We are deeply grateful to the many CEOs, directors, and C-suite executives who gave us interview time and contributed mightily to sharpening our view of how to convert big ideas into the easily executable actions presented in this book. Our many investor contributors, including Warren Buffett, also provided extraordinary support in backing our thesis that it’s all about getting three things right—talent, strategy, and risk—to advance enterprise value, the right kind of growth, and long-term potential for all who put their money in the market.
Our special thanks go to Herb Allen, Mary Barra, Elena Botelho, Ed Breen, Jack Brennan, Bruce Broussard, Mary Erdoes, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Abe Friedman, Ed Garden, Raj Gupta, Michele Hooper, Muhtar Kent, Shelly Lazarus, Bill McCracken, Anne Mulcahy, Sam Nunn, Ron O’Hanley, Dan Riff, Brian Rogers, Kevin Sneader, Brendan Swords, Mark Turner, and Jeff Ubben. Thanks also for comments from Kenneth Abrams, John Averill, Eunhak Bae, Nicolas Choumenkovitch, Wendy Cromwell, Bob Hallagan, Evan Hornbuckle, Tom Levering, Gregory Mattiko, Dave Palmer, Dan Pozen, Saul Rubin, Tara Stilwell, and Mark Whitaker.
Two people played pivotal roles in turning our mountain of ideas into readable text. The first is our editor at Harvard Business Review Press, Melinda Merino. Using her grasp of trends and issues in business and its broader context, Melinda helped define what the book should contain and how best to present it. Her oversight was substantive, immensely helpful, and encouraging in every instance. We couldn’t be more grateful for her guidance.
The second is Andrew Kupfer, who masterfully turned input from three authors and an enormous pile of content into an eminently readable book that is respectful of readers’ time. We reaped the benefit of Andrew’s years of experience as a journalist and editor at Fortune. The clarity of his thinking and his superb writing and editing skills won our admiration and took a great burden off our shoulders.
Our thanks also to the production staff at HBR, led by Anne Starr, whose expertise and attention to detail are world class. Also, to graphic designer Scott Berinato, who creatively translated our ideas into visual shorthand.
From Bill McNabb: I’m incredibly grateful to my colleagues at Vanguard for all their support on this project, starting with Tim Buckley, Anne Robinson, and Chris McIsaac. Their critical thinking and encouragement have been invaluable. Much of the data in the book came from multiple sources across Vanguard. Mike Buek, Andy Clarke, Kasia Kraszweska, Ryan Ludt, Mike Nolan, Jim Rowley, Amanda Shah, and Haifeng Wang contributed greatly to this effort. Vanguard’s governance experts—Glenn Booraem, Rob Wherry, and Sarah Relich—stood shoulder to shoulder with us; without them, this book would not have been possible. Last, “thank you” seems totally inadequate for Bryan Thomas and Vickie Leinhauser. They were involved in every aspect of this book and continue to be hugely supportive.
From Ram Charan: I’m lucky to have had many learning conversations and engagements with business leaders over the years, including Kumar Birla, Bob Bradway, Dick Brown, Chad Holliday, Lois Juliber, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Kathy Murphy, Doug Peterson, Helene Runtagh, Anna Saicali, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, Cecilia Sicupira, Sumant Sinha, Michael Useem, Ed Woolard, and Qin Yinglin. My longtime business partner, John Joyce, provided useful feedback and support throughout the writing process. My assistants Cynthia Burr and Lisa Laubert skillfully managed the logistical challenges and provided other essential support. Geri Willigan, who has worked with me on corporate governance issues since my first book on boards more than twenty years ago, was an essential contributor to this book as well.
From Dennis Carey: I want to thank Gary Burnison, the CEO I serve at Korn Ferry, who encourages everyone in the firm to advance new ideas, learn from those who run successful enterprises, and develop our profile in the right way in the markets we serve. Further, Donna Gregor, my assistant of thirty years, has been the key to my ability to get things done with care and confidence. I also want to thank Joe Griesedieck, vice chairman of Korn Ferry, who recruited me to this great firm. He has always been there to support my research projects, my client work, and other endeavors. He has been a friend and colleague for over thirty years, and I have learned from him the importance of bringing humor, decency, and diplomacy to everything we do. And a special note of thanks to my adopted family—Katrina, Moritz, Chamonix, Brighton, and Soleil—who made it fun for me to occasionally forget about work—and of course to my son Matt and daughter Maggie, who I have treasured quietly in my life’s wonderful journey.