I have worked at Starbucks twice, the first time being my senior year of high school, and now again as a senior in college. These two training experiences differed in many ways, and they taught me more about what makes training truly effective. In particular, the first time being trained, my barista trainer took the time to understand how I learn best, whether that was visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. They helped me organize information in a way that made sense and gave me space to practice until I felt confident in tasks. This kind of personalized approach is similar to the ideas from First, Break All the Rules, as great managers do not try to fix people, but they focus on their strengths.
The second time I was retrained, my experience was the opposite. This time, it was my store manager doing the training, not another barista, and unfortunately, she got several things wrong. On top of that, the information was delivered with no structure or flow. I was expected to remember everything without context or repetition. It felt like trying to build a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box. Since returning to Starbucks, I’ve noticed that every barista is trained the exact same way, step by step, regardless of how they learn. Therefore, this one-size-fits-all method doesn’t work for everyone.
Even though I’m not a certified barista trainer, I’ve made it a point to ask new hires about their learning preferences and strengths. I’ve coached them on the side in ways that actually stick, and it’s made a real difference. When you meet people where they are, they thrive. UPS practices this concept. As described in Making of a UPS Driver, they built a training program that blends video, real-world simulations, and kinesthetic learning. It’s not just about telling people what to do, it is also about letting them do it.
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2020). First, break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently (2020 ed., pp. 129–168). Gallup Press.
Morris, B. (2016, September 28). Making of a UPS driver. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2016/09/28/ups-jobs-driver-training/
