Acknowledgments

Those of you who know me know how important ASTD and now ATD have been in my life. It has given me a lifetime of learning and development. It has provided an enthusiastic laboratory for me to try out my own scientific hypotheses. It has offered me many blank canvases for dabbling in my art to create books, conference presentations, and certificate programs. I value every staff member with whom I’ve interacted, every committee I’ve supported, and every opportunity I’ve had to lend an ear or a hand when I could. ATD is responsible for my professional happiness in finding the work I love.

Thank you, Justin Brusino, for inviting me to write this book. “Art and Science” immediately excited me, then confused me, then terrified me! The topic is so vast; science so precise; art so innovative. Could I do it? After weeks and weeks of investigating the research, clarifying the creative, and stacking the results in piles around my office, I decided I was ready. Then I read a quote from one of my just-for-fun authors that said, “But even Picasso had classical training. You have to know what the rules are before you break them.” At that point I became energized and couldn’t wait to start. It’s been another fantastic learning experience. Thank you.

As I write in the book, all trainers owe a great deal to those learning leaders who came before us. A partial list includes Malcolm Knowles, Robert Gagné, Robert Mager, Howard Gardner, Kurt Lewin, Benjamin Bloom, B.F. Skinner, Jerome Bruner, Albert Bandura, Abraham Maslow, David Kolb, Walter Dick, Lou Carey, M. David Merrill, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Michael Lombardo, and Robert Eichinger. And, yes, there are certainly others who deserve to be on this list.

Again, thank you to Justin Brusino, the man who imagines exciting projects that provide benefit to ATD members. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this one. Thank you to Christian Green, editor extraordinaire, who ferreted out my funky phrases and presented better ways to say what I actually meant. Thanks to everyone at ATD Press who help make all of us authors look good and to everyone in the marketing department who help make our products look even better. And of course, thank you to Tony Bingham for once again leading the way for those of us in the talent development profession.