Acknowledgments

This book emerged from a long collaboration between friends. It has been a pleasure to do this work together, as we challenged, encouraged, and occasionally annoyed one another along the way. But it is by no means a two-person production. We are deeply indebted to the mentors, colleagues, and friends who have shaped our thinking.

First, this book would not have been possible without the efforts of individuals who sparked our ideas and helped develop the theory of integrative thinking. Most especially, we would like to thank Chris Argyris (Roger’s late mentor and the grandfather of integrative thinking), Marcel Desautels (whose transformative gift to create the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking at Rotman gave us room to explore these ideas), the late, wonderful Joe Rotman (without whom we would not have had the chance to work together; his grace and his intellect continue to inspire us both), and Hilary Austen (our most crucial thinking partner and a beloved friend). We are also indebted to the folks who meaningfully pushed forward the practice of integrative thinking: Nouman Ashraf, Ellie Avishai, Melanie Carr, Josie Fung, Darren Karn, and Nogah Kornberg. Each of you has contributed in innumerable ways to what we do and how we do it. Thank you, too, to the teachers and practitioners (some of whom we were able to highlight in this book) who share new and remarkable applications with us virtually every day.

We would also like to thank our current and former colleagues at the Rotman School, who supported and encouraged us. There are too many to name, but we would like to single out Quinn Davidson, Jamison Steeve, and the team at the Martin Prosperity Institute; Mihnea Moldoveanu and Brendan Calder in the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking; Steve Arenburg, Ken McGuffin, Karen Christensen, and Jennifer Hildebrandt from the broader events and media team; Michele Milan, Jim Fisher, and Brian Golden, who were crucial advocates for putting integrative thinking into the executive education curriculum; and Suzanne Spragge, Gerry Mabin, and Dave Samuel, three very important influencers from Roger’s advisory board during his tenure as dean.

We are also indebted to the folks we write about in the book (as with movie credits, in order of appearance), including Isadore Sharp, Bob Young, Victoria Hale, A.G. Lafley, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, Kelli, Beth Grosso, Tim Brown, David Taylor, Piers Handling, Jack Bogle, Michael Downey, Bruce Kuwabara, Claudia Kotchka, Laura Frew, Sharron Rosen, Paul Polman, Jack Welch, Rahim Essebhai, and all of our students, especially Adam, Collin, Gautem, Haley, Lauren, and Jabril.

The team at Harvard Business Review Press has been wonderful, as always. Thanks to Jeff Kehoe, Jennifer Waring, Kenzie Travers, Stephani Finks, and everyone at the Press who has helped shape and promote the book. Thank you, too, to Michelle Hopgood at MPI, who created all of the visuals you see in the book.

Finally, thanks to our families—especially our parents. You helped build the foundation for who we are today.