"BANG!" The gun fires and the race is on. The runners take off across the field. It rained the day before and the ground is still damp. The temperature is cool. It is a perfect day for running. The line of runners quickly forms a pack. Like a school of fish they come together as one. They move as one. The pack sets a pace to maximize their energy for the whole race. As with any race, in a short period of time the stronger ones will start to pull ahead and the weaker ones will start to fall behind. But not Ben Comen. Ben was left behind as soon as the starter gun sounded. Ben's not the fastest runner on the team. In fact, he's the slowest. He has never won a single race the entire time he's been on the Hanna High School cross-country track team. Ben, you see, has cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy, a condition often caused by complications at birth, affects someone's movement and balance. The physical problems endure for a lifetime. Misshapen spines create a twisted posture. Muscles are often withered and motor reflexes slow. Tightness in the muscles and joints also affect balance. Those with CP often have an unsteady gait, their knees knock and their feet drag. To an outsider, they may seem clumsy. Or even broken.

The pack pulls farther and farther ahead while Ben falls farther and farther behind. He slips on the wet gra.s.s and falls forward into the soft earth. He slowly picks himself up and keeps going. Down he goes again. This time it hurts. He gets back up and keeps running. Ben won't quit. The pack is now out of sight and Ben is running alone. It is quiet. He can hear his own labored breathing. He feels lonely. He trips over his own feet again, and down he goes yet another time. No matter his mental strength, there is no hiding the pain and frustration on his face. He grimaces as he uses all his energy to pull himself back to his feet to continue running. For Ben, this is part of the routine. Everyone else finishes the race in about twenty-five minutes. It usually takes Ben more than forty-five minutes.

When Ben eventually crosses the finish line he is in pain and he is exhausted. It took every ounce of strength he had to make it. His body is bruised and bloodied. He is covered in mud. Ben inspires us, indeed. But this is not a story of "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." This is not a story of "when you fall down, pick yourself up." Those are great lessons to learn, without a doubt, but we don't need Ben Comen to teach us those lessons. There are dozens of others we can look to for that, like an Olympic athlete, for example, who suffered an injury just months before the games only to come back to win a medal. Ben's lesson is deeper.

Something amazing happens after about twenty-five minutes. When everybody else is done with their race, everyone comes back to run with Ben. Ben is the only runner who, when he falls, someone else will help pick him up. Ben is the only runner who, when he finishes, has a hundred people running behind him.

What Ben teaches us is special. When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you. Olympic athletes don't help each other. They're compet.i.tors. Ben starts every race with a very clear sense of WHY he's running. He's not there to beat anyone but himself. Ben never loses sight of that. His sense of WHY he's running gives him the strength to keep going. To keep pushing. To keep getting up. To keep going. And to do it again and again and again. And every day he runs, the only time Ben sets out to beat is his own.

Now think about how we do business. We're always competing against someone else. We're always trying to be better than someone else. Better quality. More features. Better service. We're always comparing ourselves to others. And no one wants to help us. What if we showed up to work every day simply to be better than ourselves? What if the goal was to do better work this week than we did the week before? To make this month better than last month? For no other reason than because we want to leave the organization in a better state than we found it?

All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year. Those who forget WHY they were founded show up to the race every day to outdo someone else instead of to outdo themselves. The pursuit, for those who lose sight of WHY they are running the race, is for the medal or to beat someone else.

What if the next time when someone asks, "Who's your compet.i.tion?" we replied, "No idea." What if the next time someone pushes, "Well, what makes you better than your compet.i.tion?" we replied, "We're not better than them in all cases." And what if the next time someone asks, "Well why should I do business with you then?" we answer with confidence, "Because the work we're doing now is better than the work we were doing six months ago. And the work we'll be doing six months from now will be better than the work we're doing today. Because we wake up every day with a sense of WHY we come to work. We come to work to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. Are we better than our compet.i.tion? If you believe what we believe and you believe that the things we do can help you, then we're better. If you don't believe what we believe and you don't believe the things we can do will help you, then we're not better. Our goal is to find customers who believe what we believe and work together so that we can all succeed. We're looking for people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in pursuit of the same goal. We're not interested in sitting across a table from each other in pursuit of a sweeter deal. And here are the things we're doing to advance our cause . . ." And then the details of HOW and WHAT you do follow. But this time, it started with WHY.

Imagine if every organization started with WHY. Decisions would be simpler. Loyalties would be greater. Trust would be a common currency. If our leaders were diligent about starting with WHY, optimism would reign and innovation would thrive. As this book ill.u.s.trates, there is precedence for this standard. No matter the size of the organization, no matter the industry, no matter the product or the service, if we all take some responsibility to start with WHY and inspire others to do the same, then, together, we can change the world.

And that's pretty inspiring.

If this book inspired you, please pa.s.s it on to someone you want to inspire.

AFTERWORD.

BE A PART OF THIS MOVEMENT, SHARE YOUR VISION OF THE WORLD.

