Forbes® Best Business Mistakes: How Today's Top Business Leaders Turned Missteps into Success

Acknowledgments

First, let me thank my wife, Anna. She always waits to see whether winners of Oscars or Emmys will mention their spouses, so I figured I'd better get that out of the way. She's still the best thing to ever come out of Texas. (Tex-Mex is second, with Lyle Lovett and Joe Ely tied for third.)

I also would like to acknowledge the guidance and support from my John Wiley & Sons editor, Laura Walsh. First, she believed in the project, and then she provided the energy to drive it every step of the way. Without exception she was a ray of sunshine. It was a blessing to have an editor who felt like a friend even as she was doing her job as a professional.

I would also like to thank each of the participants for taking a chance on a topic that not everybody wants to talk about. I hope the profiles and my treatment of their stories warranted their trust and commitment to the project. And of course I want to extend my appreciation to Steve Forbes, whose company has seen fit to put its name on the book. For more than 90 years, the brand has earned widespread respect, and I consider it a privilege to try to live up to those standards.

Finally, there are two little girls who were often told in recent months, "Not now, girls, maybe later. Daddy's working on his book."

This is later.