I parse out just enough cat nip for one of the cats to get off, but not both, and let them duke it out like Siamese fighting fish, all hisses and rear leg strokes fanning the guts, fangs, stoned-out faces,… Read More ›
Starbucks
‘The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys’
I leave work sick and catch a bus home. Catching a bus isn’t easy when you live in the suburbs, you have to catch different buses and string them together. Then, you don’t get right where you need to be…. Read More ›
Brands, people, Starbucks
Brands aspire to elevate people to a positive emotional state. But the word brand itself is cold, distant, transactional. It’s the people with the logo on their shirt that make or break it. The bright people in the corporate office… Read More ›
Son, observe the time and fly from evil
It seems like whenever I tell someone from San Francisco I work for Starbucks, there’s a moment of internal dialogue behind their face as they decide if they want to say something bad about the company to my face, or… Read More ›
Why design matters
We are getting down to the wire on constructing a trade show booth at work. The first storm has blown over: approving the design. Of course the design is an emotional thing because the brand is an emotional thing (especially… Read More ›
A lather of voices
Riding the charter bus uptown from SODO to the Starbucks shareholders meeting, I lost myself in the din of small talk and made myself disappear. I thought of a young guy who used to work for me in a store,… Read More ›
Volunteer Day
Yesterday my workgroup spent the day at a local non-profit food bank distributor called Northwest Harvest. We went to one of their packaging facilities in Kent, where we bagged food items for elementary school kids. The kids are part of… Read More ›
The Empty Vessel
Woody Allen didn’t read his film reviews, which suggests two things: 1. He didn’t care what the critics thought, and/or 2. He didn’t want the critics to influence his work. It’s important to know who your customers are and what… Read More ›
Foraging
I take walks from work to clear my head, get some light, take a break from the computer. Outside, the scene is the same but still, I forage. I’m looking for ideas, listening. Though the scene is about the same… Read More ›
Cover Letter
I started in coffee 20 years ago at a small shop called Analysa’s HavaJava. It was the only café in town. I said to the owner, I like it here. Are you hiring? I learned the ropes with the espresso… Read More ›
Bill Pearse 