Before any person or organization can take the steps necessary to be a leader, we must first agree on a definition of what a leader is. Leadership is not about power or authority. Leadership is decidedly more human. Being a leader requires one thing and one thing only: followers. A follower is someone who volunteers to go where you are going. They choose to go not because they have to, not because they were incentivized to, not because they were threatened to, but because they want to. The question is, why would anyone follow you?

If an individual or organization hopes to a.s.sume the responsibility of leadership-a responsibility that is given, not taken-then they must think, act, and speak in a way that inspires people to follow. Leadership is always about people. No one leads a company. A company is a legal structure. You can run a company, you can manage an organization, but you can lead only people. And that requires two things.

Imagine we're out on a boat tour with a group of strangers and the boat gets stranded on a deserted island. How will we get off the island? Some people are panicking, some people are starting to form little cliques to figure out how to get off the island. Then, all of a sudden one person stands up and announces, "I will lead." We like that; we're social animals and we respond well to leaders.

Our new leader moves to the front of the group and asks, "Right . . . who's got ideas?"

One person raises her hand and suggests we light a fire to attract the attention of a pa.s.sing boat or aircraft. "Good idea," our leader says.

Another person pipes up, "We should forage for food in case we're stuck here for a while."

"Also a good idea," says the leader.

"We should build a shelter because we're going to need protection from the elements."

Our leader gives a thumbs-up and says, "That's also a good idea. OK," he continues, "let's take a vote. . . ."

And at that point someone in the group stands up and says, "As we were coming into sh.o.r.e, I saw some masts and smoke out on the west side of the island. There must be a fishing village there. If we can get there, we can get help. We're going to have to go through the thick woods to get there, though, and I can't do it alone. So if there is anyone who will join me, I'd be grateful. If anyone doesn't want to go," he says, "don't worry, we'll come back to get you when we find help."

The question is, whom do you want to follow? Do you want to follow the first guy or the second guy? Both are confident. Both care that we get off the island. The answer is so obvious it's almost a silly question: we want to follow the second guy.

Keep in mind, no one else saw the fishing village. There are no photographs and no research. All we have is the undying belief of this one person of a world that exists in the future and his ability to communicate it in a way that lets us imagine it as clearly.

All leaders must have two things: they must have a vision of the world that does not exist and they must have the ability to communicate it. The second leader could have simply stood up, with the same vision of this fishing village, and simply announced, "This won't work," and walked away in the direction of the village. He would have been a visionary, for sure, but without the ability to communicate his vision, he cannot be a leader. We all work with people like this-they walk around with all the answers to all the questions, frustrated that no one else "gets it." No one can see what they can see. They are visionaries, for sure, but they are not leaders.

There are also those who have the gift of gab, the amazing ability to communicate. But absent a vision, they are just great communicators and not leaders. The second leader could have also stood up and given a rousing speech about the importance of us working together. We would have felt wonderful and excited, but we would still have no clue how to get off the island.

Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it.

The question is, where does vision come from? And this is the power of WHY. Our visions are the world we imagine, the tangible results of what the world would look like if we spent every day in pursuit of our WHY.

Leaders don't have all the great ideas; they provide support for those who want to contribute. Leaders achieve very little by themselves; they inspire people to come together for the good of the group. Leaders never start with what needs to be done. Leaders start with WHY we need to do things. Leaders inspire action.

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 bas.e.m.e.nt 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 pa.s.sionately 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 Honore, 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 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 Sh.o.r.ey, 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 pa.s.sion.

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 parts. Thank you to Kendra Coppey, who helped me out of the hole in late 2005 and to Mark Levy, who pointed me in the right direction. Thanks to Peter Whybrow, who saw a problem in America and helped me to understand the neuroscience of it all. Kirt Gunn, whose brilliant storytelling mind inspired the split. Every conversation with Brian Collins illuminated something new. Thank you to Jorelle Laakso, who taught me to reach for the things I believe in. To William Ury, who showed me a path to follow, and Lt. Gen. David Deptula, who is probably the smartest person I know and gave me a new perspective for solving highly complex problems.

My understanding of the WHY would be incomplete without the conversations, help and support of Nic Askew, Richard Baltimore, Christopher Bennett, Christine Betts, Ariane de Bonvoisin, Scott Bornstein, Tony Conza, Vimal Duggal, Douglas Fiersetin, Nathan Frankel, JiNan Glasgow, Cameron Herold, John Hittler, Maurice Kaspy, Peter Laughter, Kevin Langley, Niki Lemon, Seth Lloyd, Bruce Lowe, Cory Luker, Karl and Agi Mallory, Peter Martins, Brad Meltzer, Nell Merlino, Ally Miller, Jeff Morgan, Alan Remer, Pamela and Nick Roditi, Ellen Rohr, Lance Platt, Jeff Rothstein, Brian Scudamore, Andy Siegel, John Stepleton, Rudy Vidal, the 2007 and 2008 cla.s.ses of the Gathering of t.i.tans, and the one and only Ball of Mystery.

