We are priveleged to know such a great man and his wife, Lyn.  Up to now they are very very good friends of the family.  

Howard was the one who brought Starbucks to the Philippines 10 years ago. We all know that good leadership determines the success of an organization and Howard was definitely a good leader. 

Congratulations Howard on your book!  

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Former Starbucks President’s New Book!

 

 

“Howard Behar, the keeper of Starbucks’ soul for many years, has given us a book about how to succeed anywhere-not just in business. His ten principles should be required reading for every government official and college president.”

 

—Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley

 

As a longtime senior executive at Starbucks, Howard Behar helped establish the company’s culture, and coached hundreds of leaders at every level around the world. 

 

Now in his upcoming book, IT’S NOT ABOUT THE COFFEE, Behar reveals the ten principles that guided his amazing leadership. And as the title suggests, not one of them is about coffee.  

 

As he writes, “At Starbucks the coffee has to be excellent, from the sourcing and growing to the roasting and brewing.  Our finances have to be in order.  But without people, we have nothing.  With people we have something even bigger than coffee.”

 

Behar argues that if an organization puts people before profits, everything else will take care of itself. If you think of your staff as people (not costs) they will achieve results beyond what is thought possible. And if you think of your customers as people (not revenue) you’ll make a deep connection with them, and they’ll come back over and over. 

    

Published by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Group USA

For more information, please visit www.howardbehar.com

Available for sale at Starbucks and bookstores

 

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Pao, I am so glad you met Trina!  And because of that, I got to meet her too and I just love her!  I enjoy her and I am glad to have a new friend!  She is so hard working and so super fun to be with.  Trins, thanks for inviting us over to your beautiful home and for preparing a wonderful meal for us.    

 

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Thanks to Bulgin and Lils for telling us about this place!!  If only it were not so far away from Makati…we would be here more often.  Whenever there is a Persian restaurant, I always want to try. Thanks to my regular eating partner, Brenda, we had lunch here a few weeks ago.  Yummy! Wow! I am so glad they had this dish that had a mixture of all the dips.  We got to try all - tatziki, hummus, motabal and misa kazemi. Goes well with any bread- pita, naan, toasted papad, etc. or with the kebabs. And then there is the 2 kinds of sauce on top of the table - Garlic sauce and a tomato based sauce which is spicy.  Of course, the true test is always the kebabs!  We had the lamb and the beef.  And it was really good!  And not to forget the homemade french fries to go with it.  The rice was interesting because the plain rice was mixed with yellow rice on top.
And this was something we have never seen and tried before.  The waiter got our grilled tomato from the platter and started removing the skin then he added salt and pepper and the yummy garlic sauce that comes on the table. Add a little of the spicy tomato sauce for a little spice or more if you want it spicy.   After which he mashed the tomatoes and then it becomes like a sauce.  He said to eat it with the kebabs!!!! YUMMY!!! If you have a good garlic sauce you can make - then you can make this at home easily also.  For me, a good garlic sauce is also secret to good kebabs! And they usually come on the table already and you can put as much as you like.

tel #:  489-8254  share with a friend

What an interesting day at Rustan’s.  We learned some new recipes that were very easy to make and yet tasted very good.        share with a friend

  
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 This is from Tita Nena and Hindy. I visited around August last year.  

ISIP is a good source for organic items. They also have organic vegetables and are delivered on certain days of the week. You can order in advance.  It is near Ateneo Law School and Rockwell.  You won’t miss the blue building on your left, it is the funkiest in the street :-) 

 

It is a small store- this is it …… 

 

 

 

  

ISIP, 6241 Palma corner Mañalac Streets, Poblacion, Makati City
(near Ateneo Law Schools, Rockwell) or call RAQUEL at 8958421 and 09064353184 or EMAIL:isip_philippines@yahoo.com  share with a friend 

I am amazed at the effort that Gippy and Hindy undergo to make sure they use environment friendly products.  Here is what Hindy shared with the family…and maybe many of us can learn and get some tips form her….

 

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actually i’ve always been kind of an eco-nerd since 1st year high school but then the green movement wasn’t really progressing here, then i got into other things like (clothes, boys — some boys!, movies, etc.), then we moved to the states and got caught up with school and work stuff naman.  my passion got re-ignited when we enrolled lucas at the Acacia Waldorf school.  couple that with anouck’s daignosis, and we had the most compelling reason. 

