Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life

Two greenhorn writers weaned on memos, academic treatises, and consulting reports need all the editorial assistance they can get. Eliza Collins of the Harvard Business Review introduced us to Addison-Wesley and provided material, suggestions, and spirit as the book moved along. Roland Mann of McKinsey got us set on the right track and was there when we needed him. We got help from Doug Dickson of the Harvard Business Review and a lot from our editor Harriet Rubin of Addison-Wesley's New York Office and from Ann Dilworth, publisher.

Tom Peters is the intellectual and spiritual godfather of this book. Tom rejoined McKinsey several years ago after having spent time in a variety of places -- Palo Alto, Washington, Southeast Asia, and Candlestick Park -- learning about the whys and wherefores of organizational behavior. His official stated charter when he rejoined the firm was to improve McKinsey's technology for addressing the organizational problems of its clients.

In pursuing this charter for several years, Tom wrote notes, memos, articles; traveled thousands of miles, usually under extreme time pressures; gave literally hundreds of speeches, offered thousands of ideas to any who cared, and formed some very close friendships -- one of them with Allan Kennedy. We will not catalogue the specifics of Tom's influence on the book; suffice to say his influence is pervasive throughout. Without Tom's relentless pushing, encouraging, cajoling, and just plain emotional support, the ideas contained in this book would not have evolved nearly as far as we hope they have.

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