend this to anyone looking to spend a few good hours without excessively stressing on complex plots, characters, and suspense.