The Empowered Manager, 2nd Edition

Acknowledgments

At its best a book represents the beginning of a journey for the reader, but it represents the coming together, even closure, of a journey for the author. As in teaching, you write about those things you care about but don't quite understand, hoping that the act and stress of putting thoughts on paper for public view will give you the clarity you yearn for. Faith in this process comes from other people who have, often unknowingly, touched you along the way.

The spirit of this book was nurtured in a thousand ways by the wisdom and generosity of Peter Koestenbaum. Philosopher and friend, Peter asked me at our first meeting what my destiny was. When I couldn't answer, he asked me when I would decide. When I said I would know in a year, he said it was too long to wait. Some friend.

The thought of taking politics seriously grew out of my friendship with Larry Browning, professor at the University of Texas. Larry showed me some research he had done on organizational politics and woke me up with the thought that we could teach people to be political. This book began at that moment.

Cliff Bolster and Joel Henning, in cotraining the workshops on Positive Politics with me, contributed many of the concepts in the book. Cliff is both intellectual and pragmatic––a rare, precious combination. Joel, in addition to being as good a consultant as I know, can take a simple idea and use it in a way that gives it great depth and meaning. The two of them, along with Peter Koestenbaum, ...