ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Each of us has a story to tell of someone who took a chance on us at some point in our careers. Research departments on Wall Street are notoriously difficult to get into and even more difficult to advance in once there. It takes commitment and sponsorship to get very far. We were each amazingly lucky and grateful to be emerging analysts who were mentored by some of the most talented writers and thinkers in the business—people like Alice Schroeder, Steve Girsky, Mary Meeker, Chuck Phillips, Henry McVey, Byron Wien, Barton Biggs, Stephen Roach, and Jennifer Murphy. They were all top-ranked analysts in their field at a time when competition among analysts was amazingly high. And they each had impressive second careers once their analyst days were over. Management at senior levels was equally inspiring: Mayree Clark, Dennis Shea, and Andrew Jones from the Morgan Stanley research department; Stu Linde from the Lehman Brothers research department; Ruth Porat from investment banking; and Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack each stand out. These were leaders from a different era. Expectations for tangible results were beyond high, but mentorship and coaching were equally intense. We are each thankful for the experience they gave us.

When we started this project, we had no idea the magnitude of the challenge we were walking into. Starting a new business, analyzing companies during this wild period in history, and writing a book all at the same time is a bit crazy. And the reality is that many companies don’t want their story to be told. We learned that humility in a culture and among its leaders extends even into retirement, perhaps even unto death. One of the great lessons of this project is that successful people and successful businesses usually prefer to be out of the limelight. In that context, we are grateful to the family of Brian Jellison, who allowed us to tell his story, and to the leaders who worked beside him at Roper. Same with Danaher, which has an amazing story, and we are thrilled that the company trusted us to tell it.

To our colleagues at Melius Research, a simple thank you falls short of expressing our gratitude. Not only are Jake Levinson and Ryan Eldridge exceptional analysts, but both proved invaluable in helping each chapter come to life. The rest of the Melius team provided regular feedback, often telling us hard truths about our early drafts, which was incredibly valuable throughout the process.

To those who helped write, edit, and go through countless rewrites and re-edits, we cannot say thank you enough. Our agent, John Butman, kept us focused and humble. His unexpected passing in March of 2020 is still hard to accept. We consider ourselves fortunate to have had access to his talents, even if only for a short time. Our collaborator, John Landry, was professional and steady and helped guide a project that was sprawling and ambitious.

To our clients, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you for the faith that you have in us and the advice we provide. In the spirit of this book, we endeavor to get a little bit better every day. Melius, the name of our analytics firm, is Latin for “continuous improvement,” and we try to live those principles with enthusiasm. We endeavor to learn from both our mistakes and our successes and to turn those experiences into useful work each and every day for you.

We’d also like to thank a key partner, Casey Ebro, our editor at McGraw Hill, for taking a chance on us. We were first-time writers with a book concept that could have easily been ignored. We are indebted to you, Casey, for your guidance and belief in us.

For me, my last thank you is the most important of all. My wife and business partner, Liz Davis, is not just an amazing wife and mother; it turns out she’s also an exceptional editor. She spent day after day helping each of us recover from one bad draft after another until we started to find competence. And her patience and enthusiasm for the project from day one proved invaluable. Both Liz and I are lucky to have supportive parents and family members who have done nothing but prop us up from day one.

This project involved another level of time and commitment for all of us. It wasn’t isolated to the office. Carter is thankful for the never-ending support of his wife, LoraMarie, his four wonderful children, and his parents, who have been a constant in his life and career. Their love and encouragement are the source of his unbounded optimism. He is also indebted to his mentor, Joseph Campbell Jr., whose training on how to be a humble but curious analyst, doting father, and thoughtful human being helped shape him into the person that he is today.

Rob is grateful for the support of his family throughout the project. Weekend editing sessions provided an opportunity to show the kids that the process of writing, rewriting, and doing it all again is not just something taught in school.