Apple products are always distinguished by their reliability and user-friendliness, thanks to the company’s purpose to develop both the hardware and software themselves. Nobody else in the world has an opportunity to create a similar computer product. Developers of other operating systems are forced to make them versatile so they will run on all types of computers. Hardware manufacturers have to consider the capabilities of these other operating systems. Only Apple can afford to create revolutionary technologies of such quality and with such speed, and this has turned out to be a huge advantage for Apple in the personal computer industry. While Apple still produces and markets desktops and laptops, which are available through resellers and its own many retail stores and the online Apple Store, its greatest volume (unit sales) is accounted for by the iPhone and the iPad.

Thus, a successful purpose must take into consideration the market conditions and potential customers’ viewpoint, existing technology and resources, and an idea that provides a competitive advantage. But there is one more important point. This purpose should reflect the fundamental idea and personality of its founder. In modern society, individuality is valued at a premium. Just consider those professionals who are the highest-paid and get the most publicity. These include certain actors and performers of popular music, writers, scientists, and sports figures. They are either people who have enough courage to show a personal point of view in what they create, or those who have transformed themselves into a product—a pop-culture idol like Miley Cyrus or Beyonce. In a 2010 rating of the most popular people, the first ten positions were taken by such performers and sports figures. These are people who promote their personality traits and talents to the whole world. In our society, things that are considered to be rare become expensive. Why do marketing gurus such as Jack Trout command tens of thousands of dollars per presentation? You don’t think it’s because of the great practical value of the information, do you? You can get significantly more information if you read Trout’s books on marketing and branding. People are eager to touch the revered and profound person who is courageous enough to express his or her opinion during a time when most of the people on this planet deny the very ability to have a point of view of their own. On the one hand, they deny it in themselves, and on the other, they admire it in others. It is not difficult to see that the magically alluring trait that everyone calls charisma is nothing more than the courage to express a personal point of view. Having charisma does not mean people will necessarily agree with you. It is the courage to have and express a personal opinion that attracts people.

When it comes to leadership, the foundation is very simple. A leader is a person who has found enough courage and persistence to set a main goal and purpose for a group. It is that simple: courage and persistence. Notice that I did not say anything about intelligence. It is desirable but not vital. If this seems incredible to you, just listen to the majority of political leaders who are followed by millions of people and you will be able to see for yourself. When we were kids, we would meet our friends after school in the school yard and then wander from corner to corner, suffering from idleness until someone suggested, “Let’s build a fort”, “Let’s play soccer,” or some other activity. If the boy who made the suggestion was able to advance his idea and get others to be in favor of it, then he would become the leader at that particular time. We then had a very meaningful (at least we thought so) activity to engage in, and our game began. Any game was better than no game, and any leader was better than no leader.

From the viewpoint of experience, we could debate the purposefulness of such games, but boys who wander around aimlessly are happy to engage in any activity. Modern culture often offers people very boring games: wrapping your body in a fashionably branded piece of cloth, buying a shiny car to take you places quickly, and building a house with thick walls. But the most talented people, even if they cannot dream of something really large, respond to an interesting or challenging game offered, even if it goes beyond their usual daily routines. If you create an important goal and attractive purpose, it inspires those who still have a taste for life.

The first role of a business owner is to create an inspiring main goal and a clearly defined purpose. It is the very first thing you need to do, no matter whether you’ve already started out on your journey as a Vaishya or you are one of those rare people who have survived the civilized world as a Kshatriya.

A business owner, along with all other company employees, is, of course, part of a group. Every group member fulfills his own particular responsibility as a salesperson, an accountant, a process engineer, et cetera. An organization is a system whose members perform specific functions. A salesperson works with customers; an accountant handles financial transactions and maintains records; an engineer develops new processes and monitors their compliance. In this system, the owner plays a special role. His function is to establish goals that will unite the entire group. But in this capacity, he may encounter a trap that is easy to fall into.

As I discussed in the previous chapter, every person has his or her own individual goals. Only people completely disappointed in life do not have goals. Every salesperson and accountant dreams of a new house, a car, a cruise, a special gift for a loved one, and a business owner is no exception. Just like the others, he has his own personal goals that he dreams of achieving. He dreams about amassing personal wealth, about houses and cars, about comfort and vacations, and about opportunities to do something creative. There are as many goals as there are different kinds of people. And the more capable a person is, the more individualistic his or her aspirations will be.

At the same time, the owner is the only person in the company who is responsible for establishing goals for the entire group. He is the only one whose function it is to establish these goals, and then direct the group’s attention to them. That is where the catch is. The owner can confuse his or her personal goals and dreams with the business’s goals and purposes.

Interacting with many business owners, I occasionally meet people who say, “The goal of my company is to make money, increase assets and the company’s market value.” These people have no idea that they are not talking about the company’s goals, but about their personal ones. The owner has a goal of increasing the company’s value and wants his or her “baby” to continually grow. This point of view could be compared to that of a father who wants his child’s only goal to be to serve his parent. This is a completely unnatural point of view. Of course, a child should bring his parents joy, but it should be the joy of his own successes, achievements, and victories on the way to his individual goals. When the owner of a company says that the company’s goal is “to increase the company’s value,” he really means, “My goal is to become rich.” He is not talking about the group’s goal, but about his personal one. A group’s goal cannot be someone's dream of becoming happy and rich.

Once, during a workshop, the owner of a roofing materials manufacturing and retailing business approached me. His company employed around fifty people. They manufactured copper shingles, gutters, and other parts for copper roofing. Our conversation went as follows.

“Our company manufactures a good product and our customers are happy. It is certainly not a cheap product, but the customers who know us usually thank us for our services. But there’s one issue I still can’t understand. When I start my workday, I’m full of energy. I meet with the customers and manage my employees. The window of my office faces the sales department, and since I usually arrive at the office earlier than everybody else, I get to observe my employees as they come in. You know, we try to take care of our employees. Their salaries are high and the working conditions are good, but when they get to work, they look like they have been working hard all night long and can’t wait to finally get some rest. They barely move. And unless they get enough coffee, they cannot even start working. Why is it this way? I am full of energy and desire to work, but why aren’t they?”