Acknowledgments

When a professor writes a book, he depends a great deal on the support of the institution at which he works. The school provides the resources and the time to conduct the research. Time proves especially important for a qualitative researcher such as me, who ventures into the field often to conduct interviews and observe managers in action. I am grateful for the support of everyone at Bryant University, particularly President Ron Machtley, who asked me to join the institution two years ago. He and many others at Bryant have made me feel so very welcome. Jack Trifts, Dean of the School of Business, has been a pleasure to work with for these past two years. My faculty colleagues have engaged in many thought-provoking conversations with me. Professor Peter Nigro deserves special mention as the person who reached out and invited me to lunch on my first day at Bryant. Over time, our lunch group grew. These friends have offered good company and lively conversation, a welcome respite from my research and writing. I am also grateful to the Harvard Business School for its support, because some of the research for this book took place while I served on the faculty there.

Many people have collaborated with me on research cited in this book. I am grateful to Amy Edmondson, Jan Rivkin, Jason Park, David Ager, David Garvin, Michael Watkins, Anita Tucker, Richard Bohmer, Lynne Levesque, Erika Ferlins, and Taryn Beaudoin. Amy, Jan, and Jason deserve special mention. As a stellar young student intent on writing a great thesis, Jason joined me on dozens of interviews regarding rapid-response teams. He worked incredibly hard on the project. Jan came up with the idea of inviting Robert McNamara to speak with our students, and he worked with me on three fascinating case studies about the 9/11 tragedy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s efforts to reinvent itself after the attacks. As always, Amy shared keen insights with me throughout our collaborations. Amy should serve as a role model to all who aspire to conduct rigorous research that is relevant and useful to managers.

I am grateful to the many managers who spent time with me during interviews for this book, particularly all the Bryant University alumni who agreed to be interviewed. I have mentioned a few of them in the book, but many more spoke with me at length. Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, deserves special recognition for granting us unique, extensive access to his organization during such trying times. I appreciate David Schlendorf, Sabina Menschel, and Phil Mudd’s efforts to help us gain approval for the FBI research. Staff members at the Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Peoria, Baptist Memorial Hospital of Memphis, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston also deserve my thanks. They taught me a great deal and inspired me with their dedication to caring for their patients.

As I wrote this book, I shared many of the ideas with students in my classrooms at Bryant University, Harvard Business School, and New York University’s Stern School of Business, and I refined my thinking as a result. I learned a great deal from the managers I worked with at each of my clients as well. None of those clients is mentioned in this book, because I try to keep a clear line between research and consulting. Nevertheless, the ideas benefited from extensive interaction with the managers of many companies in a wide range of industries.

I have been blessed with many wonderful teachers in my life. I certainly cannot name them all. A few of them from my youth do stand out, though—Fay Gerritt, Stephen O’Leary, Kathy Marois, Virginia Sutherland, Lou Luciani, Tom Sullivan, John McSweeney, and Jack Rose. They inspired me to become a teacher. They demonstrated that teaching truly is a vocation, not simply a job.

No book project comes to fruition without a great publishing team. I would like to express my gratitude to Tim Moore, Martha Cooley, Russ Hall, Anne Goebel, and Gayle Johnson at Wharton. They showed great patience with me as deadlines slipped on numerous occasions. Paula Sinnott, the editor on my previous book, merits recognition for persuading me to write another one.

Most importantly, I want to thank my family. They always take good care of me, especially my brother, Tony, and his family (Margaret, Nick, and Katie). My children—Celia, Grace, and Luke—kept me smiling, laughing, and generally entertained throughout this project, especially on those days when the writing became frustrating. They also showed great patience with their dad when he became a bit too “focused” on his work. My children, I love watching you grow, explore, and learn. Always keep asking good questions; let no one or nothing ever quench your thirst for learning. My wife, Kristin, makes our family go, which is a far more difficult task than writing a book. Mother Teresa once said, “Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor...Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” Kristin, you embody those sentiments beautifully. Finally, I dedicate this book to my parents. From the Italian province of Avellino, they came to America in search of a better life for their children. They certainly accomplished their goal. My folks instilled in us the value of an education, and they demonstrated what it means to have a strong work ethic. I am so proud to be their son.