Iconoclasts - Season3 - Howard Schultz + Norman Lear

In this original series, leading innovators and creative visionaries meet to discuss their passions and creative processes, providing an inside glimpse into the inspiration and motivation that made these iconoclasts who they are today. In this episode, two men who changed the face of America, entertainment producer Norman Lear and Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, discuss creative entrepreneurship. In his home, Lear shows his original copy of the Declaration of Independence, while in Seattle, the pair visits the first Starbucks store.

Howard Schultz

ENTREPRENEUR

Howard Schultz joined Starbucks Coffee Company as director of operations and marketing in 1982, when the Company had only four stores. In August 1987, Schultz purchased Starbucks Coffee Company. Schultz is chairman of the board. Widely known as the architect of the Company's brand image, Schultz continues to provide strategic direction, serves as the vision and voice of the Starbucks brand and identifies new business alliances and development initiatives. Under Schultz's leadership, the company has achieved a number of milestones. Starbucks was one of the first privately held companies in North America to offer two unique benefits to its partners (employees): Beginning in 1987, part-time partners became eligible for full health benefits; and in 1991, eligible full- and part-time partners began to share ownership in the company in the form of stock options, called Bean Stock. In June 1992, Starbucks was the first specialty coffee company to become a public company and is now the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world. In addition to its retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, Starbucks sells coffee and tea products through its specialty operations, and licensed stores. Schultz has received a number of prestigious awards in recognition of his achievements and his commitment to community service and to partners. In 1996, Schultz was the recipient of the International Humanitarian Award from CARE for his vision and leadership in developing an innovative partnership between Starbucks and CARE to support people in coffee origin countries. In September 2000, Schultz was honored by the Columbia University School of Business with the Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics. In January 2002, Schultz was named one of top 25 Managers of the Year by Business Week magazine. In April 2004, Schultz was recognized by Time magazine as one of the "Time 100," a list of the most influential people in the world today. Most recently Schultz was selected as a 2007 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, given to those who have overcome adversity to achieve great success through the American free enterprise system. In spring 1997, Schultz created The Starbucks Foundation to raise awareness for literacy causes and to give grants to organizations that promote literacy. The Foundation was initially funded by Schultz's profits from his best-selling book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time. Since its creation, the Foundation has contributed millions of dollars to literacy programs throughout North America. Schultz is the co-founder of Maveron LLC, a venture capital group whose first investment was allocated to eBay, the world's largest personal online trading community. In June 2004, Schultz was elected to the board of directors of DreamWorks Animation. DreamWorks Animation is principally devoted to developing and producing computer generated, or CG, animated feature films. Starbucks Coffee Company provides an uplifting experience that enriches people's lives one moment, one human being, one extraordinary cup of coffee at a time. To share in the experience, visit www.starbucks.com.

Norman Lear

PRODUCER

Norman Lear has enjoyed a long career in television and film, and as a political and social activist and philanthropist. Known as the creator of Archie Bunker and "All in the Family," Lear's television credits include "Sanford & Son"; "Maude"; "Good Times"; "The Jeffersons"; "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"; "Fernwood 2Nite" and the dramatic series "Palmerstown U.S.A." His motion picture credits include COLD TURKEY, DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE, FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, STAND BY ME, and THE PRINCESS BRIDE. In 1982, he produced the two-hour special "I Love Liberty" for ABC. In 1999, President Clinton bestowed the National Medal of Arts on Mr. Lear, noting that "Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it." He has the distinction of being among the first seven television pioneers inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame (1984). He received four Emmy Awards (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) and a Peabody Award (1977) for "All in the Family," as well as awards from the International Platform Association (1977), the Writers Guild of America (1977) and many other professional and civic organizations. Mr. Lear also has founded several nonprofit organizations including People For the American Way (1980-present); the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication (2000-present), a multidisciplinary research and public policy center dedicated to exploring the convergence of entertainment, commerce and society; and the Business Enterprise Trust (1989-2000) to spotlight exemplary social innovations in American business. In 2001, Mr. Lear created the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a four-year educational initiative and national multimedia tour of one of the surviving original copies of the Declaration, which he owns. As part of the project, he also launched Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan voter initiative that registered 1 million new young voters in the 2004 election. Mr. Lear's business career began in 1959 with his co-founding of Tandem Productions, Inc. In 1974, he and his partners created T.A.T. Communications, later known as Embassy Communications. He is currently chairman of Act III Communications, a multimedia holding with interests in the recording, motion picture, broadcasting and publishing industries, including Concord Music Group and Village Roadshow Pictures Group. Mr. Lear is married to Lyn Davis Lear and resides in Los Angeles, California. He has six children: Ellen, Kate, Maggie, Benjamin, Brianna and Madeline.

Lear's Declare Yourself Campaign

Sundance Channel Film Listing

Photos from this episode:

Image from Howard Schultz + Norman Lear pairing from ICONOCLASTS Season 3.

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