Going beyond coffee - networking secret

Howard Schultz, can I call you Howard?

Talks about the "future of Starbucks 

being beyond just coffee"

with the change in logo's this year. 

I talk a lot about Starbucks on LinkedIn and Twitter being the the end all and be all of networking

but it's time I clear up the confusion of one key thing....

It's not actually about the coffee!

Not the taste, the presentation or price. 

I call Starbucks "my second office" because it's the environment to conduct business. 

In Canada, Tim Horton's is not so much coffee as it is a religion ( "double double? Amen" )

I used to drive 100,000km a year for work in the 90's

It's what kept me alive ( Extra large, 2 cream, 7 sugars )

And Second Cup, Timothy's and other brands are good at coffee meets comfort.But Starbucks is to coffee what Lexus is to Toyota, Range Rover to Ford.

Even in the advent of the real "second office" and the laptop gollum's who buy two cups  and stay 48 hours doling out stinkeyes at anyone who dares have a conversation in their little Lord of the Coffee Rings library/home ... but I digress...

Look at this layout, the better locations (and on LinkedIn I use a group to source the best locations for meetings )have a quiet comfortable place to meet.

So, get your coffee from wherever it tastes best to you. Snobbery aside, McCafe and the big M is quickly catching up to my beloved Tim's as the cup of choice on the runbut when it comes to networking.....

Starbucks Rules.


Ps. Want to know the best way to meet in a coffee shop?
 

Want to know the BEST place to sit for networking purposes?


Read one or both of these books - they have done wonders for me!


PPs. My last tip is that I give my Starbucks card to the Barista in charge when I'm meeting someone I don't want to fight over who pays. One nod when I approach the counter - and I win. Every time.