$24.95
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248 pages
ISBN 9781419520013 Published Sept. 2006
Kaplan Business
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Posted July 21, 2010 8:44 a.m. by sally-haldorson
In - 800 CEO Read Blog
We've got a SPECIAL OFFER this week on inBubbleWrap! Free TOUGH LOVE!
John Moore is a man who knows his stuff.
- Author of Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the Grounds of Starbucks Corporate Culture
- Author of the ChangeThis manifestos, What Must Starbucks Do? and Tribal Knowledge
- Marketing strategist who designed and implemented marketing programs for both Starbucks Coffee and Whole Foods Market.
- Owner of Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice, a consultancy helping businesses profit by marketing with passion and purpose.
- Author of the well-read Brand Autopsy blog
As we've mentioned previously, we were thrilled to team up with John Moore in offering our first full-length book for sale on ChangeThis. This week, we are offering 20 PDF copies of TOUGH LOVE, John Moore's business book masquerading as a screenplay.
Fast-paced, familiar and timely, TOUGH LOVE is the perfect story for our times. TOUGH LOVE is a human story. But TOUGH LOVE is also a story about finding solutions. About doing things wrong. About making the hard decisions. About moving on. Settle in with the script, a cup of your favorite brand of coffee, and enjoy!
Click here to learn why you'll love Tough Love: Scripting the Drive, Drama & Decline of Galaxy Coffee and to sign up to win!
Tough Love interview with John Moore
Posted June 28, 2010 6:18 a.m. by jon
In - 800 CEO Read Blog
As announced last week, we've launched our first digital book over at ChangeThis.com. Tough Love, by John Moore is a business inspired screenplay, and follows his straight-up business book Tribal Knowledge. Both deal with an industry the author knows well - coffee. After years of marketing for Starbucks, Moore has seen a lot of changes and struggles both from inside and outside perspectives, and tells great stories about how people's relationship to coffee has shifted and developed over the years.
Particularly, Tough Love is a prime example of Moore's storytelling ability. Written in true screenplay style, what appears to be fiction on the surface ends up feeling more real than non-fiction as you begin to 'hear' the character's voices, and identify those voices with the accompanying sketches of each person involved. A great new format, revealing a powerful way to absorb the complexity of a multitude of business issues - leadership, marketing, teamwork, and much more.
Here's a Q&A I did with the author about the book and his experience. Great stuff all around, and of course we recommend checking out the book in full.
Doing and thinking differently is a common theoretical approach, but you've applied this within your writing by creating a new genre - the business screenplay. How did the idea come about?
I’ve always been one who looks to gain inspiration from concepts outside of my comfort zone. Last year I sought to improve the flow of my presentations and decided to learn how screenwriters craft a story. Ended up reading “SAVE THE CAT: The Last Book On Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need” by Blake Snyder. Great book. It’s like PURPLE COW for aspiring screenwriters. Meaning, Blake breaks down the art of screenwriting and arranging a story into easy-to-follow ways.
As I was reading SAVE THE CAT, I learned some tips to improve my presentations but I also became inspired to follow his structure to write a screenplay. But not a Hollywood script, rather a screenplay as a business book.
After reading hundreds of business books, and writing one myself, I’ve grown tired of the typical business book. They are too long, too pedantic, and too boring. A screenplay, on the other hand, is a different way to tell a story and I became excited about the idea of sharing business lessons inside a screenplay.
Then I thought with all the drama Starbucks was going through in a rough economy, it would make for a great screenplay story. That brings us to TOUGH LOVE, a story about Galaxy Coffee and its struggles to manage its brand growth in good times and bad.
One of the issues within the screenplay is how a company manages its brand, or what's at the core of it's purpose. How does the title Tough Love relate to that?
A problem I’ve experienced first-hand working inside brands like Starbucks and Whole Foods is there are too many company cheerleaders who refuse to challenge ideas. People who wear, in classic Edward de Bono ideology, the “black hats” and offer judgmental critiques during meetings aren’t seen as team players. These “black hats” can love the company they work for but they should still feel comfortable in offering “tough love” feedback.
There’s a scene in TOUGH LOVE where a company cheerleader chides a former employee for criticizing the actions of Galaxy Coffee. This former employee responds back that no business is perfect and the reason he is critiquing the company is because he loves the company.
There is also an entrepreneurial side to the screenplay. What is the main lesson for the entrepreneurially minded you hoped to communicate through the characters?
At Starbucks I knew a lot of smart and die-hard company loyal people like “Vivian Kane.” Vivian is a main character in TOUGH LOVE, she’s a classic company cheerleader—probably to a fault. She suppressed her entrepreneurial aspirations to take the easy way and stay at a company she secretly is losing faith in. The lesson being... gain experience and confidence at some company and then scratch your entrepreneurial itch, if you have one.
Because of the format, readers get a sense of the personal perspective of the characters. Talk a bit about one example of personal success that's revealed in the story.
