You can have your excuses or you can have your results - but you can't have both. So easy to find excuses not to build relationships and be one of those brilliant souls who masterfully connects with human beings. A mile-long to do list, missed deadlines and forest fires to put out. Who has time to engage in face to face conversations or build rich bonds with the people we work with (or serve)? Jim Donald does.

Donald is the CEO of a little coffee company that started in Pike's Place Market in Seattle. He's a pretty busy guy too. Tons of to-dos and places to be. Full schedule like you and me. But he finds time to put people first. Gets the fact that the way you treat your people is the way they'll treat your customers. Understands that when people feel great about themselves, they do great work. Oh, you may have heard about the company he runs. It's called Starbucks.

This guy's amazing. According to the latest issue of FORTUNE, on a good day he personally signs 500 birthday cards for his employees. Spends 45% of his time traveling to Starbucks stores. And when he gets there, guess what he does? Puts on an apron and works shoulder to shoulder with the baristas. Engages his people in conversations. Evangelizes his message and reinforces his vision. Builds culture - and makes his "partners" feel special. Puts people first. And so they help him win.