1. What were the most important factors behind Starbucks decline in 2007 and 2008? Were these factors attributable to the company itself? Or were they attributable to the external marketplace?
2. What were the most important initiatives / activities of Starbucks' transformation? Why did these matter for the survival and transformation of the company?
3. Are there other initiatives / activities that you would have pursued, and that were not considered by Schultz? Why?
4. How much of the transformation's success should be attributed to Schultz himself? What lessons on leadership can we learn from his navigation of Starbucks through the transformation?
5. What do you think Schultz means when he says that Starbucks is "redefining the role of a for-profit