Save Us from the CEOs!!

David Farkas of Chain Leader writes some interesting things about Starbucks founder and eminence gris Howard Schultz.

Schultz was recently profiled in Business Week-- and not very flatteringly, either. Seems that, like with a lot of CEOs, he can't or won't delegate decisions to his otherwise smart and rigorous underlings. The "case study" for it all is how Schultz was against the chain using skim milk in its lattes, despite the fact his competitors were. Nothing changed until Schultz personally witnessed a customer walk out of a Starbuck's without purchasing her morning brew because her only choice was whole milk.

Hey, I think 2% tastes better in my tea than skim milk, but far be it for me to force anyone else to drink their hot beverages my way.

Yet anyone in business has a favorite story about the quirky CEO who insisted on this, or wouldn't do that because he did/did not like it. When we were representing Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream, the CEO would not allow a licensing deal for make-your-own Popsicle toys because:

1.) It would "denigrate the brand experience"

2.) Why would moms & kids buy Popsicles if they could make their own?

3.) The money wasn't enough to overcome the "risk."

Hey, we're talking about a toy here! A toy given during the holidays, a toy where the child likely will have lost one or more of the parts by New Year's or soon thereafter. And no consumer is going to taste a make-it-yourself Popsicle and say "yuk, I'll never buy one again," or "this is denigrating my experience of the brand."

Sometimes, as Freud would say, a cigar is just a smoke and a toy is just a toy.

Baskin-Robbins made a ton of money from the first make-your-own ice cream toy set. And we had three companies prepared to put large $$$$ up-front. But at the end of the day, the CEO wouldn't listen to the licensing people. He didn't like it. It didn't happen.

The only thing I can say in defense of the charismatic, anal-retentive CEO is: save us from the marketers with their reams of paper and studies. It's one reason large companies almost never are innovators.

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