Acknowledgments

The initial spark for this book was generated when Michele Tepper put me in touch with Martha Cooley. The project was made possible by the vision, enthusiasm, and publishing support of Tim Moore, Amy Neidlinger, and Stewart Emery. Thank you all.

The creative community at frog design has provided an incredible home for the development of the thinking in this book. Special thanks to Sabah Ashraf, Valerie Casey, Ravi Chhatpar, Robert Curtis, Hartmut Esslinger, Robert Fabricant, Mark Gauger, Mikal Greaves, Chris Green, J Grossen, Jon Guerra, Cyrus Ipaktchi, Mike Lavigne, Tim Leberecht, Willy Loor, Doreen Lorenzo, Kristina Loring, Sara Munday, Howard Nuk, Mark Olson, Samir Patel, Mark Prommel, Adam Richardson, Patricia Roller, Mark Rolston, Christian Schluender, Jason Severs, Shady Shahid, Kate Swann, Michael Voege, and Carsten Wierwille. Prior to frog design, I worked with an inspiring cast of people in Australia who encouraged my interest in disruptive innovation: Don Barbour, Greg Barclay, Julian Ditchburn, James Duncan, Bernard Heaphy, Roslyn Herbert, Murray Hine, Liz Hutchinson, Susan MacDonald, Jacqueline Moth, Sam Pearson, Greg Ridder, Peter Robinson, John Scholten, Patrick Shing, and David Teller.

The opportunity to create and shape a graduate-level course at the Stern School of Business at NYU was made possible by the entrepreneurial spirit of Stuart Hogue, Doreen Lorenzo, and Scott Galloway, and the generous support of Sam Craig and Russell Winer. For two years, I had the privilege of teaching this course with Peter Golder, who had a tremendous impact on the course curriculum and content. Thanks also to Anne-Laure Sellier, an early supporter of the disruptive thinking process in her consumer behavior classes. To my students in the “Innovation & Design” course, a big thank you for helping refine the framework, clarify the steps, and showing me how to talk about innovation without the consulting jargon.

The team at Pearson Education has been a pleasure to work with: Pamela Boland, Gina Kanouse, Julie Phifer, Laura Czaja, Megan Colvin, Kristy Hart, Sheri Cain, Joy Lee, and Dan Uhrig. Thanks to Russ Hall for working his magic on the early drafts, and Lori Lyons for her astonishing patience and attention to detail on the final drafts. Special thanks to my superb editor, Jeanne Glasser, for shepherding the manuscript through the writing process and shaping the book’s final form.

A huge thank you to my literary agent, Jim Levine, for helping navigate the process—from proposal to print. Jim, your guidance and advice have been invaluable. Thanks also to the wonderful team at the Levine Green-berg Agency for their support, particularly Elizabeth Fisher and Kerry Sparks.

I’m indebted to my closest collaborator on this project, Armin Brott, who shaped and massaged the tone, language, and structure of this book, with patience, insight, and unwavering commitment. Thank you Armin.

Thanks also to my friend and former frog design colleague, Jonah Staw, for graciously sharing the story of Little Miss Matched and providing valuable insights on the development and positioning of this book.

To the superb writers, critical thinkers, and leaders who endorsed this book. You are a constant source of inspiration: Warren Berger, Jamyn Edis, Stewart Emery, Scott Galloway, Seth Godin, Peter Golder, Stuart Hogue, Martin Lindstrom, Ric Peralta, Cordell Ratzlaff, David Rogers, Andy Stefanovich, Linda Tischler, and Bill Wackermann. This book exists because of the intellectual foundation laid by Edward de Bono, Gary Hamel, and Tom Peters.

And finally, a heartfelt thank-you to my family and friends for your patient support: Tim Bilham, Paul Bryan, Simon Chard, Rod Cobain, Katarina Cobain, Ben Eddie, Anya Emerson, Felicity Forrester, Jason Humphris, Pete Jones, Jackie Laws, Toby MacKelden, Kirsten MacKelden, Ingrid Mallia, Matt Rainsford, Tam-zine Walshe, and Angie Zorotheos. Thanks to Anthony Dorment for providing some much needed space to write in the early stages; Richard Troy for expert feedback on book jacket concepts; Damian Kernahan for insights on the manuscript; and Ainslie Baker for accommodating me during writing spurts in London. Special thanks to Ben Baker for generously providing the author photo and Freddy Anzures for the outstanding cover design. I’m deeply grateful for the wonderful support and encouragement of my grandfather, Laurie (the original disruptive thinker), my parents, Jenny and Keith, and my sister, Bri.

I hope you enjoy the book.