Acknowledgments

The cliché “it takes a village” certainly rings true when it comes to pulling together a book like this. Without all sixty-four of my interviewees, this would simply be a Moleskine sans the nice soft cover. Without the relentless persistence and elevated writing standard of my editor and accomplice, James Houston, I suspect the general response may have been shrieks of “Why, Why?” Without the inspired design talents of Alan Irikura, no doubt the cover, the periodic table itself, and every other page of this book would be lacking his harmonious sensibilities. Without the continuous all-around help of Lindsey Gaon and Fiona Paladino, interns extraordinaire, I’d still be trying to get this done. And without the intrepid guidance, unwavering enthusiasm, and unprecedented promptitude from Pearson’s Nikki McDonald, getting this tome published in 2015 would surely have been impossible. Then there is Dmitri Mendeleev, whose original and incomparable periodic table is not under copyright allowing me to join a long line of conceptual borrowers.

To my lovely and discerning wife Linda, god bless you for going through this from start to finish more times than marriage vows require and identifying opportunities for improvement each and every time!

To my friend Pete Krainik, founder of The CMO Club, thank you for bringing together so many exceptionally talented marketers and giving me the chance to meet many of them over the last eight years. I am forever in your debt.

And finally, I thank you, the reader. If you write a book, let me know. I promise to return the favor.