Start With Why

 
Diffusion
 
almost by design. In its first year in business, the company sold $1 
million worth of computers to those who believed what they 
believed. By year two, they had sold $10 million worth. By their 
third year in business they were a $100 million company, and they 
attained billion-dollar status within only six years.

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THE ORIGINS OF A WHY 
235 
Already a household name, in 1984 Apple launched the Macintosh 
with their famed "1984" commercial that aired during the Super 
Bowl. Directed by Ridley Scott, famed director of cult classics like
 
Blade Runner,
the commercial also changed the course of the 
advertising industry. The first "Super Bowl commercial," it ushered 
in the annual tradition of big-budget, cinematic Super Bowl 
advertising. With the Macintosh, Apple once again changed the 
tradition of how things were done. They challenged the standard of 
Microsoft's DOS, the standard operating system used by most 
personal computers at the time. The Macintosh was the first mass-
market computer to use a graphical user interface and a mouse, 
allowing people to simply "point and click" rather than input code. 
Ironically, it was Microsoft that took Apple's concept to the masses 
with Windows, Gates's version of the graphical user interface. 
Apple's ability to ignite revolutions and Microsoft's ability to take 
ideas to the mass market perfectly illustrate the WHY of each 
company and indeed their respective founders. Jobs has always 
been about challenge and Gates has always been about getting to 
the most people.
Apple would continue to challenge with other products that 
followed the same pattern. Recent examples include the iPod and, 
more significantly, iTunes. With these technologies, Apple chal-
lenged the status-quo business model of the music industry—an 
industry so distracted trying to protect its intellectual property and 
their outdated business model that it was busy suing thirteen- year-
old music pirates while Apple redefined the online music market. 
The pattern repeated again when Apple introduced the iPhone. The 
status quo dictated that the cellular providers and not the phone 
manufacturer decide the features and capabilities of the actual 
phones. T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint, for example, tell 
Motorola, LG, and Nokia what to do. Apple changed all that when 
they announced that, with the iPhone, they would be telling the 

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START WITH WHY 
236 
provider what the phone would do. Ironically the company that 
Apple challenged with their Blue Box decades before, this time 
around exhibited classic early-adopter behavior. AT&T was the 
only one to agree to this new model, and so another revolution was 
ignited.
Apple's keen aptitude for innovation is born out of its WHY and, 
save for the years Jobs was missing, it has never changed since the 
company was founded. Industries holding on to legacy business 
models should be forewarned; you could be next. If Apple stays true 
to their WHY, the television and movie industries will likely be next.
Apple's ability to do what they do has nothing to do with indus-
try expertise. All computer and technology companies have open 
access to talent and resources and are just as qualified to produce all 
the products Apple does. It has to do with a purpose, cause or belief 
that started many years ago with a couple of idealists in Cupertino, 
California. "I want to put a ding in the universe," as Steve Jobs put it. 
And that's exactly what Apple does in the industries in which it 
competes. Apple is born out of its founders' WHY. There is no 
difference between one or the other. Apple is just one of the WHATs 
to Jobs's and Woz's WHY. The personalities of Jobs and Apple are 
exactly the same. In fact, the personalities of all those who are 
viscerally drawn to Apple are similar. There is no difference 
between an Apple customer and an Apple employee. One believes 
in Apple's WHY and chooses to work for the company, and the 
other believes in Apple's WHY and chooses to buy its products. It is 
just a behavioral difference. Loyal shareholders are no different 
either. WHAT they buy is different, but the reason they buy and 
remain loyal is the same. The products of the company become 
symbols of their own identities. The die-hards outside the company 
are said to be a part of the cult of Apple. The die-hards inside the 
company are said to be a part of the "cult of Steve." Their symbols 
are different, but their devotion to the cause is the same. That we 

