Strategic Planning For Dummies®

Author's Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to everyone who had a hand in putting this book together. The journey was an amazingly wonderful and enlightening experience, and I am grateful for the remarkable opportunity to author this book. I must recognize a few specific people.

To my book brain trust, who provided ideas, recommendations, and suggestions at every turn — thank you for making this book as good as it could be. I want to specifically thank Carol McClelland, Tim Gallan, Michael Lewis, Carrie Burchfield, technical editor Ann Bastianelli, and Jan King for all your help. I would also like to thank the graphics and layout teams at Wiley Publishing who made this book come to life and the marketing teams who brought this book to business owners and managers everywhere. And a special thanks to Howard Putnam, author of The Winds of Turbulence, for his kind words.

To our strategic planning clients, who've all contributed to this book through their examples, questions, suggestions, and experiences — thank you for the opportunity to work with your organizations. Working with you is a pleasure and gift to everyone at my company.

Thank you to my great friends for sticking by my side even when I was buried in my writing. You're a continual source of encouragement. Special thanks go out to my friends and colleagues who gave me creative inspiration when I got stuck, specifically Greg Fine, Michael‐Anne Hougland, and Chris Champagne.

To my family, who's the best ...