Acknowledgments he Real-Time Contact Center lays out the strategy for the next genera- tion of contact centers, presented from the perspective of a practi- tioner turned strategist. It addresses strategy, best practices, technology, management, people, and process, as all must be in sync for a contact cen- ter to be world class, and represents years of study and analysis of all as- pects of contact centers--from the most mundane to the most challeng- ing, including how to convert cost centers to profit centers and what systems and training are required. So many people in thousands of com- panies have contributed to the development of the strategies presented in The Real-Time Contact Center. I thank you all. As I was writing the book, I often called on colleagues and friends to discuss ideas and concepts. I want to thank the following people for so gra- ciously sharing their time and allowing me to vet my ideas: Steve Cain, Vance Christensen, Sarah Fraser, Dave Hardwick, Lisa Hager-Duncan, T