Acknowledgements
A wargame is built on the dedicated efforts of many individuals. Over the past 20 years, thousands of leaders have contributed their creativity and commitment to make the wargames we stage for organizations in both the public and private sectors a remarkable success. We sincerely thank each of these individuals for their enthusiasm, engagement, and candor in taking on some of the most complex problems our governments, businesses, and public face. The stories on the following pages reflect the generosity of our clients, participants, and colleagues.
Without the support of our partners at Booz Allen Hamilton, this book would not have been possible. We especially wish to express our gratitude to Booz Allen chairman Ralph Shrader, who encouraged our groundbreaking efforts at the World Economic Forum, and to Joe Garner, a senior vice president at the firm who provided ample encouragement as we took on this book project.
We extend our most sincere gratitude to Mike Ruby for his perspective and perseverance in pulling together a sometimes overwhelming amount of information into a cogent, compelling narrative. A first-class reporter and writer, he gave shape to the innumerable memories and insights we've gathered over the years from our work.
Many of the stories in this book draw on the memories of our partners Mark Gerencser and Bill Thoet, and of core members of our wargaming staff-Bob Statz, Mark Jacobsohn, Larry Hamby, Andrea Beck, Eliot Goldberg, Bob Mayes, Nicole Weepie, Nicole Monteforte, and Tracy March. And our gratitude to Rosie Schwartz, Melanie Olmsted, and Jolene Sawvel, who managed the daily miracle of keeping our schedules on track so that we could continue to serve our clients while focusing on this book.
No wargame is a light undertaking. Each takes weeks of intense preparation. Many Booz Allen professionals contributed extraordinary commitment and passion to helping our clients explore innovative solutions to the Herculean problems that plague their businesses, industries, and communities. We cannot name them all here, but each of them knows that their contributions were invaluable.
Our early successes in wargaming were realized through the pioneering efforts and encouragement of our colleagues Charley Beever, Marty Bollinger, Paul Branstad, John Harbison, Barry Jaruzelski, Dan Lewis, Skid Masterson, John McCarter, Joe Nemec, Bruce Pasternack, George Thibault, and John Treat. In recent years, Heather Burns, Joan Dempsey, Chris Kelly, Janet Lyman, Mike McKeon, Susan Penfield, Robin Portman, Don Pressley, Ghassan Salameh, Gary Schulman, Steve Soules, Reggie Van Lee, Rich Wilhelm, and Charlie Zuhoski have helped extend Booz Allen's run of impactful wargames through their generous support and efforts. As well, we thank our corporate communications team—especially Randy Rothenberg, Marie Lerch, Amy Bernstein, Janine Cornecelli, Cynthia Baker, and Melanie Pontier—for their assistance in conceiving and launching this book.
Our warmest thanks go to our wives—Carole Herman, Paula Frost, and Pamela Alexander—for their great patience, tolerance, and understanding in allowing us to embark on one great wargaming adventure after another.
Mark Herman
Mark Frost
Robert Kurz