To my late grandfather, Imre Klaber, who showed me that it is more fun to be slightly eccentric than to be completely normal. To my parents, Steve and Susan Sinek, who always encouraged me to follow the beat of my own drum. And to Sara, my remarkable, remarkable sister, who appreciates that I keep my head in the clouds but makes sure I keep my feet on the ground.

There are a few books and authors that have, over the years, inspired me, spurred ideas and offered me new perspectives: the works of Ken Blanchard, of Tom Friedman and of Seth G.o.din, The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom, First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham, Good to Great by Jim Collins, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi, E-Myth by Michael Gerber, The Tipping Point and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Chaos by James Gleick, Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D., The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, Freakanomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, FISH! By Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen and Ken Blanchard, The Naked Brain by Richard Restack, Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman, The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, The Black Swan by Nicholas Taleb, American Mania by Peter Whybrow, M.D., and the single most important book everyone should read, the book that teaches us that we cannot control the circ.u.mstances around us, all we can control is our att.i.tude-Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel.

I want to especially thank all those people who have joined this cause and actively work to inspire those around you. I am grateful for all the e-mails and notes you send me, I save them all as a reminder that it takes lots and lots of people, standing shoulder to shoulder, to have a real impact.

And finally, to all those who read this book and pa.s.s it on to someone you believe it will inspire, thank you. I know that if enough of us learn about the existence of the WHY and work hard to start everything we do with WHY, we can and will change the world.

NOTES.

Chapter 1: a.s.sume You Know.

14 In the United States, a line worker would take a rubber mallet and tap the edges of the door: Norman Bodek, "What is Muda?" Manufacturing Engineering, July 2006, http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/find-articles.pl?&ME06ART40&ME&20060709&SME.

Chapter 2: Carrots and Sticks.

19 By 2007, Toyota's share had climbed to 16.3 percent: Tom Krisher, "GM, Toyota in virtual tie on 2007 sales," USA Today, January 23, 2008, http://www.usatoday.com/money/topstories/2008-01-23-434472425_x.htm.

19 In 2007, GM lost $729 per vehicle: Oliver Wyman's Harbour Report 2008, http://www.oliverwyman.com/content_images/OW_EN_Automotive_Press_2008_HarbourReport08.pdf.

20 nearly 40 percent of those customers never get the lower price: Brian Grow, "The Great Rebate Runaround," BusinessWeek, November 23, 2005, http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2005/nf20051123_4158_db016.htm.

22 "Quitting smoking is the easiest thing I've ever done": American Cancer Society Guide to Quitting Smoking, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Guide_for_Quitting_Smoking.asp.

24 a Tag Heuer watch designed "especially for the golfer": http://www.tagheuer.com/the-collection/specialists/golf-watch/index.lbl.

24 Nike's "I wanna be like Mike" campaign: "The Allure of Gatorade," CNN Money, November 22, 2000, http://money.cnn.com/2000/11/21/deals/gatorade/.

25 "In a major innovation in design and engineering": "Introducing the Motorola RAZR V3," http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail.jsp?globalObjectId=4485_3818_23.

26 Less than four years later, Zander was forced out: "Motorola's Zander out after 4 rocky years," MSNBC, November 30, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22040026/.

27 Colgate offers a link on their Web site: http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/OC/Products/Toothpastes/Name.cvsp.

29 Samsung, the electronics giant: "Samsung's American Unit Settles Rebate Case," New York Times, October 21, 2004, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E3DD113AF932A15753C1A9629C8B63.

33 Rather, Whybrow says, it's the way that corporate America has developed: Peter C. Whybrow, American Mania: When More Is Not Enough. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.

Chapter 3: The Golden Circle.

37 the golden ratio-a simple mathematical relationship: Wolfram Mathworld, "Golden Ratio," http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenRatio.html. Also http://goldennumber.net/.

38 John F. Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon: "The Decision to Go the Moon: President John F. Kennedy's May 25, 1961 Speech before a Joint Session of Congress," NASA History Office, http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html.

44 "1,000 songs in your pocket": "Apple Presents iPod," http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/oct/23ipod.html.

44 The multigigabyte portable hard drive music player was actually invented by Creative Technology Ltd.: "The Nomad Jukebox Holds a Hefty Store of Music," New York Times, June 1, 2000, http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/01/technology/news-watch-the-nomad-jukebox-holds-a-hefty-store-of-music.html?scp=1&sq=creative+nomad&st=nyt.

46 Apple even changed its legal name in 2007: "Apple Debuts iPhone, TV Device, Drops 'Computer' From Name," Foxnews.com, January 11, 2007, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,242483,00.html.

Chapter 4: This Is Not Opinion, This Is Biology.

52 Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches: Dr. Seuss, The Sneetches and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1961.

54 U2 and Apple belong together: "Apple Introduces the U2 iPod," http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/oct/26u2ipod.html.

54 "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC": "Get a Mac," http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/.

57 Richard Restak, a well-known neuroscientist: Richard Restak, MD, The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety Is Changing How We Live, Work and Love. New York: Harmony, 2006.