“We’re not in the coffee business serving people. We’re in the people business serving coffee.” –Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks

It doesn’t matter what kind of widget we build or product we offer or service we provide. Because ultimately we’re all in the same business—the people business. The question is, will we embrace this? Will we see what we do as a means of serving others? Or will we see others as merely a means to building our business?

Because businesses who truly focus on taking care of their customers tend to be successful, regardless of the industry or marketplace they happen to be in. And those who fail to do so will eventually suffer the consequences.