Show Notes
You may want to grab a grande half whole half skim quadruple upside down macchiato latte extra hot… and breakfast… and maybe lunch, too… because this is what can only be described (if you’ll forgive the cliché) as an epic episode.
Friends and #SuperFreds Jillian Jackson and Dino Dogan join us to talk about the Starbucks #RaceTogether campaign, the good, the bad and things we couldn’t have anticipated. We truly enjoyed the conversation and think you’ll gain some valuable insights into business, marketing, how they tie into social issues and whether you should put yourself or your business in the line of fire.
PS: This is our first episode with the explicit tag, in part because we talk about some difficult and grown up subjects but also because an F-word or two may have escaped and we let them live in the interest of retaining the truth of the conversation.
In This Episode We Talk About
- Whether the Race Together campaign was a good idea or bad idea (hint: we don’t all agree)
- Whether the conversation about race should be happening in a coffee shop with a barista (hint: we don’t all agree)
- Whether Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is visionary or crazy (hint: we don’t all agree)
- The importance of aligning yourself with people who share your values but also knowing the difference between agreement and alignment
- Plus we decide on Jillian’s official SuperFred title, start a new movement called #SocialGuac and answer the burning question, “How much guacamole can Jillian eat?”
Links & Resources
- Scroll to the middle of this Business Insider article for the “talking points” memo that was given to baristas
- Read the brief about the recent case where an Oregon man was acquitted of any crime when he was caught taking photos beneath the skirt of a 13 year old girl
- Follow Jillian on Twitter @onejillian
Your Marketing Action Item
From Jillian: Talk to the person who interacts with your customers the most and ask them what they think about race (or any sensitive subject) before moving forward with a company-wide brand campaign.
Where To Listen
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No mention of where Fred can find Jillian online and nothing in the show notes? #WSSup?
I KNOOOOOOOOWWW! It occurred to me way too late and I think after recording and having such a challenging conversation we were just ready to go eat dinner 🙂 Ugh. I can pop that stuff into the show notes.
Time to get poppin’. 😉
Woot! Following Jillian on Twitter. 🙂
“Starbucks Lost Control When They Set Out to Cajole”
Colorful and sumptuous
Impressive and attractive
Ms. Jillian is resplendent
So spunky and proactive
Hates to see the little guy
Get backed against a wall
Corporate is the culprit
They should take the fall
Guacamole is disappearing
And everyone’s drinking wine
Homemade pizza in the oven
I’m envious! is the bottom line
Dino is wearing short shorts
With a little hint of butt cheek
If this was a video broadcast
Then Fred could take a peek
Religion, politics, and race
Along with sexual orientation
Never fail to cause a backlash
They’re not easy conversations
There’s room for disagreement
And blow back in discussions
Creating meaningful changes
Means the risk of repercussion
If only I had the power, I would erase race — so that everyone would embrace their fellow humans with dignity and grace. ~ Melanie
Big congrats to Jillian for being awarded the #SuperFred title, “Chief Executive of Everything WSSup”!! 🙂
I LOVE that picture of Jillian…
This conversation reminds me of something I heard the year that I turned 40 that changed my life forever.
Watching Chaz Bono do an interview for his recently released book Transitions, at a time before his mother had decided to accept the changes he was making he was asked how he dealt with her “rejection” of his new reality. His answer changed my life forever. ” I had to learn to allow the adults in my life to deal with their own feelings “. Learning to do this has become a major turning point in my life. Deciding that not everyone is going to like you, or agree with you and not everyone has to. Only I do. Those that do matter in my life, my business and my orbit, won’t care that I am a gay woman, that I have a quirky sense of humor and say randomly weird things on the internet, and in life quite honestly. Every single time I get a bit of negative back lash or a bad feeling on a post, or in life, I have to remind myself of this and ask myself, does this persons opinion really change my life? NO… I can still look myself in the mirror and be happy with who I am and the product I produce. That is where my reputation comes from. Love these conversations…
You are so right. This is something it takes most of us for.ev.er. to figure out and then those of us who do, we run around trying to free everyone else from the guilt and agony of worrying about what other people think. How someone thinks about you because of who you are is about THEM and not about YOU. Grown up people have to figure this out on their own and we can’t be perpetually responsible for how they feel about us. That whole orbit thing…. yup. Also, Jillian does look pretty steaming in that photo, right? 🙂
PS: I love your quirk!