ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are finishing this project with all kinds of emotions: relief at getting to this point, resolve to do more, regret for what we inevitably left out. Those feelings are overpowered by a deep sense of gratitude for the people who helped us bring the book to life.

First, we are deeply thankful for the talent and hard work of our intrepid research team, anchored by Katie Boland and Francesca Ely-Spence. They made the book better in their righteous pursuit of integrity and truth.

The fantastic team at Harvard Business Review Press protected and nurtured the ideas in this book from the very beginning. We are particularly grateful to Melinda Merino, our visionary editor, who led us through the process with skill, clarity, patience, and an infectious sense of possibility.

Our early readers made a difference, at the points when we most needed to be saved from ourselves. They include Emmy Berning, Emma Dench, Carlos Flores, Tsedal Neeley, Sarah Schutz, Melissa Statires, and Libbie Thacker. David A. Preiss also contributed his considerable design talent to a number of the figures in the book.

Our friends and colleagues at Harvard Business School have been on this adventure with us for decades, both personally and professionally. We are particularly thankful for the friendship, leadership, and intellectual courage of Amy Edmondson, Robin Ely, Jan Hammond, Youngme Moon, and Nitin Nohria. Where possible, we have tried to honor the way their ideas have shaped us, but we recognize that this is an impossible task, given their outsized influence. Know that Youngme is mentioned far less in the book than the reality of her impact on our lives and the institutions we inhabit. Her leadership in HBS’s cultural turnaround, in particular, has deeply influenced our own ambition and belief in what’s possible.

We are grateful to our incredible sons, Alec and Ben, who inspired, supported, and tolerated us throughout the writing of this book. Know, always, that you are deeply loved. To the rest of our dear family and friends, thank you for helping us create space for this project—and for understanding when it required us to disappear. We also want to say that we have a wonderful support team at home that makes it possible for us to be parents to our children and also active in the world. We could not do any of this without you.

Countless writers have influenced us, through their craft and vision, and also as fearless artists who continue to demand an audience, some of them from the great beyond. Many times, in the writing of this book, we thought about their example and impact. This presumptuous shortlist includes but is not limited to Rachel Held Evans, Clarice Lispector, Toni Morrison, our dear friend Curtis Sittenfeld, Lucian Truscott, and Jeanette Winterson.

Finally, to all of the extraordinary leaders we’ve had the privilege of studying, only some of whom made it onto these pages: this book is not only for you, but also by you and in many ways of you. We are on the long list of people empowered by your courage, wisdom, and willingness to share your leadership path with us.