Acknowledgments

The staff at Berrett-Koehler, the publishers of this book, deserve a special thanks; they’re a wonderful team of people who look on authors as partners, and they made me feel very welcome in a personal way. (All of my author friends at other publishers are jealous of the treatment Berrett-Koehler gives its authors.) Jeevan Sivasubramaniam shepherded this book through to production, and he was the first person to spot its potential. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Steve Piersanti, editor and publisher, who helped me find my voice. Steve and Jeevan provided invaluable advice and support, and the book simply would not have been possible without them.

Berrett-Koehler authors meet on a regular basis to discuss their work, to exchange ideas, and provide suggestions. I’d like to thank them for their support. Dick Axelrod and Mark Levy, in particular, answered urgent phone calls and explained some of the finer points of writing a business book.

My colleagues in the technical community provided encouragement. John Kelly of SpeechTEK and Bill Meisel of TMA Associates gave me the opportunity to speak at their respective conferences about the ideas in this book just as I started my consulting practice, which helped me refine my thoughts and get feedback from the technical community. Judith Markowitz, author and consultant, provided advice, tea, and muffins on a regular basis.

The members of General Technics—a loose-knit organization of friends who can be found literally anywhere from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle, doing jobs from ocean research to flying probes in outer space—provided answers, support, and encouragement.

I would also like to surprise two people. In reply to a comment, friend and science fiction author Phyllis Eisenstein made a pointed remark to me years ago: “You can write if you want to, Moshe.” I took her advice, and here I am today. My thanks to author, consultant, and friend Bruce Schneier, who years ago encouraged me to write a business book; I’ve finally taken his advice. My thanks go to Bruce for reading a draft of this book with pen in hand.

I would also like to thank my friends, my colleagues, and the members of the Jewish community for their assistance and support during difficult times.

According to Jewish tradition “the last is the most beloved.” I would like to thank my wife, Professor Rachel Yudkowsky, M.D., for her support over the years and especially during the transition from “salaryman” to consultant and author. She read multiple drafts of each chapter in this book—if that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.

Even though I am thankful to the people who read and commented on drafts, any errors or omissions in this book remain my responsibility (with a background in technology, I know that they must be there; I just don’t know where they are). I welcome feedback and the opportunity to make clarifications. You can send comments through the book’s Web site, at http://www.PebbleAndAvalanche.com.