Read or subscribe at → michaelwmchugh.com No. 322 | March 6, 2026 Welcome to Friday Five, a short dose of insights to start the weekend with clarity and focus. This Week in Friday Five 🎺 Miles Davis and three songs to start with☕ The conviction that built Starbucks📚 Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s early lessons🎙️ Instagram […]
Friday Five — Courage of Your Convictions, Never Giving Up, and What Convinces Read More »
It’s the early 1980s. Milan. Howard Schultz is in town for a housewares show. The city’s espresso bars stop him cold. They are community gathering spots, a “third place” between home and work. This is the seed of the Howard Schultz leadership style. Baristas knew customers by name. Coffee wasn’t a transaction. It was a
Howard Schultz Leadership Style: Conviction Built Starbucks Read More »
Read or subscribe at → michaelwmchugh.com No. 321 | February 27, 2026 Welcome to Friday Five, a short dose of insights and inspiration to start your weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week The Beatles were an English rock band formed in the early 1960s. Their sound pulled from classical music, pop, folk,
Friday Five — Emotional Control, Freedom to Choose, and Pricing Power Read More »
Howard Schultz stops mid-stride on a Manhattan sidewalk and stares at a bright red “80% off” sign screaming from a boutique window. The world is on clearance. It’s the peak of the financial crisis. Storefronts are plastered with “For Sale” signs. Even Madison Avenue is begging customers to buy. Retailers are cutting prices at any
Starbucks Pricing Strategy: Why Howard Schultz Refused to Discount Read More »
Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 320 | February 20, 2026 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Galactic is a New Orleans funk band formed in the mid-1990s, anchored by Robert Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman,
Friday Five — Take Up One Idea, Laser-Like Focus, and Saying No Read More »
Starbucks was in trouble. Nearly 20% of the new stores opened during its aggressive expansion were closing. Customers were pulling back. Construction costs were spiraling. Founder Howard Schultz was scrambling to steady the company. There was only one way out: refocus on the customer and rebuild the Starbucks turnaround strategy from the ground up. In
Starbucks Turnaround: How Howard Schultz Saved the Brand Read More »
Read or subscribe to the Friday Five at michaelwmchugh.com No. 319 | February 13, 2026 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Hermanos Gutiérrez was formed in Zürich a decade ago by two Ecuadorian-Swiss brothers, Alejandro (guitar,
Friday Five — Conquering Himself, Discipline Equals Freedom, and a Calm Mind Read More »
In the middle of trying to land a rocket that no one had ever landed before, SpaceX stumbled into the problem that became its greatest competitive advantage. The kind of problem that makes sensible companies quietly change the subject. SpaceX leaned in. Instead of asking whether a reusable rocket was practical, Elon Musk asked why
Elon Musk and SpaceX: Why Difficulty Is the Ultimate Moat Read More »
Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 318 | February 6, 2026 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Beats Antique is a U.S.-based electronic group formed in the mid-2000s, made up of David Satori, Zoe Jakes, and
Friday Five — Deeds of Kindness, Bias to Action, and the Roots We Plant Read More »
Talent density. A bias toward action. Working alongside your team to solve problems. These are the SpaceX leadership lessons baked into the operating system Elon Musk installed on day one. Liftoff tells the SpaceX story from the very beginning. Musk hired the best people in the world—and then pushed them relentlessly to act. That pressure
SpaceX Leadership Lessons: How Talent, Speed, and Presence Built the Impossible Read More »