When you write about a practice as timeless and ubiquitous as check-ins, it’s hard to identify where all the ideas come from.
Though the information presented here is based upon my own experiences—and I take full responsibility for its limitations—my understanding inevitably builds upon the work of many others, known and unknown.
My greatest teachers have been my co-workers. I have had the good fortune to work closely with dozens of talented, insightful colleagues over the years. Not only have the ideas on this site been shaped and polished by my interactions with them, they have made me a better professional, and a better person. Thank you to:
Amy Fox, Johanne Lavoie, Priya Parker, the inimitable Lee Rush, and Susi Willis for early encouragement and insight, as well as John Abbruzzese, Kelly Asato, John Bailie, Chandra Banks, Marty Boronson, Melissa Brodrick, Cortney Cahill, Stevenson Carlebach, Yvette Cheeks, Darshan Chitrabhanu, Adriana Chmiel, Jeanne Cleary, Moshe Cohen, Stacy Davison, Sara Den Besten, Bob Desaulniers, Larry Dieringer, Chuck Doran, Court Dorsey, Philipp Ebert, Cathy Eden, Emily Epstein, Tracy Fenton, Erica Fox, Volker Frank, Amy Gay, Bob Goodman, Jason Gore, Emily Gould, Nancy Grant, Michele Gravelle, Mary Jo Hebling, Keith Hickman, Elizabeth Hioe, Bernardus Holtrop, Andrea Ingrisch, Kristen Jacobsen, Linda Katz, Steve Korr, Betina Koski, Alex Kuilman, Annick Routhier Labadie, Andrew Lewis, Tanya Lewis, Stacy Heen Lennon, Chris Littlefield, Joanna Mackie, Nancy MacKay, Harry Manasewich, Adriana Mascolli, Sharon Mast, Patrick McWhinney, Colleen Naughton, Betsy Nordell, Tom O’Brien, Gail Packer, Ashok Panikkar, Valerie Pisano, Peg Sawyer, Yotam Schachter, David Seibel, Angelique Skoulas, Art Stewart, Doug Stone, Jim Strouse, Mark Thornton, Ted Wachtel, Michelle Wecksler, Robert Wilkinson, Greg Williams, Andi Winter and Paul Zonneveld.
Other important teachers have been the countless workshop participants, meeting attendees, and mediation parties with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with and learning from. Thank you.
A number of books, websites and articles informed this work. Thank you to those authors and practitioners, and especially to Amanda Fenton and Tina DeSalvo who generously spoke with me about their work.
Special thanks go to graphic designer Lisa Nugget and web builder Barry Shuchter (of Open Mode) who worked closely with me to produce this unique website. This project would not have been possible without their creativity and dedication. (FYI, their lovely work is best appreciated on a computer, not on a phone.)
Much appreciation also to Tim Murphy (contact him here) who provided early guidance, patiently waited for me to finish writing, and then expertly edited the text.
Thanks to Michael Katz for discussions about how to structure this site. Thanks also to Miguelito for all his help.
Finally, my deepest thanks to my family: my father, Marty, my late mother, Terry, my sister Carol and brother-in-law Bobby, my wonderful children, Ruby and Sam, and my wife, best friend, and unsalaried editor, Rachel. You’ve all taught me how good it feels to be connected. This site is dedicated to you, and to all the people whose use of check-ins enable them to do more good.
