Acknowledgments

Twenty years ago, Peter Drucker and Frances Hesselbein founded what is today called the Leader to Leader Institute. It was a culmination of their lifetime of research on management and their service to emerging leaders in the social sector and all over the world. It is a great honor to be of service to the board of governors of the Institute and to support its mission in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. That’s what made this book possible.

We have had the privilege of learning from and working with thousands of successful leaders whose contributions have inspired millions of people to do more and be more than they could ever imagine. We want to thank everyone whose ideas and insights made this journey possible.

We are grateful for this collaboration with the American Management Association, and we greatly admire their bold leadership in this field. We give special thanks to our Amacom editors, Ellen Kadin and Barry Richardson, and their team, especially Chris Murray and James Bessent, for their guidance and extraordinary commitment to excellence.

Jim Collins and Frances Hesselbein urged Mark Thompson, during the inauguration of the Hesselbein Global Academy, to move faster on this book. They encouraged us to get these ideas out to emerging leaders who are ready and willing to drive forward with courage in turbulent times.

We appreciate the remarkable lessons and patient mentoring of world-class thought leaders Charles “Chuck” Schwab, Tony Robbins, Keith Ferrazzi, Peter Guber, Marshall Goldsmith, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, Mutual of America’s Fred Altstadt, Julie Woods-Moss, Susanne Lyons, Karen Chang, George Lichter, Chet Holmes, John Assaraf, Jason Jennings, Jack Canfield, Harvey Mackay, T. Harv Eker, Mark Victor Hansen, Bill Bartmann, Randy Williams at Keiretsu Forum, Mike Maples, Nokia’s Henry Tirri, Steve Rodgers, Bob Ackerman, Jeff Webber, Mike Linton, Larry Benet, Joel Barker, Doug Schallau, Sen. John McCain, Steve Miles at Heidrick & Struggles, Alex von Bidder at the Four Seasons, Lon O’Neil at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Tony Bingham at the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), Howard Moskowitz, Joe Scarlett, Minter Dial, Gen. Gale Pollock (ret), Kevin Small, Chris Fralic, Geneva Johnson, Darlyne Bailey, Smule’s Ge Wang and Jeff Smith, and Teri Whitcraft at ABC News—our cherished friends who shine a brighter light on how we can all be more effective and happier as leaders.

Thank you Alan Mulally, Ford Motor’s gifted leader, for your generous time with us and your joyful and disciplined focus on showing what really matters in every organization.

Our pals at Stanford University, particularly professors Byron Reeves and Cliff Nass, supported this effort with research resources to better understand what it means to engage people in their work with greater meaning.

Thank you to Bonita Buell-Thompson, who was also the research director for the international bestseller, Success Built to Last, and whose expert counsel and analysis we cherish.

Sir Richard Branson joined the launch of this project with a generous spirit. He was among those who encouraged us to take action on this book in the first place. More important, he has inspired managers both in business and the social sector with Virgin Unite’s public service work to enrich lives in every corner of the world.

We are grateful to Chelsea Frederick, Julie Dominy, and the entire team at Brian Tracy International—you all stepped up to support this book with all your passion and expertise.

Our thanks to entrepreneurial leaders IKEA’s Ingvar Kamprad, Jeff Bezos at Amazon, Tony Hsieh at Zappos, and Ed Reilly at the American Management Association. When you listen to leaders like these, you can’t help but be inspired to grow and contribute. They will be the first to tell you, “Now, go build a great business!”

Mark Thompson and Brian Tracy