From the Ground Up

A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America

By: Howard Schultz

Narrated by: Howard Schultz

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

From the longtime CEO and chairman of Starbucks, a bold, dramatic work about the new responsibilities that leaders, businesses, and citizens share in American society today - as viewed through the intimate lens of one man’s life and work. 

What do we owe one another? How do we channel our drive, ingenuity, even our pain, into something more meaningful than individual success? And what is our duty in the places where we live, work, and play? These questions are at the heart of the American journey. They are also ones that Howard Schultz has grappled with personally since growing up in the Brooklyn housing projects and while building Starbucks from 11 stores into one of the world’s most iconic brands. 

In From the Ground Up, Schultz looks for answers in two interwoven narratives. One story shows how his conflicted boyhood - including experiences he has never before revealed - motivated Schultz to become the first in his family to graduate from college, then to build the kind of company his father, a working-class laborer, never had a chance to work for: a business that tries to balance profit and human dignity. 

A parallel story offers a behind-the-scenes look at Schultz’s unconventional efforts to challenge old notions about the role of business in society. From health insurance and free college tuition for part-time baristas to controversial initiatives about race and refugees, Schultz and his team tackled societal issues with the same creativity and rigor they applied to changing how the world consumes coffee. 

Throughout the book, Schultz introduces a cross-section of Americans transforming common struggles into shared successes. In this audiobook, lost youth find first jobs, aspiring college students overcome the yoke of debt, post-9/11 warriors replace lost limbs with indomitable spirit, former coal miners and opioid addicts pave fresh paths, entrepreneurs jump-start dreams, and better angels emerge from all corners of the country. 

From the Ground Up is part candid memoir, part uplifting blueprint of mutual responsibility, and part proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. At its heart, it’s an optimistic, inspiring account of what happens when we stand up, speak out, and come together for purposes bigger than ourselves. Here is a new vision of what can be when we try our best to lead lives through the lens of humanity. 

“Howard Schultz’s story is a clear reminder that success is not achieved through individual determination alone, but through partnership and community. Howard’s commitment to both have helped him build one of the world’s most recognized brands. It will be exciting to see what he accomplishes next.” (Bill Gates)

©2019 Howard Schultz (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Howard Schultz’s story is a clear reminder that success is not achieved through individual determination alone, but through partnership and community. Howard’s commitment to both have helped him build one of the world’s most recognized brands. It will be exciting to see what he accomplishes next.” (Bill Gates)

“From the Ground Up will resonate with anyone who knows what it’s like to overcome adversity. Howard Schultz’s dream to make the world more fair and welcoming for everyone is truly a breath of fresh air.” (Serena Williams)

“Howard Schultz has written a compelling and moving story about how his childhood hardships influenced his creation of Starbucks and inspired him to create a company with a social conscience. Schultz offers powerful lessons about how companies can help address social problems and how we as a society can come together to ensure that every American has the opportunities open to a poor boy from Canarsie - to see the world ‘not as it was, but as it could be." (Secretary Robert Gates)

Howard Spills the Beans

The life and times of Howard Schultz and Starbucks has given me a new perspective on both. Thank you for the creation of the third place I value deeply.

Inspiring

Lessons about life, people, values, companies, QSR.
It is a must for any person who wants to lead people.

Please Run

Howard Schultz is the textbook American success story of how a poor boy from a dysfunctional home in Brooklyn can rise above the odds and create a business that values kindness and sustainability. Starbucks has been at the forefront of compassionate capitalism. I desperately long for a moderate liberal candidate with the ideals of Mr. Schultz, and I pray that he runs and that he wins the presidency. He is a good man.

A learning opportunity

A behind the scenes account of how Starbucks became the juggernaut they are today.

Generational Read

Everyone whose living in this generation will get a valuable lesson reading this book. Recommend!

Our Future President!!

Mr. Schultz eloquently describes his rise from the projects to successfully building the global Starbucks and his successful career as the CEO of the company. But what he does throughout the book is intimately exposes heart, intentions, aspirations, successes and failures in the process. He describes instances where his good intentions were received in a completely different spirit, by the community at large, than what he had intended. He illustrates how he has mobilized efforts to bring people together, through humble and altruistic measures, oftentimes putting humanity over profits. He embraces his religious roots, while accepting that others have and live by different moral codes and standards.
As a lifelong republican, I found myself gravitating to his idea of social stances. From a fiscal standpoint, I feel that he aligns himself with far more individuals who don’t recognize with either the far-right or liberal-left parties that we are currently forced to chose between. He understands that free markets, who aren’t taxed to death, can do things far more efficiently than governmental systems who have no accountable oversight.
Bottom line, this book has given me a lot of hope!! I look forward to Mr Schultz running for President and I will do all I can to support his success!!

Interesting but flat.

The narration was very flat. story wasn't bad but I did struggle to finish. I think it would make a great movie. Two hours and done.

so much gained from small beginnings

great to hear the author tell the story. Very authentic. learned so much more about a company I thought I already k new.

Touching and inspiring

A good book. I was moved into tears for several times. It was really touching and inspiring.

Personal & thoughtfull

What is the role of a company as SB in society? That is the question author asks and tries to answer many times in his book.
No lecturing, or implying "truths" this book is more than a business, or leadership book personal journey of HS and Starbucks to find its place and live its values.
I liked it..