We owe a large measure of gratitude to everyone who has helped contribute to the development of this book and to those who have helped us along our life's journey.

Thank you, Michael Andrews, for welcoming us into your store, walking us through the business of Michael Andrews Bespoke, and serving as an outstanding case study. The way you strive for excellence and provide white-glove customer service is an inspiration to all of us.

Thank you to Amanda Hand, Lloyd Lay, and Jeff Forman for your assistance in developing and editing several of the chapters and conducting the survey. Your guidance and counsel was invaluable.

Thank you to Jason Reiling, Doug McClure, Alex Clarke, Dev Koushik, Alex Durham, and countless others who participated in the interview and survey process. We appreciate the time and energy that you gave to help us understand the current environment and issues that you are encountering.

Bill Franks and Justin Honaman, thank you for your advice and wisdom in the book-writing process and opening up your networks to provide us with an insider's perspective on what it takes to write a great book. In addition, many thanks to the team at Wiley for taking a leap of faith in us.

We would like to thank many of our clients, including: The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, RGA, Grady Hospital, AT&T, TSTT, Genuine Parts Company, Carters, Cox, Turner, SITA, and Macys. We would like to give special thanks to the team at IHG for their support: Quentin, Alex, Tae, Ryan, Jia, Michelle, Ivy, Lisa, Joe, and many others.

Kathy would like to say a few words:

None of us achieve anything of import alone. In the immortal words of John Donne, “No man is an island.” And so, in writing this book, I, too, stand on the shoulders of those who went before me, those who mentored me and encouraged me to do my best, to strive for more, to find my own way in the world. It is impossible to name everyone whom I have traveled with but I remember each and every one in my thoughts. I would like to mention a few who have been particularly helpful in my journey. I would like to thank my mentors, AJ Robison, Kinny Roper, John Hartman, Robert Peon, Carl Wilson, Trevor Deane, Linda McQuade, and Stuart Kramer, who believed in me, saw my potential, and invested in my development. I would like to thank my loving husband, Fuling Chiang, who has stood by me from the beginning and makes my coffee every morning. And finally, I would like to thank my children, Sean and Christine, who lovingly accepted their fate with a working mom without complaining.

In addition, Andrew would like to thank the following people:

Thank you to my fellow members of Young Presidents Organization for igniting a spark that gave me the idea and confidence to write a book and the invaluable friendship and advice I received from so many of you. Thank you to Aaron Edelheit and JP James for being an inspiration that anything is possible.

Thank you to the entire Aspirent team for your expertise and hard work every day to deliver outstanding solutions to our clients. In addition, thank you for your help in writing this book and creating our monetization website and collateral.

Thank you to my family, Diana, Jen, Rick, April, Ada, Ayden, Adley, and Wanda. And finally, and most importantly, thank you to Suzannah for supporting me during the many nights and weekends that it took to write this book. I appreciate your loving patience and understanding.