A Peacock in the Land of Penguins: A Fable about Creativity & Courage

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Acknowledgments

This book reflects the creative thoughts of many minds and

the encouragement of many hearts. This page mentions

only a few of those to whom we owe so much.

First and foremost is Steven Piersanti, a kindred spirit who

is a joy to work with. He saw the potential in our simple

story and was willing to take a chance on this oddball book.

Working with Steve has been a true partnership; his

thoughtful suggestions (and tough questions!) helped us

expand our thinking and develop our work over three

editions. We are grateful to Steve for his continued support

of

Peacock

; we are pleased that his initial gamble on our

book is paying off.

Thanks also to the entire team at Berrett-Koehler —

everyone has invested much time and energy in making

our book successful, both in the United States and interna-

tionally. We are grateful to Pat Anderson, Kristen Frantz,

Mike Crowley, Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Robin Donovan,

María Jesús Aguiló, Rick Wilson, Heather Vaughn, Ginger

Winters, Bob Liss, and everyone else at BK. What a terrific

team of wonderful people!

We also wish to thank the real-life “exotic birds,” as well

as the “penguins,” whose experiences inspired our corpo-

rate fable. They will undoubtedly recognize themselves and

the roles they played in the Land of Penguins. Extra thank-

yous go to Phyllis Pfeiffer, Jim Shaffer, Larry Strutton, and

Jeff Hall — who were especially helpful in the initial

shaping of our story.

Special thanks, tinged with sadness, to Sam Weiss, who

turned out to be much more than an illustrator — he

became a cherished friend and creative collaborator on this

project and several others. Sam passed away six months

before this third edition was published, but we are happy

that his drawings continue to bring our birds to life.

We miss you, Sam.

And finally, a very personal thank-you to our

families, who provided continuous support, encour-

agement, and helpful critiques as our fable took

shape. Their love and attention nurtures our creative spirits.