 

it is sad that most people need a reason — as if our general well-being and the environment’s health weren’t enough to get us started.  we have all just created a society of consumption and convenience — and worse for us filipinos, most of what we do depends on foreign products/ideas.  we need to get back to basics — in food, in education, in entertainment, in lifestyle.  every single person benefits from these changes — our children, ourselves, our community, our farmers, our artists, our scientists, our country, our entire world.  it is the responsible thing to do, the smart thing to do, the right thing to do.  but what stops us?  ignorance (is that really an excuse anymore? with all the available information out there?), fear maybe, discouragement perhaps?  i think for those who are below the poverty line, they have no choice — they think merely of survival.  but for the “educated” people, what stop us is a kind of laziness (for lack of a better word) or candid refusal to allow any “inconvenience” upon ourselves.  this is what we’re used to, what we know, what we are comfortable with and heck, it feels good and makes our lives “easier”.  but it is shortsighted.  we don’t see the damage it will do to our bodies, to our air, to our oceans, to each other.  it’s time we think as a communities, not just families; as one planet, not just as a country — where everyone is responsible , not just the government or doctors or ceo’s.

 

i am not claiming to know everything. the problem with being a proponent of these things is some people tend to challenge your ideals — maybe because they feel guilty or threatened.  but that’s not my intention. i only discuss it when asked.  and i’m far from being hardcore about it.  i mean. gosh, you should meet some of the parents at the school — they even make their own cooking oil!  and have no yayas and turn off the lights at home by 8PM.  ha ha!  i’m a long way from there.

 

We get our free-range native chicken, eggs, milk, yogurt at Salcedo Market — all local, even the yogurt. 

 

 

 

 

We just add raw honey or pure maple syrup and any fruit + nuts we want on the yogurt. 

 

Non-GMO Soy milk is from Rustan’s.

 

We make our own juice from organic fruits. ( Using a Matstone Juicer - this juicer keeps the nutrients of the fruits and vegetables - available at Rustan’s )

 

But there’s a great guy at Salcedo who has really good fresh juices and fresh green iced tea.

 

 

Rice, veggies and fruit we get from Rustan’s, Salcedo or at School. 

 

 

 

As for our cleaning products:  laundry detergent is Victoria soap (a local, award-winning detergent that is chemical-free and environmentally safe) made from coconuts.  

 

We no longer use bleach or fabric softener.  We only use baking soda and vinegar to clean most household surfaces. 

 

 

 

And also Bioneem, a safe and eco-friendly cleaning liquid made with citronella oil among other things — sold at Salcedo.

  

We also changed most of our toiletries to safer, chemical-free alternatives.  There’s this great new local company called Z.E.N. sold at Rustans Supermarket.  They make great soaps, body butters, insect repellants, shampoos, massage oils …super cheap!    This also helps Organic stuff be more accessible to more people, not just those with a lot of loot.

Salcedo promotes cloth bags.  And Rustan’s now has the “green” shopping bag. (Eco Trivia: the world uses up about 1 million plastic bags a day.  And these things don’t disintegrate.)

 

 

Sounds like a lot to deal with but it’s only the beginning that’s hard.  It’s like second nature to us already.  But I have to admit, there’s still more we can do — like save more water at home, make composte, wear clothes with organic fiber (ha ha!!)  and blah-blah-blah.  One step at a time.  No need to get overwhelmed.  We just kept reminding ourselves about the WHY’s and WHAT FOR’s.

Just keep in mind the following to get you going:

1) No preservatives or chemicals in your food, household cleaning products, toiletries.  Stay informed.  Be smart about the stuff you spend your money on.

2) Limit plastic and other non-biodegradables

3) Buy true organic items, not commercial organic.

4) Buy local products and produce that are in-season.

5) Avoid canned or packaged products (like if you love bacon, buy from your local butcher shop and marinate/cure it yourself, not the processed stuff from the supermarket)

6) Avoid refined sugar, table salt, hydrogenated oils. — to start.

 

 

7) Reduce dependence on pharmaceuticals

 

Other products being used…….. 

   Hindy makes their butter by boiling and melting regular butter until the fat and residue float to the surface.  Then strain it and the clear liquid that is left is what is frozen in a tupperware.  The end product is purified butter.

 Some small appliances they use: Food dehydrator- they make dried fruits ( as snacks )  with this  

 vita-mix hi-speed blender, moulinex steamer for fish, veggies, dumplings

yogurt maker using hormone-free/free-range milk 

For extra extra precaution  to avoid all sorts of metals in our system, they use Vision ( brown glassware).  According to Hindy, it is not the easiest thing to fry with, better for stews or soups.  For frying food, they use cast iron, or stainless. 

  Le Creuset cast iron cookware

  Vision glass cookware

  fruit and vegetable juice extractor, oxygenator to clean veggies, fish, poultry, meats 

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