We would like to begin by thanking the extraordinary editorial team at Berrett-Koehler-Johanna Vondeling, Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, and Steve Piersanti-for the pleasure of doing challenging work in excellent spirit. Paraphrasing an ancient psalm, at Berrett-Koehler, "High standards and good cheer are met together, tough-mindedness and warm-heartedness have kissed each other."
Thanks for outstanding work by BK's design, production, sales, marketing, and publicity team of Rick Wilson, Dianne Platner, Kristen Frantz, María Jesús Aguiló, Michael Crowley, Robin Donovan, Ken Lupoff, Marina Cook, Tiffany Lee, Catherine Lengronne, and Ian Bach. Your skill is a tremendous gift to authors!
Sharon Goldinger at PeopleSpeak and Bev Butterfield at Girl of the West Productions again combed all the confusing tangles out of our manuscript and provided the wonderful look and design of the book.
Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup Organization did the research that undergirds our understanding of worker engagement. Stan Geyer taught us how "integrity-aligned" organizations produce cultures of full engagement. Rick Wellock guided our thinking about how human beings make progress when they learn to receive, learn to release, and learn to rejoice. The innovations in this book stand upon the foundation stones these colleagues have laid.
The reviewers made the book better. Thank you to Jim "Gus" Gustafson, Philip Heller, John Hirt, Karen Kramer Horning, Harry Howell, Jeff Icenhower, Janie Jeffers, Jeffrey Kulick, Patrick Ogburn, Barbara Schultz, and Karen Sussman for your excellent catches, suggestions, warnings, and cheers.
Scott Beilke, Bruce Bickel, Kirk Botula, Donna Brighton, Bonnie Budzowski, Lois Creamer, Sam Deep, Jim Dittmar, Darrin Grove, Glenn Main III, Diane Miller, Jerry McNellis, Abu Noaman, Raji Sankar, Randhir Setthi, Lisa Slayton, Roger Slayton, Bridget Snebold, and Joanne Spence contributed ideas, counsel, imagination, planning, and encouragement-and an abiding enthusiasm for this project. Thank you.
Matthew and David Jennings deserve particular thanks for the hand they gave in the critical early stage of the writing and editing. Take a bow, Matt and David.
Emma and Clara Stahl-Wert; David, Matthew, and Sara Jennings; and Conner Mendenhall-our children-were much in mind throughout the writing.
Love to Milonica Stahl-Wert and Heather Hyde Jennings who share in the work we do and in its pleasures.
And finally, our thanks go to God. This story about leaders and children is his story; the good in it is from him, as all good is.
Whatever's wrong with this book is our fault. No news there!
TEN
THOUSAND
HORSES