Acknowledgments

Although the Innovation Movement this book describes is recent, it builds upon the work of thinkers and practitioners who have plowed these fields for decades. Clearly, to quote Sir Isaac Newton, “I have stood on the shoulders of giants” in writing this book.

Closer to home, I acknowledge the contributions and support of my wife, Carolyn, to whom this book is dedicated, and to my daughter, Cara Rose. It is not easy living with someone whose career takes him away as much as mine, and, to add insult to injury, it was necessary for me to go to the office on Saturdays for these past three years. I look forward to returning to a normal life, and thank both of you for enabling me to pursue this project to completion.

I also wish to thank my brother, Bart Tucker, a senior consultant with The Innovation Resource, for his belief in and constant support of this project. Throughout, Bart was always there, lending a hand, making suggestions, always encouraging us to keep going.

Joel Gustafson was also an early supporter and sounding board for the ideas in this book, and an enthusiastic researcher, as was Dorothy Pedersen. A special debt of gratitude to Judy Williams, who manages my speaking schedule and media appearances, for her invaluable assistance and for holding down the fort as I revised this manuscript during the summer of 2007 ·

The Innovation Movement has received a tremendous boost from a growing legion of talented people who organize conferences and pioneer methods to improve the innovation process. Joyce Wycoff and Ruth Ann Hattori, cofounders of InnovationNetwork, at their annual Convergence conferences provide an international meeting place for practitioners and consultants alike.

John Holland, former president of the Association of Employee Involvement; Chris Miller, president of Innovation Focus; and David Sutherland, president of Business Innovation Consortium have also 190influenced my thinking about innovation, as has Dennis Black. Trevor Davis spearheaded the research for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ important study on innovation, and Ron Jonash at A.D. Little has made major contributions to the field.

To my colleagues at Gold Coast and to all of those who read and commented on the manuscript, a hearty thank you: Linda S. Mayer, Mavis Wilson, Jane Haubrich Casperson, Douglas Hammer, Katherine Holt, Angela Wagner, Dan Burrus, Mark Sanborn, Charles Prather, Michael LeBoeuf, Gordon Burgett, and Dan Poynter.

And finally, to my publisher Steven Piersanti, thank you for inviting me to revise this book so that new readers might discover the lessons of the Innovation Vanguard.