This book is the product of many conversations and interviews I have had over the last five years. I have talked to CEOs about these issues and I have talked to front-line employees with no management experience at all. I have also spent a great deal of time kicking my ideas round with colleagues and friends. Unlike some of my previous books on rather arcane subjects, this is one that everyone can relate to, so the people I have talked to are numerous. While I will do my best to acknowledge everyone who has helped me, I apologize in advance for those I have temporarily forgotten.

First I would like to thank London Business School, which provides the perfect blend of practical relevance and theoretical rigor for me to pursue a project of this type. Individuals at the School who have helped me include Andrew Likierman, Karen Napier, Lynda Gratton, Costas Markides, Jules Goddard, Holly Parker, Vyla Rollins, Rob James, Alan Matcham, Lisa Duke, and Stefano Turconi.

Gary Hamel continues to be a source of inspiration for all my work on management. Many of the ideas I developed in this book started from casual conversations with him. Gary's colleagues at the Management Innovation Exchange, Michele Zanini and Polly LaBarre, were also helpful for several of the stories in this book.

Simon Caulkin and Ngaire McKeown helped me to write some of the company case studies that I used in this book.

Many others have also provided useful insights and examples. In no particular order, these include Peter Cheese and John McGurk at CIPD; Tim Brooks at the British Medical Journal; David Smith formerly of Asda; Andrew Dyckhoff of Merrick; Vineet Nayar, Anand Pillai, Bindi Bhullar, and Ani Mukherjee at HCL Technologies; Stephen Martin at Clugston; Ross Smith at Microsoft; Andy Mulholland and Rick Mans at Capgemini; Chris Bayliss at National Australia Bank; Jordan Cohen and Siri Uotila at PA Consulting; Stefan Arn and Christian Crowden at AdNovum; Paul Lambert, Jesper Ek, and Steffi Mitchell at Roche; Torgeir Jacobsen, Hakan Johansson, Niclas Ward, Jorgen Hiden, and Katarina Mohlin at If Insurance; Julie Powell at Rio Tinto; Paul Flaum, Lorena Dominguez, and Peter Gardiner at Premier Travel Inn.

I thank Wiley/Jossey-Bass for pulling the book together and helping me to sharpen up the key ideas, especially Rosemary Nixon, Nick Mannion, Kathe Sweeney, and Patricia Bateson.

Finally, thanks as always to my family, to Laura, Ross, Duncan, and Lisa, for putting up with my long hours of writing. I couldn't have done it without your support!