Start with why

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There is nothing that brings me more joy and happiness in this world than
waking up every day with a clear sense of WHY—to inspire people to do the
things that inspire them. It is a simple thing to do when surrounded by so many
amazing people to inspire me.
There are countless people who believed in me and helped me over the years.
I’d like to thank those who helped me build a piece of my megaphone with this
book. Amy Hertz was the first to insist that I write it and introduced me to my
incredible agent, Richard Pine. Richard believes in doing good things in the
world and has made it his business to make authors out of those who have a
positive message to share. His patience and counsel have been invaluable. To
Russ Edelman who was such a nice guy to introduce me to his editor, Jeffrey
Krames, who, in turn, took a bet on me and let me push him to do things
differently. To Adrian Zackheim, who willingly challenges convention and is
leading the evolution of the publishing industry.
Thank you to Mark Rubin, who sees the colors I can see and in whose
basement I started writing, to Tom and Alicia Rypma, in whose home I
continued writing, and to Delta Airlines, for being so good to me while I wrote
so much at 35,000 feet. To Julia Hurley, who made sure everything was right. To
the whole team at Portfolio, who worked so hard to bring this book to life. And,
most importantly, to Laurie Flynn, who so passionately devoted herself (and her
family) to help me tell this story.
I have had the great honor and privilege of meeting some wonderful people
who have inspired me in a way that is hard to quantify. Ron Bruder has changed
the way I see the world. Brig. Gen. Lori Robinson has shown me what the
humility of great leadership looks like. Kim Harrison, who lives her WHY—to
appreciate all good things around her—and works tirelessly to see to it that good
ideas and people are appreciated. She taught me what a true partnership looks
and feels like. And to those whose shared what they know to help bring the
WHY to life, I am truly grateful for your time and energy: Colleen Barrett,
Gordon Bethune, Ben Comen, Randy Fowler, Christina Harbridge, Dwayne
Honoré, Howard Jeruchimowitz, Guy Kawasaki, Howard Putnam, James Tobin,
Acacia Salatti, Jeff Sumpter, Col. “Cruiser” Wilsbach and Steve Wozniak.
Long before there was even an idea of a book, there were all the people and
early adopters who wanted to learn about the WHY and use The Golden Circle
to help build their organizations. This forward-thinking group were willing to

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embrace a new idea and were essential to helping me figure out many of the
details and nuances of the concept. Thank you to Geoffrey Dzikowski, Jenn
Podmore, Paul Guy, Kal Shah, Victor DeOliveria, Ben Rosner, Christopher
Bates, Victor Chan, Ken Tabachnick, Richard Baltimore, Rick Zimmerman,
Russ Natoce, Missy Shorey, Morris Stemp, Gabe Solomon, Eddie Esses and
Elizabeth Hare, who saw the value of the WHY in building the most valuable
organization of all—her family. Thank you to Fran Biderman-Gross, who is not
only an early adopter, but who went out of her way to embrace her WHY in all
aspects of her life and to encourage others to learn their WHY, too. Thank you to
Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Congressman Paul Hodes, and
Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, who gave me so much and continue to give
back to others with such passion.
Over the years there were those who gave me a break and helped advance my
cause. Thank you to Trudi Baldwin, the director of the Graduate Program in
Strategic Communications at Columbia University (a wonderful program), Jim
Berrien, who trusted me, the indefatigable Jack Daly, who teaches me, Piers
Fawkes, Denis Glennon, who pushed me, Kevin Goetz, Tony Gomes, Paul
Gumbinner, who gave me a career on a silver platter, Kenneth Hein, Peter
Intermaggio, who taught me self-reliance, Pamela Moffat, Rick Sapio, who
keeps doing good things for me, Alana Winter and Matt Weiss, for asking me to
share my thoughts with an audience, and Diederik Werdmolder who took a bet
on me right at the start.
I am grateful to all the brilliant minds I have met within the U.S. Air Force
who stuck their necks out to try something different. They embody the WHY of
the USAF: to find and deliver better ways of doing things. To Maj. Gen. Erwin
Lessel (who first introduced me to the organization), Maj. Gen. William
Chambers, Brig. Gen. Walter Givhan, Brig. Gen. Dash Jamieson (who never
stops believing), Maj. Gen. Darren McDew, Brig. Gen. (Sel) Martin Neubauer
(who knows more than I will ever know), Christy Nolta, Brig. Gen. Janet
Therianos and Lt. Col. Dede Halfhill (you owe me one, DeDe).
I am immensely grateful to all the brilliant people and candid conversations
that inspired so many of the ideas that became The Golden Circle and all its