Acknowledgments

Every day, I learn from my colleagues at AWS: Jonathan Allen, Thomas Blood, Ashley Brown, Joe Chung, Miriam McLemore, Stephen Orban, Phil Potloff, Clarke Rodgers, and Xia Zhang. Many of the ideas here were developed with their feedback, and many more will be tested with them as we try to help AWS customers transform. Also at AWS, Adrian Cockcroft has been a great supporter of all my books and I thank him for it. A five-minute conversation with Adrian makes me rethink my ideas or see them in a different light.

One of my main points in this book is the importance and power of humility in the digital world. I’m sure I had Gene Kim in the back of my mind as the model of the humble leader. Gene brings out the best in everyone through his supportive, curious, open-minded community-building. I owe a lot to him as does the rest of the DevOps community.

Thanks to my editor, Anna Noak, who is almost always right, and is then right the rest of the time too, and to Leah Brown, who sees what I am trying to say and makes sure I’m saying it. And to Margueritte and the rest of the IT Revolution folks.

My formative years—really—were the time I spent at USCIS, where I learned from pretty much everyone, but in particular Keith Jones, Larry Denayer, Luke McCormack, Margie Graves, Mike Hermus, Josh Seckel, Sarah Fahden, Tammy Meckley, Kath Stanley, Tracey Renaud, Lori Scialabba, Chip Fulghum, Greg Rankin, David Blair, Yemi Oshinaiye, Norm Palmer, Rafaa Abdalla, and the late Mark Caldwell. And everyone else—all of them doing the impossible work of the under-appreciated civil service.

And thanks to Jenny who supplied me with yogurt, oatwa, and Nespresso pods, and lots of encouragement, love, and support.