Acknowledgments

First, I'd like to thank my wife, Jelena. She tirelessly read and reread dozens of drafts for this book. Without her support I would have never been able to finish. Her quiet optimism and invaluable criticism were key ingredients to completing this work. She made finishing this book a wonderful experience.

I'd also like to thank my son Leo. While finishing this book I was able to join his elementary school parent drop-off. Each morning was a joy. He patiently let me go right up to the classroom wearing my okay-for-home jeans.

I'd like to thank my friends at the University of Chicago. Many of the ideas for this book were gleaned from the give-and-take that I get from being an adjunct instructor. I'd like to especially thank Director of Business and Professional Programs Katherine Locke.

I have also enjoyed my relationship with Emory University. They have a great project management program and I learned a lot from their student professionals. I want to give a special thank you to Syracuse University for hiring me as part of their adjunct faculty. Their School of Information Studies is top-ranked for a reason. Thank you to Director of Learning Systems Peggy Takach and Interim Dean Jeff Stanton.

Most of this book was the product of years of gainful employment at several wonderful companies. Thank you for allowing me to come to your organizations and add real value. I'm always amazed at the enthusiasm these employees bring to the transition. There is a wealth of human energy out there in campuses and office parks. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try and tap it.

I want to thank lynda.com and LinkedIn for the terrific opportunity to create their video training courses. Special thanks go to Director of Business & Education Content Jolie Miller, Manager of Content Production Jeff Layton, and Content Manager Kathe Sweeney.

Writing a book is hard work. Fortunately, there are many great people who can help. Thanks to David Gregory for proofreading and editing. Adriana Danaila created many of the illustrations in this book. Jennie Routley created the original layout and design. Of course, thank you to the Project Management Institute and Publications Production Supervisor Barbara Walsh for helping me publish this book. I also want to thank Kim Shinners and Monica Zaleski for helping bring this book to print.

Thank you to my parents and siblings for letting me turn their Boca Raton retirement home into my writer's sanctuary. I was able to write some of this book while sitting on the balcony at the Vistas home for active seniors. It's amazing how much easier it is to relax while writing next to a pool filled with laughing octogenarians. It puts impending deadlines into perspective. I enjoyed the company of many of the residents in the community. Special thanks to Joe for connecting the dots for me with his illuminating views on “runaway communism,” progressive taxation, and “government-funded gluten.”

Finally, I'd like to thank the agile community. Their contributions to this book are too numerous to count. Their ideas are cited on many of these pages. It's wonderful to be part of a community that embraces new ideas. There is not much dogma in the agile community. The framework gets remixed all the time. It's that vibrant flexibility that makes agile coaching such interesting work.