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THE ORIGINS OF A WHY 
237 
use the word "cult" implies that we can recognize that there is a
, 
deep faith, something irrational, that all those who believe share* 
And we'd be right. Jobs, his company, his loyal employees and his 
loyal customers all exist to push the boundaries. They all fancy a
good revolution. 
Just because Apple's WHY is so clear does not mean everyone is, 
drawn to it. Some people like them and some don't. Some people 
embrace them and some are repelled by them. But it cannot be 
denied: they stand for something. The Law of Diffusion says that 
only 2.5 percent of the population has an innovator mentality— they 
are a group of people willing to trust their intuition and take greater 
risks than others. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Microsoft 
Windows sits on 96 percent of the world's computers whereas 
Apple maintains about 2.5 percent. Most people don't want to 
challenge the status quo.
Though Apple employees will tell you the company's success lies 
in its products, the fact is that a lot of companies make quality 
products. And though Apple's employees may still insist that their 
products are better, it depends on the standard by which you are 
judging them. Apple's products are indeed best for those who relate 
to Apple's WHY. It is Apple's belief that comes through in all they 
think, say and do that makes them who they are. They are so 
effective at it, they are able to clearly identify their own products 
simply by preceding the product name with the letter "i." But they 
don't just own the letter, they own the
 word
"I." They are a company 
that champions the creative spirit of the individual, and their prod-
ucts, services and marketing simply prove it.

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START WITH WHY 
238 
The WHY Comes from Looking Back
Conservative estimates put the numbers at three to one. But some 
historians have said the English army was outnumbered by six to 
one. Regardless of which estimates you choose to believe, the pros-
pects for Henry V, king of England, did not look good. It was late 
October in the year 1415 and the English army stood ready to do 
battle against a much bigger French force at Agincourt in northern 
France. But the numbers were just one of Henry's problems.
The English army had marched over 250 miles, taking them 
nearly three weeks, and had lost nearly 40 percent of their original 
numbers to sickness. The French, in stark contrast, were better rested 
and in much better spirits. The better-trained and more experienced 
French were also excited at the prospect of exacting their revenge on 
the English to make up for the humiliation of previous defeats. And 
to top it all off, the French were vastly better equipped; The English 
were lightly armored, but whatever protection they did have was no 
match for the superior weight of the French armor, But anyone who 
knows their medieval European history already knows the outcome 
of the battle of Agincourt. Despite the overwhelming odds, the 
English won.
The English had one vital piece of technology that was able to 
confound the French and start a chain of events that would ulti-
mately result in a French defeat. The English had the longbow, a 
weapon with astounding range for its time. Standing far from the 
battlefield, far enough away that heavy armor was not needed; the 
English could look down into the valley and shower the French with 
arrows. But technology and range aren't what give an arrow its 
power. By itself, an arrow is a flimsy stick of wood with a sharpened 
tip and some feathers. By itself, an arrow cannot stand up to a sword 
or penetrate armor. What gives an arrow the ability to take on 
experience, training, numbers and armor is momentum. That flimsy 
stick of wood, when hurtling through the air, becomes a force only 

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THE ORIGINS OF A WHY 
239 
when it is moving fast in one direction. But what does the battle of 
Agincourt have to do with finding your WHY?
Before it can gain any power or achieve any impact, an arrow 
must be pulled backward, 180 degrees away from the target. And 
that's also where a WHY derives its power. The WHY does not come 
from looking ahead at what you want to achieve and figuring out an 
appropriate strategy to get there. It is not born out of any! market 
research. It does not come from extensive interviews with customers 
or even employees. It comes from looking in the completely 
opposite direction from where you are now. Finding WHY is a 
process of discovery, not invention.
Just as Apple's WHY developed during the rebellious 1960s and 
'70s, the WHY for every other individual or organization comes 
from the past. It is born out of the upbringing and life experience of 
an individual or small group. Every single person has a WHY and 
every single organization has one too. An organization, don't forget, 
is one of the WHATs, one of the tangible things a founder or group 
of founders has done in their lives to prove their WHY.
Every company, organization or group with the ability to inspire 
starts with a person or small group of people who were inspired to 
do something bigger than themselves. Gaining clarity of WHY, 
ironically, is not the hard part. It is the discipline to trust one's gut, 
to stay true to one's purpose, cause or beliefs. Remaining completely 
in balance and authentic is the most difficult part. The few that are 
able to build a megaphone, and not just a company, around their 
cause are the ones who earn the ability to inspire. In doing so, they 
harness a power to move people that few can even imagine. 
Learning the WHY of a company or an organization or 
understanding the WHY of any social movement always starts with 
one thing: you.

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START WITH WHY 
240 
I Am a Failure
There are three months indelibly printed in my memory— 
September to December 2005. This was when I hit rock bottom.
I started my business in February 2002 and it was incredibly 
exciting. I was "full of piss and vinegar," as my grandfather would 
say. From an early age, my goal was to start my own business. It 
was the American Dream, and I was living it. My whole feeling of 
self- worth came from the fact that I did it, I took the plunge, and it 
felt amazing. If anyone ever asked me what I did, I would pose like 
George Reeves from the old