I wish I could list all of my clients by name. I have learned so much about why people support and why they resist change from you. You demanded that I be clear. Get rid of jargon. And most of all, be practical. My work is better for having had the privilege to work with you.
Thanks to Herb Stevenson and Rick Seikaly, buddies and colleagues, who read the section on context and gave their suggestions and critique. Since that chapter is so central to this book, their influence can be felt well beyond that single chapter. Thanks to all the fine people at Bard Press: Ray Bard, Sherry Sprague, Deborah Costenbader, Luke Torn, Joe Pruss, Randy Miyake and Patti Zeman at Hespenheide Design, Kay Banning, and Leslie Stephen, who is a truly fine editor and just plain fun to work with. Thanks to all of you who allowed me to include interviews with you in this book. Thanks to the many corporate leaders I interviewed for this book. I’ll keep my promise and not mention you by name. The enthusiasm, support, and wisdom from all these people kept this labor of love from turning into just raw labor. And thanks to members of the Change Management Open Source Project (www.changeOSP.com) who provided ideas and helpful critique. Same appreciation goes to a couple of discussion forums on LinkedIn.
When I wrote the first version of this book, I had been studying at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland for a few years. Since 1996 I have taught there five to six weeks a year in programs geared to people who lead and consult in organizations. The faculty and students in Cleveland continue to provide a model of intellectual rigor and good practice. And I would not have thought to write this book, nor could I have, without the profound influence and support I received from the faculty and fellow participants in the first major program I attended in Cleveland from 1991–1993.
A special thanks to Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton, authors of The
Knowing-Doing Gap, and Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, authors of
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