An important storyline revolves around David Pearl, Galaxy Coffee’s charismatic CEO. Many years ago, David scratched his entrepreneurial itch to leave a string of sales jobs to eventually become the driving force behind Galaxy Coffee. The public image of David is one of confidence and competitiveness. However, the private image of David reveals his lack of self-confidence. David masks his insecurity by being revengeful and overly competitive. He will go out of his way to prove doubters wrong, even if it costs him dearly.
By the end of the story David’s life is turned upside down. What he thought was right, turned out wrong. He ends up learning, the hard way, life rewarding and business saving advice. David becomes a better man and a better businessman from all the trials he faces in leading Galaxy Coffee through its growing pains.
From the story, and of course your own experience at Starbucks and Whole Foods, what is your overall advice for companies to better understand and adhere to their mission AND remain profitable?
When I talk to businesses I ask them if they have a “Do Not Compromise List.” I ask this question because every business makes compromises as it grows. The trick is not to compromise anything sacred. But to know what’s sacred, a business needs to first write it down.
For example, Whole Foods maintains “Do Not Compromise List” of all the artificial and chemical ingredients it finds unacceptable in food products. Under no circumstances is Whole Foods to sell any product that contains ingredients on their “Do Not Compromise List.” This list acts as a compass for Whole Foods to follow as it grows.
I recommend businesses maintain a “Do Not Compromise List.” And more importantly, I recommend businesses continuously refer to this list every couple of months to keep them on track to grow with purpose true to their beliefs.
Prescience by the cup
Posted Jan. 22, 2010 8:33 a.m. by sally-haldorson
In - 800 CEO Read Blog
In April of 2007, we published a manifesto on ChangeThis.com by John Moore, author of the book, Tribal Knowledge, and the blog, Brand Autopsy , who made his mark in the marketing world by creating, championing, and implementing marketing ideas and branding ideals for Whole Foods Market and Starbucks Coffee. Moore's manifesto, "What Must Starbucks Do?" was written in response to Howard Schulz’s concern about the direction Starbucks had been taking. Moore began his manifesto by proffering his own advice and then presenting a collecting of comments from his blog’s readers about what they would like to see change at Starbucks. In the past couple of years, Starbucks certainly experienced a downturn, but a new article in The New York Times reports that things are looking up. What struck me as I read this article is that many of the changes Schulz and Starbucks have made in the past couple of years are exactly those called for by Moore and his readers, many of whom were disappointed Starbucks customers. Check out John Moore’s manifesto, “What Must Starbucks Do?” and then compare it to both your current experiences at Starbucks (here's mine) and The New York Times article. It is an interesting diversion to see just how right on the predictions were and if your experiences have improved in ways laid out in the article, but also it is a valuable example of how a company, and a leader, can recognize trouble and respond accordingly.
The Ehrenfeld Principle
Posted Dec. 18, 2006 7:30 a.m. by kate
In Sales - 800 CEO Read Blog
A few weeks back we hosted an author pow-wow (pictures here). [I can't tell even begin to tell you how much is gained by personally knowing the people behind emails and phone calls.]
One of our pow-wow-ees was John Moore. A takeaway from him is what he dubs "The Ehrenfeld Principle." [You may recognize the name from one of our regular contributors.] What's this principle?
Thats my name for something I learned from business writer Tom Ehrenfeld at the recent 800 CEO READ Author Pow-Wow. During one of the sessions, Tom outlined his "WHAT? | SO WHAT? | PROVE IT!" system to identify effective business writing.The WHAT? is the content. The SO WHAT? is why the content matters. And the PROVE IT! provides the credibility.
It's a great way to simplify the selling of anything -- for authors, marketers, entrepreneurs, etc., etc. John used the principle to explain the new book The 12 Elements from Gallup Press.
Jack Covert Selects: Tribal Knowledge
Posted Sept. 6, 2006 5:11 a.m. by jack
Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the Grounds of Starbucks Corporate Culture by John Moore, Kaplan Business, 264 pages, $22.95, hardcover, September 2006, ISBN 1419520016
When I am hiring people, I always lean toward the folks who had paper routes as a kid. It shows initiative that I think carries with you for the rest of your life. Why do I mention this? John Moore, author of Tribal Knowledge, started as a barista in Starbucks Store #677. He advanced through the ranks of the company to lead marketing programs during the Starbucks boom years.
This book that presents the known and unknown practices that have put a Starbucks on practically every city and every street corner gives you 47 short bursts of business wisdom, perfect for picking up and putting down as you have time. The first third of the book is spent on branding and marketing. The middle third is on creating memorable customer experiences. The final third is about building excellent places to work. Each burst concludes with questions to keep you thinking.
I think #18 is my favorite: "Remarkable Things Get Remarked About". Moore bows at the feet of Seth Godin and Sergio Zyman and adds great stories to the idea of being remarkable. The success of the Frappuccino was driven by non-coffee drinkers who found something they could enjoy (and tell all their friends about).
I liked this book because you find out insider stuff (Starbucks doesn't pay for product placements, yet Ally MacBeal, You've Got Mail, and the first two Austin Powers movies all used the stores in their storylines) and you can go do something immediately with what you learn.
