Video: The secret of Apple's success

A TED video released last week offers a novel theory about why people buy Macs

Sinek in September. Source: TED

In 18 minutes, Simon Sinek -- the author of Start with Why -- explains what Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King and the Wright brothers have in common.

Most computer companies start by telling you they make great products. Apple (AAPL), he says, does the opposite. It starts by telling you why it makes computers.

Here, according to Sinek, is how Apple actually communicates:

"Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"

Below the fold: Sinek's Sept. 2009 TED lecture.

The TED (Technology Education Design) conferences have been offering a venue for "ideas worth spreading" since 1990. Four years ago, the organization began posting free videos of its best speakers and performances. Click here for the full list.

Via MacDailyNews.

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]