For the second consecutive year, Apple has been named the top company in the "25 Most Inspiring Companies" list as determined by Performance Inspired (http://www.performanceinspired.tv), a research-based, experiential learning, consulting and media firm.

"The Most Inspiring Companies identified in our 2011 survey are leading the way by redefining success through inspiration," says Performance Inspired. "The overriding principal that drives inspiration is not a company’s product or profitably. Rather, it is how the company is perceived at using its products and profitability to improve the world and its people."

"Apple is the most inspiring again this year because it has become a part of the consumer’s personal identity," Terry Barber, chief inspiration officer for the firm, tells "Forbes" (http://macte.ch/CTTy9). "Consumers wrote comments such as: ‘Apple makes me feel more creative,’ and ‘Apple makes me feel entrepreneurial.’ People were also inspired by the company’s ability to continue to innovate even without Steve Jobs at the helm.”
Barber says that Apple fans also said they felt like they were a part of a special community. "Some wrote in about how ‘they’ felt victorious after the settlement between Apple and Samsung," he adds.