ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

AS ANY AUTHOR can attest, a book is the result of a complex and interacting set of activities. Good ideas have many parents, and that was certainly the case with Edison in the Boardroom. The authors openly acknowledge that this book is the result of collaboration with a number of people who provided the inspiration, guidance, support, and ideas that have made this book possible. For these people we are deeply grateful. While we brought the original framework of ideas to the endeavor, the executives who donated their time, stories, and words of wisdom have enlivened and animated the bare bones with which we started.

We are particularly indebted to the corporate executives and thought leaders who made these contributions: Margaret Blair, Fred Boehm, Bob Bramson, Tom Colson, John Cronin, Joe Daniele, Steve Fox, Henry Fradkin, Bill Frank, Paul Germeraad, Rick Gross, Bob Gruetzmacher, David Kline, Bob McCall, Rob McLean, David Near, Sharon Oriel, Jim O'Shaughnessy, Jan-Erik Osterholm, Mark Radcliffe, John Raley, Jane Robbins, Jerry Rosenthal, Paul Rothweiler, Randy Stauffer, Bruce Story, Bill Swirsky, Graham Taylor, Elizabeth Thom, Tony Torres, Joe Villella, Lanny Vincent, Jeff Weedman, and Barry Young.

We are also very appreciative of our many clients who have challenged our thinking and forced us to articulate the concepts that have become the subject of this book. Other friends, including Rob Pressman and Michael Smythe, have also contributed to our thinking.

Edison was created by marrying the best practices of companies in the ICM Gathering with the depth of experience the authors have garnered through their consulting experiences. We are especially grateful to the companies of the ICM Gathering for sharing their knowledge, experiences, successes, and failures with us. Our firms, Andersen and ICMG, have worked together in a strategic alliance to share the results of the Gathering's collective learning with other companies.

In the course of our joint endeavor there have been a number of colleagues who have been instrumental in shaping and supporting our view of the art of intellectual property management. They include our colleagues at ICMG: Dr. Patrick Sullivan and Patrick Sullivan Jr.; as well as many current and former partners at Andersen: Mark Bezand, Richard Boulton, Dan Broadhurst, Paul Charnetzki, Barbara Duganier, Susan Gallagher, Ed Giniat, Mark Hargis, Bob Hiebeler, Todd Huskinson, Kathi Kedrowski, Gerry Keeler, Mark Kindy, Peter King, Carol Kone, Barry Libert, Mike Maloney, Cindy Munger, Jim Nawrocki, Heidi Rudolph, and Barry Sussman, along with several other current and former Andersen colleagues: Jason Ackerman, Doug Aguilera, Gary Bender, Cheryl Benes, Melissa Bennis, Darlene Butscher, John Coult, Meghan Doyle, Ron Epperson, Jim Ewing, Brandy Fernow, John Galiski, Clare Harding, Scott Hultgren, Rodger Jackson, Nancy Jessen, Deb Kiley, Jennifer Knabb, Doug Knoch, Jerry Kral, Catherine Madrid, Laura McLaughlin, Missy Metzl, Lori Morrison, Della Quimby, Tim Renjilian, Dawn Rice, Jill Rusk, and Kris Swanson. In addition, we couldn't have done without our administrative support staff—Joy Barrows, Kim Bhear, Tricia Lange, and Maria Munoz.

Intellectual capital management and its growing importance in both individual companies as well as in our national economy can be traced back to the efforts of several key individuals who had vision, patience, fortitude, and a gift for words. Their books and thoughts have opened our eyes and enabled a generation of managers to begin to harvest the value of their firms' knowledge. Kevin Rivette, Tom Stewart, and Karl-Erik Sveiby, thanks for pushing the boundaries.

We would also like to thank Martha Cooley for her patience and encouragement to share what we have learned. Thanks also go to Alexandra Lajoux for her research into Edisoniana and for her gift of words.

And finally, thanks to both of our husbands, Roger and Juan, for their support, suggestions, words of encouragement, and lost weekends and holidays.