Acknowledgments

A lot more goes into a book like this than people realize, and I need to thank a few folks who contributed to this one in their own particular way.

First, because without them, this book would not be what it is, I want to thank my team of editors and reviewers: Greg Wiegand, Leslie O’Neill, Kristy Hart, Betsy Harris, Maddie Grant, Bart Reed, Erika Millen, Cindy Teeters, Kristi Colvin, and Scott Gould. Had it not been for their tireless work, this book would still read like a choppy first draft. Thanks also to Pearson Publishing and the Que team for being wonderful human beings. I also want to send a particularly warm thank-you to my acquisitions editor, Katherine Bull, for fighting for this project, taking a chance on an unpublished author, and patiently seeing me through to the finish while chasing me around the globe for the better part of six months. Her diligence, professionalism, and particularly her patience are a credit to her profession.

A very special thanks to Brian Solis, one of the smartest people I know, for agreeing to write such an elegant foreword for what is essentially a meat and potatoes business book.

Kudos to Rob Moyer and Microsoft’s channel distribution team for introducing me to F.R.Y. Without them, a lot of this book would make very little sense.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to Dr. Judith Bainbridge, who many years ago in a small classroom at Furman University inspired me to write more than term papers—and more recently to Steven Pressfield (though he may not know it) for picking up where she left off.

I cannot thank enough my courageous clients, the faithful readers of the BrandBuilder blog, and my Twitter tribe for pushing me to be smarter and more focused on solving business problems than I would ever have been on my own. This book is in no small part the result of our many exchanges over the years and would not have ever seen the light of day without you.

I also need to thank a few key people without whose support, sense of humor, and encouragement, doing what I do wouldn’t be nearly as fun: Kamran Popkin, Trey Pennington, Kristi Colvin, Jim O’Donnell, Alicia Kahn, Bobby Rettew, Drew Ellis, Phil Yanov, Adam Gautsch, Evan Tishuk, Geoff Livingston, Kim Brater, Gabrielle Laine Peters, Jacqueline Collier, Michael Kristof, Debbie Morello, Roby DiGiovine, Scott Gould, Cd, Andy Sernovitz, Guy Kawasaki, the Clogenson clan, Ben Schowe, Misty McLelland, Ellen McGirt, Michael Duffield, Kelly Olexa, Clay Hebert, Seth “Click on my head” Godin, Jim Mitchem, Amy Wood, Gemma Went, Gavin Heaton, Isaac Pigott, Amber Osborne, Keith Privette, Joseph Gier, Peter Shankman, Hajj Flemings, Jeffrey Jacobs, Geno Church, Beth Harte, Yann Gourvennec, Keith Burtis, Valeria Maltoni, Scott Gould, Chris Brogan, Daniel “Raptor” Agee, Karima Catherine, Andrew Davies, Matt Ridings, Peter Kim, Tom Asacker, Mike Wagner, Scott Monty, Christopher Barger, Francois Gossieaux, Jon Evans, David Armano, Tom Fishburne, Ken Sparks, Hugh MacLeod, Raul Colon, Steven Matsumoto, Frank Roth, Steve Woodruff, Tom Peters, Jay Baer, Robert Lavigne, Owen Greaves, John Heaney, Jeffrey Summers, the SmartBrief team, the PVSM Social Media Punks, the LikeMinds, WOMMA, Ungeeked, and SMC Greenville communities, my co-pilot Chico, and of course Instigator #149. I routinely learn something valuable from all of you.

To my parents—Alain and Francine Blanchard—merci for teaching me to question everything and draw clear ethical lines in the sand. I suspect that you have been watching in complete horror the degree to which I have applied your advice from day one. You can stop worrying now.

Finally, a deep word of gratitude to Lisa, Ethan, and Rowan for the love, patience, and support with which you showered me in the long months it took to put this book together.