CEO as Revolutionist: Starbuck's Howard Schultz

This week’s Revolutionist of the Week is Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Schultz has gone above and beyond to protect his employees in the wake of the current executive order to ban Muslims and decisions against the Affordable Care Act by the Trump administration.

Schultz declared that Starbucks will hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries, beginning in the United States with individuals who served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel. He also said that any Starbucks employee who loses their ACA medical coverage will be able to return to health insurance through Starbucks. I applaud Schultz for leading a company that is not just a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace with a stable culture, but one that is accountable to its employees as well as customers and the community at large.

Speaking of accountability, Dallas accountability expert Greg Bustin is holding his annual “Best & Worst in Accountability Survey” based on events that occurred throughout the year. It’s your chance to vote for the companies that did the right thing in 2016—and those that did not. Highlighting leaders and businesses that did the best and the worst helps keep them accountable. 

Credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg

Cleaning Up After Volkswagen

Volkswagen is expected to update the world on its internal investigation the emissions-regulations scandal this week. However, as this article puts it, VW has been “responding to each new revelation [of misconduct] with denial, feigned ignorance and weak apologies.” It seems almost impossible that a company as large as VW with such a glaring moral and practical issue can shrug it off so nonchalantly. Such behavior is very typical of a harmful corporate culture that is hoping against hope that the scandal will simply ‘go away.’ What VW should focus on, in addition to keeping its internal investigation as objective as possible, is a cultural shift towards openness, transparency and accountability. See the New York Times for more.