acknowledgments

It was a challenge to create this book.

Because nobody had written a book about HEROes before, it took a while to get it all to come together. At times we felt like highly empowered and resourceful operatives ourselves, creating and exploring this idea within a busy, buzzing research company in the middle of a recession. I hope you liked the results. We’d love to tell you a little more about what it took to get here.

Three people in the management of Forrester Research made this book possible. George F. Colony, Forrester’s founder and CEO, supported us in creating a book to follow Groundswell because he loves the power of ideas. Our COO, Charles Rutstein, suggested putting together our ideas on empowered consumers and empowered employees. That’s what got us to HEROes, so thank you, Charles. And it was Forrester’s CMO, Dwight Griesman, who supported this project from idea through publication and beyond. It’s good to know your bosses have your back.

This book lives within a rich matrix of collaborators: the entire Forrester Research organization. We had the luxury of tapping into the ideas of Forrester’s three hundred analysts and countless research and support staff. Among our analyst collaborators were Julie Ask, Matt Brown, Bobby Cameron, David Cooperstein, Sean Corcoran, Nate Elliott, Nigel Fenwick, Frank Gillett, Charles S. Golvin, Mike Gualtieri, Jeffrey Hammond, Liz Herbert, Khalid Kark, Rob Koplowitz, George Lawrie, Sharyn Leaver, John McCarthy, Chris McLean, Sheri McLeish, Stephen Noble, Christine Overby, Natalie Petouhoff, Augie Ray, Clay Richardson, Emily Riley, James Staten, and Rob Whitely. We borrowed their insights shamelessly. We were fortunate to work with a brace of data experts, including Remy Fiorentino, Emily Van Metre, Cynthia Pflaum, Peter Schmidt, and Roxana Strohmenger. The clever Jennifer Wise did all the graphics, with design support from Jens Kueter. Amy Lewis and Corey Mathews turned our interaction ideas into a Web site; Phil LeClare, Karyl Levinson, Tracy Sullivan, and Jon Symons helped get our ideas out into the broader discussion in the media and on blogs; Michael Woodring managed this unmanageable project. We leaned on, begged resources from, and took inspiration from Forrester’s research leadership, including Cliff Condon, Julie Meringer, Tom Pohlmann, and Dennis van Lingen. They held up the management end of our HERO Compact.

Our agent, Ike Williams, and editor, Jacque Murphy, made a second Forrester book happen: a clear demonstration of the triumph of hope over experience.

This book would not exist without the blind faith of Ted’s family: Deirdre, Rory, and Sophie. As for Josh’s family—Kimberley, Rachel, and Isaac—they knew what was coming, and still said yes. Oy.

Finally, this book is real because of the HEROes who allowed us to tell their stories. They came from everywhere—some were clients, some were famous, and some were just people who responded to Twitter requests—and helped us to see what it takes to be empowered and resourceful. Thanks for your persistence and the articulate way in which you described your experiences. Let’s hope your efforts inspire HEROes throughout the world.

—Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler

Cambridge, Massachusetts

March 2010