How - Dov Seidman [162]
I’d like to thank Philosophy, without which I would never have read a book from cover to cover or learned that ideas can change the world. Thanks to all my professors and mentors, patient and loving people, who helped me see through the words to the profound ideas that lay beneath them. And thanks especially to my dear friend, professor Herb Morris from UCLA, who went the extra mile to mentor and help me through life, and still does.
The ideas in this book grew most directly from my experience with my colleagues at LRN (where all of our conference rooms are named after philosophers). At some level, every member of the LRN team over the past 13 years has contributed to how I think about and approach human achievement in both business and life. This book would not have been possible without the day-to-day, head-to-head interactions that have characterized our journey together. I want to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to work with you and to grow and learn by so doing, for your transparency, your trust, and for allowing me to join with you to transform these ideas from notions into real-world HOWs. So much of what I am today results from our mutual journey. I’d also like to thank the distinguished current and former members of the LRN board of directors, Senator Bill Bradley, Rex Golding, Alan Silver-man, Alan Spoon, Sheli Rosenberg, Joe Mandel, and Lee Feldman for believing in the book and its relevance to our mission.
My deepest appreciation also extends to all of LRN’s customers. Through my interactions with you over the years and the collaborations with your finest minds, you have given me the opportunity to solve real problems of ethics, compliance, leadership, and culture—real HOWs for a real world. You will see the fruits of our collaboration hanging amply throughout this book.
Family shapes you as nothing else. My mother, Sydelle Seidman, underpinned my life with values. You gave me a home base, and through our many adventures, the courage to venture widely yet never leave home behind. You helped me see the power of instinct and intuition, and believed in me when others did not. I love you.
My brother Ari and sister Goldee, thanks for your solidarity and love as we adapted together to all that life threw at us. I love you both. Being sandwiched between you, I got my first and most lasting lessons of HOW. Alex and Gabi, my niece and nephew, your resiliency and spirit show that our family’s next generation will also know HOW. I love being your uncle.
My father, Alex Seidman, who lives in memory, gave me the love of knowledge and connected me to the lessons of history, both others’ and our own. What he sacrificed for us inspires me still.
Yury and Vicki Parad, my wife’s parents, who, had I a choice of in-laws, would be my favorites among all possible in-laws. I am blessed by your sense of what it means to be family. Thanks for all your caring support, Russian remedies, and Yury, for your careful reading and mind-map of the book. And thanks to my lovely sister-in-law, Michele, for being a shining example of nice people finishing first.
Finally for these acknowledgments but first in my book of life, Maria Seidman,