|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Niccol’s Next Starbucks Order; CEOs Took Just Hours to Organize Minneapolis Letter; Landmark Trial Tests Claims That Social Media Harms Teens
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning. Today, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has plans for the next year in his turnaround effort; corporate leaders hope their carefully crafted statement on Minneapolis will have an effect; and a Los Angeles jury is poised to consider whether platforms such as Instagram and TikTok cause mental-health disorders in teenagers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Starbucks is reinforcing its expectations for employees, including for meaningful messages written on customers’ cups. Lanna Apisukh for WSJ
|
|
|
|
|
|
Starbucks says its customer-experience overhaul is starting to pay off, with record sales days during November holiday promotions, and new products helping to attract customers. But the project isn’t done.
CEO Brian Niccol wants to install more comfortable seating at hundreds of U.S. locations and make it simpler to pick up drinks, Heather Haddon writes for The Wall Street Journal. He aims to better keep food in stock, wants the chain to offer superior customer service, and thinks the messages written on cups can be meaningful, too.
-
The company is holding trainings this month to emphasize its expectations, including eye contact with customers and meaningful phases written on to-go cups, according to baristas. One-word expressions or smiley faces scrawled on cups with Sharpies won’t cut it, some workers said.
Niccol has a model in mind for the warm vibe Starbucks should offer: the Central Perk coffee shop featured in “Friends.”
“I do firmly believe that even if you want to come and grab and go, you’d rather grab and go from a place, than a soulless experience,” Niccol said in an interview at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council in December.
|
|
|
|
|
Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
|
|
|
Brand Building in the Age of AI
|
|
How do you reach customers in a world where large language models are reshaping brand engagement? Marketers from Qualcomm, Mars, and Samsung Electronics America shared their insights at CES 2026. Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Breaking the Corporate Silence
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Demonstrators at a rally in Minneapolis last week. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minnesota CEOs’ letter breaking weeks of corporate silence on the Minneapolis turmoil came together quickly after the killing of Alex Pretti, Chip Cutter and Sarah Nassauer report for The Wall Street Journal.
Some had worried in earlier, informal talks that saying anything publicly could set off a political backlash, but the calculus shifted for a group of executives after a federal immigration agent shot Pretti.
The statement urged federal, state and local officials to work together but didn’t explicitly mention the recent killings of Pretti and Renee Good, both Minnesota residents, by immigration agents.
“It is extremely difficult to get all these CEOs to agree on such a clear statement, especially one that might have political consequences,” said Bill George, a former CEO of Medtronic who has been in touch with local executives and lawmakers in recent days.
But many fear “the current conflict has negative potential consequences in their ability to grow, innovate and attract top talent from around the world to work in Minnesota.”
Critics want a stronger response. Here’s one example:
|
|
|
Popular Information contacted all 68 companies that signed the letter as of Monday morning to obtain more specificity about their positions. Each company was asked a basic question: “Do you condemn the killing of two Minnesotans by federal officers?” All either declined to comment or did not respond.
|
|
|
|
The signers expected criticism, my WSJ Leadership Institute colleague Lila MacLellan writes in this morning’s CEO Brief newsletter.
“But the unity it represents among the largest employers is having an impact,” Barry McCarthy, CEO of payments and data company Deluxe, told Lila. He cited developing news that some Border Patrol agents are set to leave the state, and other signs of a shift.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“I have found comfort in Reddit forums
of all places.”
|
|
— Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in a Wall Street Journal ad apologizing for his antisemetic behavior, saying he has bipolar disorder and had “lost touch with reality.” As he sought help, he said Reddit helped him realize he wasn’t alone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social-media companies say they have invested in safeguards for their platforms. Allison Dinner/EPA/Shutterstock
|
|
|
|
|
|
A personal-injury trial begins this week in Los Angeles over a young woman’s claim that social-media platforms built products that caused her a host of mental-health problems, Erin Mulvaney writes for the Journal.
It is the first such case to go to trial as thousands of other similar lawsuits, brought by individuals, school districts and state attorneys general, wait in the wings.
The cases take aim in part at core characteristics of social media, including algorithmic recommendations and product features like infinite scroll and video autoplay that make it hard for teens to look away.
Social-media companies deny the allegations and say they have been investing for years in making their platforms safer, even at the expense of audience growth.
More tech concern: Dozens of psychiatrists and therapists say AI chatbots had “led their patients to psychosis, isolation and unhealthy habits.” [NYT]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power and it is deeply unclear whether our social, political and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it.”
|
|
— Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Claude maker Anthropic, in a 20,000-word essay arguing that AI poses risks including huge job losses, bioterror and “a global totalitarian dictatorship.” Those risks can be managed, he wrote, but first, “Humanity needs to wake up.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The founder of Studio 54 and Morgans Hotel Group is teaming up with Highgate to operate his Public Hotels. Joe Carrotta for WSJ
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ian Schrager has formed a new partnership to revamp his stalled hotel brand Public. [WSJ]
Nigella Lawson is joining “The Great British Bake Off” as a judge, taking over for Prue Leith. [Guardian]
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s appearances this week on “The Late Show” and “The View” won’t trigger the FCC’s new guidance on “equal time”—because he’s not technically a candidate. [THR]
Whoop wearable fitness monitors got a burst of unexpected publicity when the Australian Open forced Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Whoop endorser Aryna Sabalenka take their devices off before playing matches. [Front Office Sports]
OpenAI’s ad test for ChatGPT is seeking rates on par with an NFL broadcast. [The Information]
Meta will advertise its Oakley branded AI glasses with a Super Bowl ad featuring celebrities like Spike Lee and YouTuber iShowSpeed. [Social Media Today]
Business-to-business software company Rippling will make its Super Bowl debut as part of a campaign starring comedian Tim Robinson. [Adweek]
Why football fans are so mad about Super Bowl ad teasers and early releases this year. [OffBall]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
