followed. Conversations with Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, John
Shlien, Dick Katz, David Cohen -- all at the Harvard Graduate
School of Education -- stimulated ideas that undergird the book.
Earlier talks with Liz Cohen, Vic Baldridge, Jim March, John
Meyer, Sandy Dornbusch, Dick Scott, and Ed Bridges at Stanford
started the early gravitation toward these ideas. Brooke Derr, Uni-
versity of Utah, was also helpful. The rich conversations and dis-
cussions in the academy stimulate many thoughts and ideas. We
can see the imprints of a thousand interchanges between the cov-
ers of this book. We hope people will publicly claim what they like
and silently disown what they don't. The parade -- of other thought-
ful scholars whose ideas have influenced our own can be wit-
nessed by skimming the bibliography.

Claudine Wilder, formerly of Prime Computer, now one of
Mary Kay's field representatives, made numerous suggestions
about ideas and provided first-hand material from her corporate
experience.

Lee Regal, Polaroid's former director of corporate education,
provided us with first-hand observations about Land and Polaroid.

Jerry Mechling -- with able assistance from Gerry Brehm -- did
all of the original research and thinking on cultures of the future.
Little did Jerry or we realize that what started out as research on
the impact of technology on organizations would end up as a chap-
ter in a book on corporate cultures.

Students who enrolled in Symbolism in Organizations for the
past three years provided stimulation, ideas, and examples that
have been incorporated throughout the book.

Betty Barnes, Linda Pollet, and Beverly Parker provided
important secretarial and administrative support throughout.

Sandra Deal and Alison Kennedy -- women with important
careers of their own -- put up with the agony and ecstasy that writ-
ing a book always produces in the authors. Their stinging and
insightful criticism was always welcome and without their sup-
port we would never have made it to the end. We'll be repaying
the debt for many years.

Finally, we are grateful to a legion of past clients, current
friends, and the ghosts of corporate heroes who have taught us all
we know about the real world of corporate cultures. We will not
name them here; they know who they are.

Needless to say, all the fuzzy thinking, faulty logic, poor gram-
mar, and just plain mistakes are our fault.

-viii-