part0031

Writing this book was harder than a rock on a cold day. Tougher than I ever imagined. But the deeper I got into the research and writing, the more I realized just how worthy of a cause this is —and how rewarding it is to have the chance to package and share ideas that can help other leaders to expand their impact.

Deep in my bones, I believe that The Blue Flame has the power to change the trajectory of lives and transform the way we think about leadership. And even if this thing impacts only a few leaders, and they go on to impact just a few of their teammates… then the late nights of writing, early mornings of research, and newly-sprouted gray hairs will have all been well worth it.

I have to start by thanking my awesome wife, Courtney. You have been supportive at every step. Thanks for giving me the space to hunker down in my office for evenings on end (and graciously cover dinner duty!) so that I could bring this message to the world. I draw a ton of inspiration from seeing you living into your own Blue Flame in your career. Thank you so much for your support, encouragement, and patience.

To my family, who has always supported my pursuit of things that I found energizing and fulfilling, even when those things were a bit —ahem— weird. (Cue the tape of my infamous homemade puppet shows).

A hearty “thank you” to everyone on my publishing team. At times during this process, I felt like I was lost in the cold, dark woods of first-time authoring... but then I quickly remembered I had a whole team by my side. And there you were with a flashlight. Your support and guidance always seemed to arrive at just the right time. To Jonathan Gifford for your witty writing, patience, and relentless positivity. To Josh Raab, for smoothing my writing with your proverbial rolling pin, and helping me get this book to the finish line step-by-step. To Amélie Cherlin, for making sure the manuscript was in tip-top shape and helping me realize how much I love the em dash. To Andrew Bell for his thoughtful book design. To Jordan Walczak, who helped bring the concepts to life with the sketch pencil. And to the others who worked behind the scenes to make this book possible.

The Blue Flame wouldn’t have happened without the years of partnership and support from the awesome crew at Alpine Investors. Working with you has been one of the great blessings in my life, has given me much of the raw material that formed the foundation for this book, and has helped me to discover and lean into my own Blue Flame. I’m so proud and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with and learn from such an amazing and talented group of leaders.

And finally, thanks to the countless leaders who I have had the chance to learn from along my own professional journey — those I have had the opportunity to lead, be led by, and watch their leadership from a distance. I’m especially thankful for those of you who are as committed as I am to making the workplace a force for good in the lives of our employees. The world needs more leaders like you who are committed to helping their people be their best.

[30] Scott Harrison, “New York City Art Exhibition and Gala Fundraiser,” accessed July 10, 2020, http://www.onamercyship.com/2005/07/new-york-city-art-exhibition-and-gala.html.