Acknowledgments

THIS BOOK IS THE RESULT of a team effort of several talented individuals and many of our clients who have worked with us over the years and who specifically contributed their insight and advice. Some of those clients we identify in the book. Others, and their revealing situations, are described in the stories from our personal experiences with them in the board room and on the front line. We share both challenging times and rewarding times with our clients and I found that sharing those in this book helps bring this essential topic to life for executives, sales leaders, and the sales organization.

I owe much to Collette Parker, who leads content and communications for SalesGlobe and also works directly with our clients on consulting engagements. Collette played a major role in working, writing, and editing with me to bring together our experiences to achieve a specific goal: to write a book on sales compensation that is interesting without being academic, that contains all the information an executive needs without being technical, and that helps our readers to be strategic thinkers and effective questioners when it comes to making the connection between the strategy of the business and the sales organization. Collette stayed true to our goal while keeping me in line when I constantly questioned whether we were pushing our ideas far enough and poking sufficiently at the well-worn academic compensation traditions to make it relevant and real-world enough for our readers. Thank you, Collette for your shared vision, dedication, and commitment to excellence.

Instrumental to our efforts is Carrie Ward who has worked tirelessly over the years to lead and conduct great work for our clients. Carrie has helped us to make a difference in client sales organizations by understanding and addressing their challenges, focusing on creating actionable solutions, and pushing new development, some of which is highlighted in this book. Thank you, Carrie for your leadership, tenacity, and quality.

Our SalesGlobe team and partners including Carrie Ward, Collette Parker, Laura Wentworth, Amy Szymanski, Alyssa Roper, Eileen Gold, Ron Cox, Al Kabus, Alan Gibbons, Mo Bunnell, Summer Bondurant, Warren Shiver, David Alexander, Goutam Challagalla, Frank Lloyd, Steve Bistritz, Eddie Birchfield, Glen Kallas, and Rick Reynolds made significant direct and indirect contributions through our client work together, collaboration on strategic initiatives, and input on book content. Thanks to our teammates.

Of course, I owe more than I can re-pay to my family who has tolerated my relentless drive and quest for creativity over the years and who has always been there to support and inspire. My parents Paul and Christina Donnolo set the example, engrained in me the belief that anything is possible, and have cheered me on with unconditional love for over half a century. Blythe Donnolo, my wife, has been there with me through over twenty years of thick and thin and still supports, believes, and loves. Isabel and Olivia Donnolo, my daughters, have given me renewed energy and purpose, clarified the importance of setting good adult examples (which is a continued challenge), and helped me to understand why it’s so important to have a balanced life and not just talk about it.

Thanks for picking up this book. I hope you’ll find it not only informative and instrumental in your work, but also perhaps a bit memorable and entertaining.