If it takes a village to raise a child, it took about that many to complete this book. While our names may be on the cover, in reality many talented individuals contributed to the research, writing, and editing of this book.
Megan Schumann of Deloitte was the book’s lead researcher. Involved in the project from nearly the beginning, she contributed significantly to all aspects of the book. Just as important, Megan helped crystallize our thinking about a new way of approaching societal problem solving. Her infectious enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity made the project a pleasure to be involved in. Megan has a very bright future ahead of her.
Two gifted and thoughtful young researchers, both with a deep passion for social change, also were integral to the book’s development. Christopher Benz and Nick Hiebert were truly outstanding researchers and helped develop a number of the case studies and modules. We have little doubt that their prodigious talent will someday land each of them on a best-seller list or running an impactful social enterprise.
John O’Leary, the coauthor of a previous Harvard Business Review Press book with Bill, was generous enough to read the manuscript cover-to-cover and provided dozens of helpful suggestions. John’s deft touch, wickedly funny sense of humor, and always frank—and often tough—feedback was invaluable.
Dozens of our Deloitte colleagues also played a critical role in the book. Jerrett Myers, Chris Ling, Helen Liu, and Nicholas Fulford from the global team provided research and feedback on multiple drafts. Elizabeth Henry provided critical editing and writing assistance. Mahesh Kelkar, Tomal Biswas, and Abhijit Khuperkar added their considerable statistical skills to the daunting task of sizing the solution economy. Marsha Collins, Amrita Datar, Atul Guljarani, Vikrant Jain, and Owen Sanderson provided top-notch research assistance. Ryan Alvanos and Jon Warshawsky applied their deft editing touch to the introduction. Jonathan Copulsky and John Shumadine were unwavering in their support of the book throughout the extended research process. Evan Hochberg and Dave Pearson connected us to dozens of Deloitte changemakers around the world. Lauren Mistretta, Amy Leonard, Carolyn Vadino, and Amy Pottberg led the marketing efforts. A special thanks to Tiffany Fishman for her contributions to the transportation cases and for keeping the research ship running when we were knee-deep in finishing the book.
Michael Kubzansky, a former colleague from Monitor Deloitte, gave detailed feedback on the manuscript. He and Monitor Deloitte colleagues Ashish Karamchandani, Harvey Koh, and Anamitra Deb helped deepen our understanding of how the solution economy operates in emerging markets like India and Africa. Their pioneering work on impact investing, market-based solutions for development, and business model innovation greatly influenced our thinking.
We have many other Deloitte colleagues to thank. Kishore Rao read the full manuscript and offered some of the most thoughtful feedback we received. Our refreshingly optimistic colleagues at Deloitte’s GovLab offered much inspiration and encouragement throughout the process. A special thank you for providing invaluable feedback on chapter drafts goes to Prakash Akshai, Elizabeth Arnold, Coonoor Behal, Nes Diaz-Uda, Devon Halley, Lindsay Hitchcock, Vetan Kapoor, Joe Leinbach, Shrupti Shah, Kara Shuler, Charles Tierney, and Howard Yeung.
Thanks also to other Deloitte colleagues for offering their time and insights: Joe Eshun, David Friedman, Fran Greaney, Mike Kim, Jitinder Kohli, Mette Lindgaard, John Mennel, Caitlin Marie Ryan, Simon Strange, and Namas Vedamoorthy.
A number of good friends from Australia and Canada, who fortunately also happen to be deeply knowledgeable about this space, were kind enough to review the book: Nicholas Gruen, David Mitchell, Gary Sturgess, Martin Stewart Weeks, and David Zussman. Bruce Wright provided extensive editorial assistance. The book is better for your detailed feedback.
Hundreds of wavemakers were interviewed for this book. We learned much from them about what works and what doesn’t in cross-sector problem solving. There simply isn’t space to thank all of them here, but we would be remiss if we didn’t thank the following social innovators for their generous time: Bill Drayton and Tina Choi from Ashoka; Sasha Dichter, Jacqueline Novgoratz, and Yasmina Zaidman from Acumen; Jennifer Pahlka from Code for America; Anthony Goldboom from Kaggle; Premal Shah and Jason Riggs from Kiva; Susan Phillips and Amy Klement from Omidyar Network; and Parag Gupta of Waste Ventures.
Dozens of government officials also helped us sort through how government fits into the solution revolution and all the myriad ways it can accelerate its development. In particular we would like to thank: Gareth Davies of the UK Cabinet Office; Jonathan Greenblatt from the White House; Nick Manning from the World Bank; Edwin Lau from the OECD; Nigel Jacob and Chris Osgood from the City of Boston; Ron Gonen from the City of New York; Joe Parrish, Jenn Gustetic, and Jason Cruzar from NASA; and Christian Bason from Denmark’s MindLab.
This is the second book Bill has done with Harvard Business Review Press and the first for Paul. We couldn’t have asked for a smoother process and a better team. Jeff Kehoe was once again a top-notch editor and booster. He has an excellent sense of when to be firm (“No, you can’t try to change the title for the umpteenth time two weeks before it goes to press”) and when to be flexible (“OK, we’ll put a box around your chapter summaries”). Jeff did a great job organizing blind peer reviews that offered the candid feedback that helps to take a book from good to great. We will also miss working with the rest of the team at Harvard Business Review Press, including Allison Peter, Erica Truxler, Nina Nocciolino, Erin Brown, and Stephani Finks. We feel grateful to have had such a professional team behind the book from the world’s premier management publishing house.
Support from friends and family was so important to both of us. For Bill, Morgann Rose was there through thick and thin. Her immense patience and support never wavered throughout the arduous book-writing process. Morgann’s thoughtful questions—and ever-present voice recorder—on many long walks helped Bill break through countless bouts of writer’s block. Dave Eggers was always willing to read chapter drafts and offer the kind of editorial insight that money can’t buy. His wife Vendela, and Bill’s other brother Toph, two more talented writers themselves, were always there to provide feedback on the title and other issues.
Paul’s family has been excited and encouraging throughout the project. Janet’s support for a truly global project has made the time and travel demands that much more manageable. Kyle’s and Kate’s active interest in our progress was really encouraging. The Macmillans all benefited from a proven coauthor to lead the way on what was truly a memorable journey.