Thank you for investing your time, effort, and resources to read through this book. Over the past two decades, I’ve learned that after you’ve read enough, thought about enough, spoken enough, or otherwise advised clients enough about a topic, you feel as though you have something to say. I’ve been thinking about Co-Create for the past four years, and in these pages I hope to have given you the tools in constructs, examples, interviews, and case studies to help you think and lead differently.
That aspiration doesn’t often come easily, and it’s seldom handed to you. At times, you’ll be the dissenting voice, feeling like the lone survivor, or you will be looked at with incredibly perplexed expressions; you’ll be talked about behind closed doors with concerns that you’ve lost your mind—#CrazyTalk; you’ll be challenged publically and privately for taking on the status quo, and no doubt will hear comments such as, “That’ll never work,” and, “We tried that twenty years ago and it didn’t work then!”
But that’s what iteration, innovation, and disruption is all about: steadfast belief that there are always better ways. This conviction underscores that unless your personal brand; your team’s performance, execution, and results; and your organization’s DNA evolves, you’ll struggle to remain relevant in your market and to your biggest asset: your portfolio of relationships. My hope for you from this book is that you’ll take one or two of these ideas and put them to work sooner rather than later.
I’m grateful for amazing clients over the past two decades such as Phil Ostwalt at KPMG, Rod Moses at Hilton, Stefano Bertuzzi at ASM, Randy Seidl at HP, John Murnane at tke, Kathy Bedell at BCD Travel, Erin Meszaros at Sutherland, and Duffy Wilbert at InfoComm; incredibly talented colleagues and partners such as Lin Wilson, Jennifer Bridges, Jim Rodgers, Bruce Kasanoff, Matt Jones, and Mark Sylvester; and my family for their unconditional love and support to allow me to work with global clients in the evolution of their organizations.
This book would not have been possible without the support of dedicated professionals such as Sarah White, Michael Sanders, Sara Taylor, Tom Miller, Emily Carleton, George Witte, and the entire team at St. Martin’s Press.
Let me close with three reminders from my own mentors over the years, which I’ve found particularly valuable:
1. It’s never as good or as bad as you think; learn to pause!
2. Progress trumps perfection every time; version one is always better than version none!
3. Improve by 1 percent a day and in seventy days you’re twice as good!
What will be your 1 percent after reading this book?
BE WELL AND STAY IN TOUCH,
DAVID