Thank you to everyone who has supported me. First and foremost, my family: Mom (Wanda), Dad (Patrick), my brothers (Sean and Trent), and my entire family, immediate and extended. In addition to everyone who has supported me, I dedicate this book to my grandfather, Pa (Patrick) and my great grandma Burt, both of whom passed away while I was working on it.
Thank you to everyone who has served as a staff member on my team. Great staff members are essential to great communities, and I’ve been blessed to have many kind, helpful, and dedicated people who have assisted me in achieving the goals that were set for the communities that I have managed. This includes Adam Polselli, Billy Sauls, Brandon Eley, Brandon Levan, Brian Walker, Bryan Downing, Chris Wodicka, Chrispian Burks, Daniel Carroll, Danielle Williams, Dimitri Seitz, Doug North, Greg Heinisch, Eric Miller, Frank Clemens, Heidi Wilmott, James Dasher, Jared Smith, Jeremy Rogers, Josh Ulfers, Joshua Pohlman, Justin Lieber, Kiel Spencer, Keith McLaughlin, Ken (Spike), Kevin McDaniel, Laurie Snow, Marc Philpott, Nate Spencer, Nick Hammond, Pat McQuinn, Paul Woodland, Quiff Boy, Ramona Iftode, Richard Fitzgerald, Ryan Zieno, Sam Unruh, Scott Stubblefield, Scott Shepard, Seamus Molloy, Shawn Morrison, Tammy McBeth, Tanner Smith, Thomas Rutter, Trey Jenke, Vincent Grouls, and Wayne Clarke, among others.
Thank you to all of the members who have openly supported and continue to support the communities that I manage. You are a big part of what makes it all worth it.
Thank you to Brandon Eley, Bryan Downing, Chrispian Burks, Jared Smith, and Stephan Segraves for the help, feedback, and encouragement and for sharing in my excitement. It has meant a lot to me. Thank you also to Chrispian for writing the foreword.
Thank you to everyone at AMACOM for your work, expertise, support, and patience. I’ve loved working with all of you and look forward to what’s next. To the great team of editors that worked on this project, thank you for helping the book to reach it’s full potential. Jacqueline Flynn, for believing in the subject and giving me a chance. Erika Spelman, for her constant attention and guidance. Ashley Hamilton and Christina Orem, for making a noticeable, dramatic impact in the quality of my writing. Jennifer Holder and Cathleen Ouderkirk, for their support and contributions. Thank you to Johnson Design for the jacket design.
Thank you to Studio B and the Salkind Literary Agency and to my awesome agent, Neil Salkind, for his excellence, knowledge, and dedication. Thank you to Jeremy Wright for introducing me to Neil when I had finally had enough of pitching it to publishers myself and decided to hire an agent (best decision ever!).
Thank you to Alex Belth, Andrew Tatum, Anthony Violante, April Burba, Cynthia Mosher, David Askaripour, David Williams, Debbie Hammond, James Fintel, James Varghese, Jared Smith, Jeremy Rogers, Jonathan Bailey, Keith Custodio, Kyle Hunt, Lee LeFever, Matthew McGough, Michael Singer, Pete Murray, Ray Angel, Reuben Regier, Ryan Leslie, Sarah Large, Tom Tollefson, and Zack Urlocker for their help and support.
Thank you to Ted Sindzinski for sharing his incredible knowledge with all of us. Thank you to Jonathan Bailey for reviewing portions of the book. Thank you to Sarah Large and Keith McLaughlin for allowing me to use examples from the communities that they manage.
Thank you to Georgina Laidlaw for encouraging me to write and SitePoint for publishing my articles and giving me an outlet in which to grow.
Thank you to everyone who showed me what not to do–how not to act. Thank you for showing me what I did not want to become. Thank you to all of the idiots out there that I had to deal with. I learned a lot from you and I share it in this book with the hope that, when you bother the next person, he or she will be ready for you.
This book is the result of my experience with people. Lots of people. Virtually every staff member that I have ever had has changed me and improved me. The same can be said for many of the people who have visited my communities. It is in dealing with every one of these people that my beliefs, my theories, my strategies, and my mind have been formed and are now emptied onto these pages. There are many people who have encouraged me to write this book, who have given me confidence, feedback, and support. There are other people that have served as inspiration for me as well, such as administrators under whom I have served. Everyone who has and continues to support me: thank you for your help, your support, your encouragement, and, perhaps most important, for your friendship.