When the three of us banded together to start Future Forum, we weren't sure where the adventure would take us. Little did we know that we would be joined by so many people who believe in redesigning work and the opportunities it brings, and have been willing to roll up their sleeves with us, openly share their experiences, and tell us what they've learned. Without their stories, this book would have never come to life.

In addition to the decades of experience and research conducted on the topic, the book is a product of the work of the Future Forum team, from the playbooks and reports to the working groups. We are grateful to everyone on our team who joined us in building Future Forum and put their own sweat and tears into the work, especially Dave Macnee, Maddy Cimino, Eliza Sarasohn, Taryn Brymn, Jack Hansley, Katarina Stucker, and Ali Aills.

Our insights are rooted in work driven by the world's greatest research team, led by Christina Janzer, Lucas Puente, and Mark Rivera. Beyond the research itself and a summary of findings, they've brought their own storytelling skills to the work. They've also been instrumental in helping us build relationships with academic experts, many of whom are quoted throughout this book.

Without the sponsorship, encouragement, and prodding of our “Board,” this book, and our work overall, would not exist. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to Stewart Butterfield and David Schellhase, who got us off the ground, shared ideas as well as feedback, and ensured that we've “never been better.” They were joined by Robby Kwok, Jonathan Prince, Nadia Rawlinson, Julie Liegl, Bob Frati, and Tamar Yehoshua, who have been instrumental partners along the way.

Future Forum isn't just the work of a bunch of Slack people and their passion to make work simpler, more pleasant, and more productive. We've been joined by partners who believe we have the opportunity of a lifetime to make work better for people. Thanks to the team at Boston Consulting Group led by Debbie Lovich, MillerKnoll led by Ryan Anderson and Joseph White, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow led by Tina Gilbert and Kevin Donahue. They've contributed their own expertise, findings, and energy to amplify our combined message.

A book written by three co-authors is an act of collaboration that requires a challenging blend of clarity of roles combined with willingness to mix it up and share blunt feedback. It wouldn't have worked if we didn't know each other as individuals, but more importantly it never would have come together without the hard work, prodding, and expertise that Christa Bourg brought to the work. Christa persevered through neophyte authors, an overabundance of input, and our tendency to write 500 words when 50 would suffice.

We found Christa, and got our bearings in being authors, through the guidance and support of our amazing agent Katherine Flynn. Without Katherine's involvement in the early stages, we wouldn't have gotten off the ground. And without Adam Grant's support, we'd never have found Katherine in the first place. Beyond adoring his work, we also know Adam is the world's most proficient and supportive networker.

Writing a book had been bouncing around in our heads since we started Future Forum. But it took a spark to light the fire, and Mike Campbell at Wiley provided that spark. We have managed to annoy Mike on multiple occasions with wanting to blow up how publishing works, and have jointly discovered what every author quickly figures out—writing a book is hard, titles and cover art are impossible. The visuals in the book are also essential ingredients for telling the story, and we have Alec Babala to thank for his art, and his patience as we changed our minds more than a few times. We're also grateful to Dawn Kilgore, our fantastic managing editor at Wiley.

Books that rely on research are grounded in fact. But the storytelling we've been able to do here is what we hope brings the ideas from that research to life. We're eternally grateful to those who were willing to open up their own stories, especially Mike Brevoort, Stewart Butterfield, Cal Henderson, Harold Jackson, and Dawn Sharifan at Slack. We share what we've learned along the way through how-to playbooks—dozens of them. Those are built on the foundations laid by our amazing coworkers at Slack, including Ted Getten, Ariel Hunsberger, Jade Hanley, Ross Harmes, Evelyn Lee, Dawn Sharifan, Kristen Swanson, Sar Warner, and many more. No one would ever see that work if we hadn't been blessed with the partnership of Audrey Carson, Jessica Lehrman, Julie Mullins, Steve Sharpe, and Cyndi Wheeler.

Some of the most fun we had on the entire journey was one “meeting” with Amanda Atkins, Anna Pickard, and Jared Schwartz. Yes, we loved the title you came up with together. No, we didn't use it. We'll do better next time. Anna also pointed out that the original Future Forum manifesto was the kind of thing we shouldn't write—overly corporate jargon-dependent—so we've eliminated it from this book, and from all of existence. Thank you for reminding us of the importance of sounding human.

Getting executives to talk on the record about their challenges is not an easy task, but so many of them wanted to share so that others could learn. We hope we've done justice to their stories; they're all forces for good in the world: Rachael Allison and Angela Palermo of Genentech, Anu Bharadwaj at Atlassian, Melanie Collins and Alastair Simpson at Dropbox, Erin Defay at Dell, Helena Gottschling at Royal Bank of Canada, Nickle LaMoreaux of IBM, Tracy Layney at Levi Strauss & Co., and Mariano Suarrez-Battan at MURAL.

