Oprah and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Super Soul Sunday

HOWARD: Yes, I would.

OPRAH: Mm-hmm.

HOWARD: And I would say that — I would also say that most of the problems we had were self-induced mistakes. And I stood in front of the entire employee base of the company, our partners, and said — apologized for, as leaders, that we had let them and their families down. But we were gonna return the company back to its glory days.

OPRAH: Okay. So in those days where you knew the company — the company had lost its way —

HOWARD: Yes.

OPRAH: — was in its own spiritual crisis, did you debate whether or not you should jump back in or not? I know — I know —

HOWARD: First of all, I never planned to come back to Starbucks. But, again, this is about love.

OPRAH: Because you’d stepped down at CEO.

HOWARD: I did. This is about love. This is about passion. This is about responsibility. And it’s about leadership. And there was no second thought whatsoever. I came back to lead the company back. But I also needed help from others. And I needed people to believe. And we started doing things that were quite unorthodox, uncharacteristic of a company that was in trouble, especially during the financial crisis.

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First Look: Howard Schultz on Starbucks’ Spiritual Crisis

In April 2000, Howard Schultz stepped down as CEO of Starbucks but remained chairman of the board. By 2007, he sensed something was missing in the company and began to consider returning as CEO. Just as he resumed his role, the recession hit and sales were down for the first time in the history of Starbucks. Worst of all, he says, the company had lost sight of its core values. Watch as Howard opens up about the company’s “spiritual crisis.” Don’t miss the full interview on Sunday, December 8, at 11 a.m. ET/PT on OWN or join our worldwide simulcast on Oprah.com, Facebook.com/supersoulsunday or Facebook.com/owntv.

EXCERPT: Howard on the Importance of a Leader to be Vulnerable

OPRAH: You say it’s important as a leader —