Last week, the 360PR Book Club met to discuss our summer read, Onward by Howard Schultz.  Schultz is Starbucks’ CEO and Onward chronicles the coffee behemoth’s journey from 2007-2010.

As big as Starbucks has grown (and one of the challenges Schultz and his management team has had to grapple with, especially as the economy hit a wall and some consumers pulled back on that $3 cup of coffee), Starbucks’ entrepreneurial spirit comes through loud and clear in this candid, behind-the-scenes look at high-profile launches like Via, Clover and Pike’s Place, the latter two signaling a return to Starbucks’ coffee roots.

Schultz writes about Starbucks’ falters with just as much ease as he discusses its success, from the unsuccessful introduction of Sorbetto, Starbucks’ version of sorbet, to the launch of MyStarbucksIdea.com, a lively online community for Starbucks customers.

This is a book for true brand-lovers – whether you’re a loyal Starbucks customer or not.  Schultz dives in deep and discusses Starbucks’ brand essence, which centers on pouring the perfect shot of espresso and delivering a complete coffee sensory experience, from sounds to smells to, of course, taste.

But, perhaps the most important take-away is that Starbucks is not first and foremost a coffee company.  “It is a people company that serves coffee,” as Schultz writes.

To Schultz, Starbucks is more than a career or a company.  It’s family – from hand-written letters to partners (employees), meetings with executives held at his home, and his goal of “putting the customer at the center of everything” Starbucks does.

We give Onward a collective two thumbs up.  Are you a coffee drinker?  Are you loyal to a particular brew?  Let us know in the comments!

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We just wrapped up the latest 360PR Book Club with a great read – Tactical Transparency by Shel Holtz and John C. Havens. It was a lively discussion (to say the least) and this book left us all contemplating…what is the balance of transparency?

In a nutshell, the book emphasizes that with the Internet and growing use of high-speed connections it is necessary for companies to be transparent. Holtz and Havens define transparency as the degree to which an organization shares its leaders, employees, values, culture, business strategy and the results of its business practices, with stakeholder publics.

There are organizations that use transparency to their benefit, and others who miss the mark. One of my favorite examples is Apple, which was transparent in their response to negative reactions online resulting from a sudden drop in the price of the iPhone. Instead of ignoring complaints from early adopters who felt cheated by the holiday price drop, Steve Jobs apologized in an open letter and offered a $100 credit.

On the other hand, an example from Wal-Mart illustrates how a lack of transparency can backfire. The WalmartingAcrossAmerica.com blog followed the adventures of a couple travelling cross-country, stopping in Wal-Mart parking lots. Customers had a strong negative reaction when it was leaked that Working Families for Wal-Mart (WFWM) funded the trip.

It’s clear that transparency is no longer just a “need-to-know” concept. As Holtz and Havens state, “The flood of social media has brought in an age of digital transparency that is putting the power to create or destroy a reputation into the hands of consumers. Every business today must speak the language and meet the expectations of a new digital population.”

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We are about to dive into a new book for our 360PR Book Club. There is nothing better than reading up on public relations and social media while lying on the beach! Well at least everyone in our office thinks it’s exciting…

We are considering three books this summer, ranging in focus from how social media is taking over PR to why flash mobs actually work. Here are our picks for the summer session of the 360PR Book Club:

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR  

By Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations focuses on how PR professionals have the opportunity to make PR succeed more powerfully with social media and Web 2.0 It seems like we have been doing this for a while, but maybe Solis and Breakenridge will give new tips and tricks to seasoned PR professionals.

Twitter Power: How to Dominate your Market One Tweet at a Time

By Joel Comm

As PR pros we’ve been using Twitter for a long time, but we are always open to hearing how to make Twitter work harder for our clients. Twitter Power discusses through case studies and best practices, how to build a brand via Twitter.

And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture

By Bill Wasik

And Then There’s This highlights the phenomenon of viral culture, including the creation of flash mobs, memes, and other Internet sensations such as guerilla marketing and political blogs. The theory of why certain phenomenon take off and others are left in the dirt is important for all PR people to understand. Wasik may have some new insight that will help on our current campaigns.  

Let us know what’s on your book list this summer – for business or pleasure!

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Why are some messages memorable while others go in one ear and out the other?  The 360PR team hoped to answer this question with a discussion of our most recent book club selection “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive While Others Die” by brothers Chip and Dan Heath.

According to the Heaths, a “sticky” idea is one that is understood, remembered and has a lasting impact – like urban legends. Ever heard of the infamous ring of kidney thieves who steal people’s kidneys to sell in the black market? Now, that’s sticky.  Even though the kidney snatchers don’t exist, the story is memorable and people re-tell it, giving it that lasting impact. However, when company executives relay TRUE ideas to their employees or customers they, too often, say things like “We aim to maximize utility and unlock shareholder value” and people tune out – NOT sticky.

While poring over hundreds of naturally sticky ideas ranging from proverbs – “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”- to successful marketing campaigns, like Subway’s Jared campaign, the brothers found six common traits of sticky ideas. Naturally sticky ideas are simple, unexpected, credible, concrete, elicit emotion and/or tell a story.

These six traits make perfect sense in the context of PR. We are sometimes faced with the challenge of telling a story about a product or pitching a piece of news that isn’t, inherently, sticky. But, the Heaths offer hope to those of us facing this dilemma. After all, the book is not called “Born to Stick” it’s called “Made to Stick” and Chip and Dan argue that with a little love any idea can become sticky.

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We started a book club at 360PR a couple of years ago.  This summer’s selection was Peter Shankman’s Can We Do That?!.   The subtitle on the jacket calls this a book about PR stunts.  But it’s more than that.  I found the most interesting chapters focused on how to find your creative streak, too often lost among the myriad of emails and meetings we come into every day and can’t seem to get out from under.  Shankman’s team went skydiving to jumpstart their creativity.  I’m not jumping out of any planes for clients or staff (sorry guys).  But the point about getting out of the office is a good one.

My best ideas never come from the confines of my desk or our conference room.  I find the office is a great place to do the research that can lead to big ideas, or to refine the big idea and put meat on the bone.  But the big ideas inevitably come at odd hours and in odd places.  The produce aisle.  The hair salon.  Walking the dog.  “Ideas come to you when you least expect them: be ready. Not only ready to write down the idea, but ready to act on it immediately,” says Shankman. [Read more →]

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