Very few of the ideas in this book originated with us. Besides the habits and practices of the companies we've worked with, the research in this book stands on the shoulders of experts. A big thanks to Raj Choudhury, Heidi Gardner, Adam Grant, Pamela Hinds, Brian Lowery, Priya Parker, Leslie Perlow, Ella Washington, and Anita Woolley.

There's also three of us, who each brought our own passion and perspective to the work, supported by many others.

Brian:

The right place to start is at the beginning. My parents had me when they were kids themselves, and I've been eternally grateful for their love and support. My mom, Becky Bryan, is my hero. She ended up raising two kids on her own, going back to school and holding down jobs, getting advanced degrees and leading organizations that supported cancer patients and eventually a hospice—emotionally challenging work. I remember some great summer talks with my dad, Bill Elliott, about teams at work and how to build them, lessons that stuck to today. My brother Matt was the tag-along who became a great friend, and an awesome husband and father.

I'm eternally grateful to Helen and Sheela for joining me on this journey. I couldn't have asked for two better cofounders. I've learned so much from each of you, personally and professionally. Writing a book while working full time is challenging; doing that while also raising young kids and having another kid is nearly impossible. You bring your own passion to the work, but also depth of expertise and openness to learn. I could not ask for better partners.

My own kids, Connor and Riley, aren't really kids anymore; they are amazing young men whose company I cherish, even if I don't get half of their jokes anymore.

All too often, I've lived to work instead of working to live. I worry about the signal that's sent to my children, and I hope what I've learned over the past few years will help bring back a sense of balance for them. And no one's paid more of a price for that than my partner, spouse, and best friend Maureen. Because work commitments felt inflexible, too often I wasn't there, truly there, in ways that were meaningful. Some of that changed over the years, as I learned what “default parent” meant (and that I wasn't one). Writing this book, and building Future Forum, is part of my continuing path of learning and growth. No one's been more instrumental on that path than Maureen. Thank you for being my coach, supporter, and the love of my life.

Sheela:

For my parents, Ramamoorthy and Shyamala, work was not meant to be a source of fulfillment. As immigrants to this country, it was what they had to do to provide for their families, but they left their jobs at the door when they walked into our home every evening. Their work ethic was one that my brother and I strived to emulate, but it was the prioritization of family, friends, and community that stuck with us the most. I thank them for providing me the opportunity to define the role of work in my life on my own terms, something they were never able to do. And I thank my brother, Satish, for encouraging me to never quit during the most challenging of moments.

And Brian and Helen: Remember when we embarked on this Future Forum journey and had no idea where it would take us? I'd say that this path has exceeded all of our expectations. Your friendship means the world to me and has been a highlight of my career. Thank you.

To my husband, partner, and best friend, Eric—thank you for embodying what true partnership looks like. Aside from being a constant source of encouraging Eric-isms that border on Ted Lasso cheesiness, you've never made me feel like professional ambition and hands-on parenting are mutually exclusive. Kudos for (incessantly) reminding me of the best legacy I can leave our girls and nieces: showing them that women don't have to “play the game”—we have the power to change the nature of “the game” itself.

And to my magical daughters, nieces, and all of the women in my life who will do amazing things—you are the source of inspiration for this book. I am cheering you on.

Helen:

I would not be here, in a position to shape a better way to work for myself and the people around me, if not for my parents Edward and Ann Lee. Dad, you flew 300 miles each way between LA and SF each week to get to work. Mom, you held two jobs for most of my childhood between the retail shop in Chinatown and the graveyard shift at the post office. I still don't know how you balanced all of that while creating a loving and supportive home for my brother and me to grow and learn in. Thank you a million times over.

Sheela and Brian, I still pinch myself wondering if all of this is real. Writing a book, creating a movement—these are amazing opportunities. But getting to do all of this with two people whom I deeply admire (and look up to, everyday!) has been such a privilege. Thank you for inspiring me every day with how you show up as leaders, friends, and people.

Thank you, Nate—my husband, partner, best friend, and loudest cheerleader. Even though I always say “no more pep talks,” thank you for always believing in me and pushing me. You've never let me sacrifice my own ambitions to “just be a mom,” and you've spent countless hours “getting coffee with Ethan” or “gardening with Ethan” to carve out space for me to think, to write, to work, and to sometimes just work out. Thank you for doing your best to take on the mental load and show me, through everyday actions, what equal partnership feels like.

To my son and baby girl, you are my reason. I want to be the mom who shows up equally at home and work. I want to carve a path for both of you to define work-life on your own terms. And I want to be here to soak up every moment—big and small—of our lives together.