I may have written the words, but Steve Piersanti, my editor, turned them into a book. Steve also happens to be the founder and president of Berrett-Koehler, which has to be the most author-supportive publisher in the world. Steve didn’t just edit; he also helped me conceptualize the idea, challenged and inspired me, and stretched my thinking endlessly. This book has hugely benefited from Steve’s touches. Steve—I owe you. Big time!
The staff at BK were equally impressive. Jeevan Sivasubramaniam ran a tight ship to keep things moving like clockwork. Michael Crowley led the superb team from sales and marketing who ran an enviable world-class operation. I should know—I used to work for a great marketing company! My sincere thanks to Lasell Whipple, Design Director, for her patient and brilliant design, including the striking cover; Edward Wade, Director of Design and Production, for production support; David Marshall for editorial and digital support; María Jesús Aguiló and Catherine Lengronne for outstanding work on the licensing of local versions; Leslie Crandell for making my life so easy on US sales and support; Liz McKellar for stellar work on international rights; and Courtney Schonfeld for a brilliant audio version. Jon Ford, the super capable copy editor, and Jon Peck the brilliant page editor from Dovetail Publishing Services, made the editing process a breeze. Cathy Lewis, from CS Lewis Publicity was masterful in PR planning and execution. The one and only Jill Totenberg proved why she is known in the business as one of the best tier one PR agents around. These are but a fraction of the amazing people who are Berrett-Koehler employees and partners.
The Procter & Gamble family has been a nurturing support structure and an endless source of learning and friendships for half my living years (and truth be told, within those years, more than half the twenty-four hours in a day). But it’s always been fun! Bob McDonald was an inspiring and uplifting leader from the early days in the Philippines. Thanks, Bob, also for the wonderful foreword. I was extremely fortunate with my last two bosses at P&G, Filippo Passerini and Julio Nemeth. They were both brilliant, visionary, immaculately skilled, and intensely warm hearted.
The Next Generation Services team at P&G were always much more than colleagues; they were extended family. Brent Duersch was a partner in crime from day one. Kim Eldridge, my assistant, was a consummate professional, cheerleader and group mother all rolled into one. Vasanthi Chalasani, who succeeded me, continues to take the team to greater heights. The scale-partner companies—Ascendum, EY, Genpact, Infosys, L&T Infotech, HCL, HPE/DXC, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and WNS—brought more than expertise; they were a source of passion and intense collaboration.
Salim Ismail has been an advisor and father figure throughout this journey. Granted, an extremely young father figure, but one nonetheless. The OpenExO team has been a fantastic resource along the way— Samantha McMahon, Michelle Lapierre, Francisco Palao Reinés, and Emilie Sydney-Smith—a big thank you! Michael Leadbetter, president and founder of Pivot Factory, has been a partner, friend, supporter in chief, and fellow foodie. Thanks, Michael!
Several individuals were a tremendous help during the early days when I had little idea on how to write or publish a book. Don Fehr, my agent from the legendary Trident Media Group, took a chance on an unknown author and coached me into something resembling respectability. To Bob Johansen, Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future, thanks for guidance and the recommendation to Berrett-Koehler. My dear friend Venkat Srinivasan, author and serial founder, provided helpful advice and made great connections. Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, prolific author and faculty member at Harvard Medical School, opened doors to the publishing world. Authors Simone Ahuja from Blood Orange, Paul Butler from GlobalEdg, Dan Roberts from Ouellette & Associates, and Jose Ignacio Sordo from CIO Eureka patiently showed me the ropes on being a writer.
Dr. Vinisha Peres was a dream researcher. Joe Lowenstein, veteran pilot and a genuine nice guy, happily provided aviation expertise that would have taken me several decades of personal flying experience to acquire. Sharad Malhautra was a constant resource throughout the journey. Rajan and Alka Panandiker, ace photography hobbyists (and, I must mention, fellow Goans), have my gratitude for their huge investment of time.
I am a big believer in the power of ecosystems, and this book was a perfect vehicle for me to tap into a vast pool of specialists. BK’s expert-network members Travis Wilson, Mike McNair, David Marshall, Nic Albert, Amity Bacon, and Douglas Hammer provided detailed reviews that helped shape this book tremendously.
A few close and respected colleagues invested significant effort to provide detailed manuscript critique, which helped me reshape the book significantly toward the end: Mike Lingle, a.k.a. the Editing Wiz, Mark Dorfmueller, Guniz Louit, Sanjay Jiandani, Suman Sasmal, German Faraoni, Nicolas Kerling, Brent Duersch, Brad Comerford, Anshul Srivastava, Brad Humphries, Gaurav Mathur, Parthiv Sheth, and Udayan Dasgupta. Thank you so much for your passion.
Paola Lucetti, Carlos Amesquita, Sanjay Singh, Yazdi Bagli, Kshitij Mulay, Kishore Karuppan, Mattijs Kersten, Clyde Bailey, Alfredo Colas, Kelsey Driscoll, Gautam Chander, Mike Teo, and Oana Laza—thanks for your support.
The ExO Consultant ecosystem was another key expert network that provided incredibly helpful insights based on their practical experience. In particular Ann Ralston, Michal Monit, Rodrigo Castro Cordero, and Almira Radjab played a significant role in bringing reallife experience into the work.
Book endorsers play a vital role in providing their professional input and support to the effort. A simple thank-you is insufficient. To my endorsers—you helped me tremendously via your own credibility.
I’ve used the word “family” a few times above to describe the ultimate in relationships, because that’s how I truly feel about what my biological one has given me. My parents, Ernest and Veronica Saldanha, personified selfless giving and endless love. My siblings and their spouses Marilyn and Ambrose, Ivy and Charlie, and Flory and Cliffy have shown that the sky is the limit when a call for help comes in. My mother-in-law, Ermelinda Fernandes, who passed away recently, never stopped thinking of ways in which she could spread education.
My daughters, Lara and Rene, have been a bigger inspiration, source of help, and grounding than they will ever realize. They worked on the manuscript along with me and brought a certain millennial flavor to the whole effort with their comments (“I don’t think I can help because your manuscript has too many problems”) and suggestions (“Use the picture of you being attacked by the parrot for your cover if you want your book to sell”).
Finally, a very special thanks to my wife and pillar of support, Julia. Her love, inspiration, and collaboration on every stage of this book have been tremendous. This book wouldn’t have been possible without her.