"Care more than others think wise"
About this Quote
"Care more than others think wise" is a CEO-friendly rebrand of stubborn empathy: a permission slip to take feelings seriously in a culture that often treats them as inefficiencies. Howard Schultz didn’t build his public identity by being the smartest guy in the room; he built it by selling an atmosphere - the idea that coffee could be a daily ritual with dignity, comfort, and a little human recognition baked in. The line reads like a personal credo, but it’s also an operating manual for a particular kind of corporate mythmaking.
The intent is motivational, sure, but the subtext is strategic. "Wise" here doesn’t mean morally wise; it means conventionally rational, the kind of wisdom that shows up in spreadsheets and short-term margins. Schultz is arguing that the sensible move, as defined by market orthodoxy, is often too small to win. Caring "more" becomes a competitive advantage: over-invest in employee benefits, obsess over customer experience, build brand loyalty through a sense of belonging. What looks soft is positioned as hard-headed foresight.
Context matters: Schultz rose during an era when American corporations trained themselves to be suspicious of sentiment, then watched as consumers began rewarding companies that performed values. This phrase sits neatly in that shift. It invites workers and leaders to be the person who sends the extra message, makes the extra hire, fights for the extra policy - and it also justifies the audacity of calling all that "wisdom" after the fact. In Schultz’s world, caring isn’t charity. It’s leverage.
The intent is motivational, sure, but the subtext is strategic. "Wise" here doesn’t mean morally wise; it means conventionally rational, the kind of wisdom that shows up in spreadsheets and short-term margins. Schultz is arguing that the sensible move, as defined by market orthodoxy, is often too small to win. Caring "more" becomes a competitive advantage: over-invest in employee benefits, obsess over customer experience, build brand loyalty through a sense of belonging. What looks soft is positioned as hard-headed foresight.
Context matters: Schultz rose during an era when American corporations trained themselves to be suspicious of sentiment, then watched as consumers began rewarding companies that performed values. This phrase sits neatly in that shift. It invites workers and leaders to be the person who sends the extra message, makes the extra hire, fights for the extra policy - and it also justifies the audacity of calling all that "wisdom" after the fact. In Schultz’s world, caring isn’t charity. It’s leverage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Servant Leadership |
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