Among other things

I think that they may be speaking to the wrong people. Let's strategize a bit more about this (after the jump)...

The footwork is great but you've got to remember that in any one store the highest on the corporate food chain that you're going to get is to a store manager... maybe an owner if you're lucky. These are some more reasons why I think the personal approach is a real challenge...

• Starbucks is NOT a franchise operation. This means that whomever you speak wth will almost certainly default to 'no'. The truth is they can't say yes even if they wanted to. "The Starbucks Experience" is central to their business model and they control it from a central group. BUT, they way might consider finding a voice with this group is to work smarter, not harder. The students are at Harvard and in that academic membership they may indeed find the bully pulpit they need. The students may may not get to Howard Shultz (CEO, Founder of Starbucks) but they might get to an executive who is affiliated with Harvard...
  
  • See this article about Shultz to get some insight into his MO... according to the article at least. http://www.myprimetime.com/work/ge/schultzbio/
    
  • Also check out the 'Ethos' water project. Personally I think it is pretty silly to try and protect the 'environment' by selling plastic bottled water... but that's just me, or is it? ;)


• Franchises are handcuffed... at best. Now Starbucks may be a white whale for a project of this scale to hook so participants have to be careful not to burn out on it. Places like cinnabon, au bon pain, and dunkin are a different kind of issue. These are franchises so the owners can run their own store but are often restricted in particular ways due to contract agreements. Sometimes these agreements make it hard for the own to make any money even though they do a ton of business. To convince these folks you've got to convince them that it will increase their margin. Remember that is why they pay franchise fees. MONEY. The same strategy may work as the above, again... you've got to do the research... bring something to the table if you want them to ante up.


• Smaller shop owners have a different problem in that they are constantly being threatened by the two big guys above. These are your most likely partners... and your least likely. They may really want to partner with you but they've got to think about the two gorillas above waiting to pummel their cute little shop into submission. Remember that even HU Catering uses 'Official Starbucks Coffee'.


• MOST importantly, you've got to keep in mind that asking ANY of these folks to make a commitment to the project means changing their process model. The first thing they think is... "NO WAY. This is going to screw up my inventory and make it harder for my already stressed employees to get anything done... and I might lose money!" Remember that they still have to buy the same amount of cups and they do so in bulk either monthly or annually via contract agreements. Harvard Catering may be compelled to change and engage your project because it is in their best interests and they probably have to work with a tighter budget... but they have a shelter for that (the U.). To change the minds of these other folks you may have to move upstream into their B2B network. The wholesalers and distributors... for a project of this scale you can really forget having that kind of an impact. Its not worth your (or their) while. Bottom line... If you are going to get the coffee shops to do this, you've got to prove to them that it will bring them more business... or find that special owner who really cares that much... even they may hedge unless you can prove the shift.

In order to get anything done today you MUST use the social networks you are connected to! THIS is what they are there for, and they are no longer isolated to the simplistic affiliations of the Ivy League or Fortune 500 set. A real network incorporates the ethics and values of its constituents. These kinds of systems harbor a complexity that belies simple conjecture. No social network can function on any one, individual node. Therefore the goal of infiltrating a social network with an idea can only be met through careful identification of the wide spectrum of value systems it embodies.

I hope this information is helpful to the project. I don't have much time at all these days to work on these things but I really appreciate their work and the perspective they are trying to give the GSD. This is the kind of project that makes me think that there is hope yet... I hope.