It should be clear from the cover onward that this book is a collaboration, and not just that of the authors. Every page of The Adaptation Advantage is made better by the contributions, direct and otherwise, of many people. Many of those people we know well and so many others picked up our cold calls and shared with us their most precious resource—their time. All provided insights and perspectives that helped us light a path to a more inclusive and inspirational future. We are deeply indebted to them all.

Had Annalie Killian, now vice president of strategic partnerships at sparks & honey in New York and previously founder of Amplify Festival, not invited each of us to speak at a corporate innovation conference halfway around our world, we might not have met, even though we lived just a few miles apart. What started as casual conversation in a speakers’ lounge has grown into a deep, intellectually honest, and deeply fun friendship.

Once we decided to write this book, we were both cheered, encouraged, and sometimes simply prodded into productivity by our wives. Patricia Coryell reviewed multiple drafts of our proposals through her often-critical and always supportive publisher lens and encouraged us to keep at it until we landed the book with our excellent publisher. Nancy Latta proved she has endless stores of patience, putting up with late-night editing sessions and even enduring cross-country driving duty as Chris turned out chapters from the passenger seat.

Beyond family, no one has been more insistent that we write this book than Tom Friedman. We are grateful for his encouragement early in the process, humbled by his full-throated endorsement of Heather's work, and deeply honored by the insightful Foreword he wrote for this edition.

Early readers provided invaluable feedback. We are grateful to Clare O'Brien, Susie Shipley, Robin Wright, Lisa Rioles-Collins, Maria Calkins, David Walsh, Donna Patricia Eiby, and Jim Kouzes, who read early chapters and helped us find our voice.

Melissa Kang, thank you from the bottom of my heart (says Chris) for keeping Heather organized and on task. Nicole Ochoa, thank you for all your assistance with Heather's operational needs.

For nearly four decades, Chris has been guided, edited, and encouraged in her writing by Jeanne Braham, and she is forever grateful that a once professorial relationship evolved into an abiding friendship and for all the wise counsel that has come with it.

Among the industries enduring massive disruption is publishing. We are grateful to Richard Narramore at Wiley for having the foresight and courage to shepherd this book to market. We may fancy ourselves thinkers and writers, but we know we have blind spots. Kelly Talbot shined a light on them and guided the manuscript to a much better place. Even if he wouldn't allow us to use a few choice words, we are thrilled to have worked with him.

The infographics in this book were transformed by Olga of Josephine and Paul Design, an outstanding visual designer we were fortunate to find using one of the online gig platforms that will become even more mainstream in the future of work. The incomparable portrait photographer Asa Mathat captured Steve Jobs in a public moment of whimsy; we are honored that he allowed us to share this rare photo with our readers.

Special thanks to Steven Duarte for enduring a very cold day to take very cool authors’ photos. We hope his track record of providing author photos for best-selling books continues.

Throughout the book, you will learn, as we did, from amazing business leaders, educators, scientists, thinkers, and provocateurs. Many people shared their insight, experience, and wisdom with us as we formulated and supported the thesis at the heart of this work: that when we let go of restrictive professional identities and embrace our uniquely human skills, the future of work is a place where we can all thrive.

Finally, over the years of our collaboration, we have been blessed to test and groom our ideas on hundreds of audiences around the world. Each person who listened, questioned, challenged, or simply nodded from the front rows provided the inspiration and encouragement to bring this book to light. Thank you all; you inspired this book.