Acknowledgments

A modern-day sales expert cum philosopher, Jeffrey Gitomer, once said that the two most important things another person can give are time and attention. Researching and writing a book that covers the breadth of the U.S. government requires the contribution of time and attention by many individuals. We gratefully acknowledge the wellspring of information, candid discussion, and access to documents provided by so many dedicated federal employees. We thank you for allowing us into your particular world of project management.

Among those who supported us were Allan Roit, Jason Hill, and Shaun Willison, Department of the Treasury; Will Brimberry, Department of the Interior; James Rispoli (retired) and Jack Surash, Department of Energy; Lesley Field, Office of Management and Budget; Karen Pica, former director, Federal Acquisition Institute; Darren Ash, James Corbett, Susan Daniel, and Nancy Chamberlin, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Jerry Harper, Department of Commerce; Bill McDade, Federal Emergency Management Agency; Mike O’Brochta (retired), Central Intelligence Agency; Ed Hoffman, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Arnold Hill, Bill Guerrin, and AnnMarie Sweet-Anshire, General Services Administration; Steve Backhus, Government Accountability Office; and the Honorable Elijah Cummings, U.S. House of Representatives.

We wish to acknowledge Myra Strauss, editor extraordinaire. Thank you for many hours of thoughtful reading and edits, an open door policy, and tough criticism. We also wish to thank several Management Concepts authors, including Greg Haugan and Neal Whitten, for supporting us with critical reviews, advice, and research tips.

We are greatly indebted to the Project Management Institute government relations team, Gary Klein and Valerie Carter, for providing us with excellent advice, numerous contacts, and support throughout the process.

We simply could not have completed this book without our exceptional team manning Line of Sight’s offices and customers: Julie Rodgers, JP Hussey, Jana Hussman-Meacham, Charlie Strauss, Reed Ulrich, and Amy Glasser. We thank you for pushing us and covering our backs.