Every good book requires a good team, and every good team requires a good network. It’s your decision as to whether or not this was a good book, but I can tell you that the people who shaped it were a great team. I am fortunate in that I have had the chance to meet, and work with, so many great people in writing Friend of a Friend:
Rick Wolff, my editor, who caught the idea quickly and helped shape it into reality, as well as Rosemary McGuinness, Lisa Glover, Cindy Buck, Taryn Roeder, Bruce Nichols, and everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Giles Anderson, my agent, who regularly talks me out of the bad ideas and into great ones.
Tom Neilssen, Les Tuerk, Cynthia Seeto, Adam Kirschenbaum, and all the folks at BrightSight Group for their help in finding a stage (or stages) for these ideas.
Several great minds who assisted me with amazing insights and who helped me—and continue to help me—spread the word about Friend of a Friend: Tim Grahl, Jeff Goins, Ryan Holiday, Becky Robinson, Ashley Bernardi, and Tracey Lucas.
The amazing people with amazing stories who made themselves available to me for interviews: Andrew Davis, Jon Levy, Chris Schembra, Whitney Johnson, Jayson Gaignard, Jordan Harbinger, Brian Uzzi, and Scott Harrison.
The fascinating minds who helped me shape the stories and ideas in this book: Tom Webster, Tamsen Webster, Mitch Joel, Clay Hebert, and Bret Simmons.
Two amazing clusters I found myself in during the writing of this book—private groups of business authors who became such a valuable resource that C. S. Lewis and Ernest Hemingway would be jealous. You know who you are.
My research assistants Brendan Campagna and Will Cook, who made this project easier, but not as easy as Reagan Kingsley made it thanks to his tireless photocopying.
My chief of staff, Neha Ghelani, who kept telling me what to stop doing so that I could find the time to do this.
The faculty and staff of Oral Roberts University, particularly the College of Business and Dr. Rebecca Gunn, who probably proofread this manuscript more than I did.
And my wife Janna and boys Lincoln and Harrison, the most important friends that I know.