Defining Authenticity

When an organization is being authentic, you can feel it. Even when its character is being expressed in a very small way, or through a very small action, an organization’s expression of its authentic self can touch your soul.

I was reminded of the power of small, authentic acts to touch your soul while I was reading Ryan Jones’ recent post “Pearl Jam, Seattle Movements & Lack of Purpose“. (Ryan blogs at M Cause, about marketing & brands, causes, and purpose.) Describing a gap he saw there between ‘creating a movement’ and ‘having a purpose’, Ryan writes:

Starbucks, for example, is a Seattle brand that doesn’t just want to be a brand…it wants to be a movement. Starbucks wants to “align with one of the greatest movements towards finding a connection with your soul.”

I’m a big fan of Starbucks coffee and I enjoy hanging out there with a great cup of joe and my laptop in tow, but I’m not sure that I would say that it has touched my soul lately.

Ryan’s comment made me chuckle–

Who ever thinks of big corporate coffee giant Starbucks as touching your soul?

In the big picture, I reckon that Starbucks is trying to touch my soul and the souls of its other customers. They certainly seem to be trying hard with all their social media efforts. They know that their business is not ‘all about the coffee’ anymore.

Still, I’m not “feeling the love” from any of their corporate initatives. Sure, I’m happy that the Anniversary Blend is back, and that my husband can get his pumpkin spice latte. And, in theory, I’m happy that Via is now available nationwide so that I will never be completely without a safety net.

But touching my soul? I don’t think so.

Except that recently, a Starbucks DID touch my soul.

In fact, it touched my soul noticeably enough that I whipped out my trusty iPhone and took some shots. (espresso pun there)

Check out this display at my favorite “I’m here to work” Starbucks.

This is a party favor left over from a celebration for a departing store manager. (She got promoted.)

One of the baristas made this, and they all took turns getting their pictures takes as the Starbucks Siren. Then, they left it up in the store (for about 2 weeks) and invited customers to get their pictures taken as the Siren.

I was having a bad hair day so I declined to get my photo taken, but I did take one for the woman behind me in line. She and I – and the barista behind the counter — had one of those “moments” where we were laughing about our mutual espresso addictions and just being together in this ‘third place’.

Why did this experience touch me?

Not too read too much into it, but I enjoyed how the Starbucks Siren let each barista and each customer “be” a part of Starbucks, even for a moment.

I’m not completely sure what that did for me, but I know that I enjoyed the idea that the baristas and the customers had fun with this. The experience surrounding the Siren felt “real” to me, because I knew that one of the baristas had made it, that it was intended for employees, that it was instead shared with customers, and that it was “about” the organization.

Can you think of anything else that would explain why this stuck with me, in a positive way?

I’d love your thoughts on this….

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