Tip of the Hat ... Wag of the Finger...

Here is another Tip/Wag Segment. More so than ever, these past couple years I have been training my mind in the discipline of business & economics. I have always loved business and now my career is helping people live a sweeter life, and hopefully as a result, my life will be sweeter as well.

This edition, my tip of the hat goes to Starbucks. I remember distinctly my first Starbucks experience in a Barns & Noble off of North May in Oklahoma City in the Fall of 1995. It was love at first smell & taste. Although my taste has developed past Starbucks, I tip my hat to them for the outstanding manner they care for their employees. It seems like Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, is everywhere right now. I watched an hour long expose on Starbucks last week on CNBC and then watched a 60 Minutes Interview with Schultz this past Sunday.

Starbucks was one of the first companies to offer healthcare to part-time employees. And to this day, they still do. Schultz pointed out in both interviews that Starbucks now spends more money on healthcare than they do on coffee...and that is why they charge so much for their drinks. Now, if that is the major reason why they charge so much for their drinks, then the price still stings but the sting now has a redeeming quality to it. To me, their quality of coffee is not worth $4 a cup...but their corporate culture may very well be.

Today's wag of the finger goes to Wal-Mart. Now, I know I may sound like I'm joining in on the Wal-Mart Bashers, but I know I am also one of the biggest hypocrites when it comes to this. More on the breath of my hypocrisy in a later post. [Side Note: South Park did a great episode commenting on the seduction of Wal-Mart] Today's wag goes to Wal-Mart because more than ever as an aspiring entrepreneur with a conscience, I believe Wal-Mart is beginning to do more harm than good to the American economy and to the American ethos.

Their prices may be nice on our wallets, but the cost may be too much for our souls to bear. I may be a little overdramatic here; but on a spectrum with these two powerhouses on separate ends, when I approach my golden years, if I have to still work I pray I may have the opportunity to wear a green apron and not a blue vest.