“Coffee,” said author Isak Dinesen, “is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul.”

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s new book, “Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul, is a testimony to that possibility.

As our featured May Entrepreneur of the Month, we learn about Schultz’s passion for doing the right thing by his employees and customers, and why in January 2008 he reclaimed the job of CEO of Starbucks to rebuild the company he had grown from a seedling. While he has accomplished that mission (revenue last year topped $10.71 billion), Schultz insists that staying true to your principles is more important than making money.

Case in point: Our May Book of the Month, How Starbucks Saved My Life, by 70-year-old Starbucks employee Michael Gates Gill, show us how redemption can be found after all is lost.

Also in this issue: You’ll find soulful business lessons imparted in Deepak Chopra’s new book, courtesy of our Leadership columnist Robin McDougal. In our Management column, Dr. Alice Waagen of Workforce Learning explains how the management approach of Tom’s of Maine founder, Tom Chappell, helped him turn a $5,000 investment into a $100 million company.

For a little soulful networking this month, check out the May events happening in DC. If you are game to take a trip to Miami on May 19-20, sign up for the Empowered Woman Success Summit.

Since coffee is on our minds, we leave you a parting thought from comic columnist Dave Barry, who with his brother and fellow funny man Sam, will be our Entrepreneurs of the Month in June. “It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”

Amen to that. Have a great Spring. — Hope Katz Gibbs, founder
Inkandescent Public Relations / Be Inkandescent Magazine
Illustration (above) by Michael Glenwood, www.mglenwood.com