ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

So many people to thank.

First, I thank my wife, Laura, for your integrity and passion and principle. And for the loving sacrifices you make for me and our boys every day, which are far more important than anything I do. And to those three boys, Connor, Matthew, and Casey, thank you for making me giddy with joy every single day, and for coming to visit me at the hotel to make my writing less lonely.

And I thank my humble and hungry staff at The Table Group. Your talent, commitment, and friendship mean more to me with every year we spend together. Thanks to Tracy Noble for keeping me on track with this book, and for your astounding attention to detail and quality. To Amy Hiett for every selfless thing you’ve done over the years, which is impossible to fully comprehend, to make me and our company work. To Jeff Gibson for carrying the water while I was writing, and for your capacity to tolerate and learn from the rest of us. To Karen Amador for all of the little things you do that are so very big and gracefully done. To Michele Rango for your fearlessness and passion. And to Amber Hunter, for your persistence and dedication. And thanks to all of your families for letting me play with you every day.

Of course, I thank my parents, for all of the obvious biological-historical-financial reasons. And for your complete and untiring support now and over the years. And to Ritamarie and Mark Tennyson and Vince and Nora Lencioni, for your love and support from near and far.

I thank my editor, Susan Williams, for your steadiness, insights, and trust, all of which I appreciate more with each book. And to everyone else at Jossey-Bass and Wiley, Erik Thrasher, Todd Berman, Jesica Church, Rob Brandt, Jeff Wyneken, Deborah Hunter, Cedric Crocker, Rob Dyer, Rick Gresh, Dean Karrel, Will Pesce, and so many others. Thanks for your commitment to me and these ideas.

I thank my agent, Jim Levine, for your counsel and genuine concern for me and our firm.

I thank Charlotte Rogers for keeping the boys safe, and Laura and me sane.

I thank all of the special “readers” who gave me insightful and substantive feedback in a pinch: John Rodriguez, Susan and John Beans, Jean Kovacs, Mark Weidick and Rick Schultz. And I thank my friends who don’t hear from me or see me for months at a time while I am writing: the Beans, the Carlsons, the Garners, the Bellis, the Bolles, the Patchs, the Elys, the Berrys, the Gilmores, the Grubers, the Fraziers, the Hammits, the Groningers, the Robles, and so many others who probably won’t call me back.

I thank all of the clients that have given me and my colleagues the privilege to work in their organizations and speak to their employees over these past few years. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your trust and passion and generosity. I wish I could name you all individually.

I thank the organizations that have befriended The Table Group: the Alliance of Chief Executives, Solutions@Work, TEC, the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization, the Young Presidents’ Organization, and others. And I thank Verne Harnish and Gazelles, Inc., for your support and advice over the years.

I thank all of the many, many teachers, coaches, managers, and mentors who have contributed to my development over the years. I thank the community at St. Isidore Church and School for making such a difference for my family. And I thank everyone at the Make-A-Wish Foundation for the wonderful work you do, and for allowing me to play a small part in that for the past few years.

And finally, for bringing all of these people into my life, and for giving us everything that is good, I thank You, Lord.