We are deeply grateful to the legacy of everyone contributing to the wonderful set of tools that we know as sociocracy. Above all, this is Gerard Endenburg who developed the sociocratic circle method and the many people in The Sociocracy Group, like Annewiek Reijmer, who advanced and spread sociocracy for decades. Marshall Rosenberg, who developed the theory and practice of Non-Violent Communication, and Gerard Endenburg are like hidden co-authors of this book. We are also grateful for John Buck and Sharon Villines who brought sociocracy to the English-speaking world and who supported us in publishing this book.

Many people in different places are now working on sociocracy. We enjoy our heartfelt connections with quite a few of them. They have each shaped our thinking with their unique perspective. Among them are John Schinnerer, Francine Proux-Kenzle, Sheella Mierson, Linda Cote-Small, Gina Price, Diana Leafe-Christian. We are grateful for our connection with James Priest and Lili David, with Barbara Strauch, with Rakesh RootsMan, Pierre Houben, John MacNamara, Marcia Carlson, Kent Smith, Ruth Andrade, Tanya Stergiou, Peter Richtsteig. We have received support from Vincent Van Der Lubbe and Leif Hanack, Eric Tolson, Laureen Golden, Daniel King, Martyn Griffin and many members of Sociocracy For All. A special thank you goes to the book circle that supported the editing process for this book: Elle Vallance, Stephanie Nestlerode, John Root. Gloria Zmolek, Allyn Steffen, Jesse Marshall, Mukunda Das, Randall Johnson, Simon Copsey, Harris Kaloudis, Parveen Sherif, Julya Rose, Ben Roberts, John Buck, Frederic Laloux, Richard Longman, Georges Romme, Jan Höglund, Jutta Eckstein and Stephane Brodu helped us improve this book. Julian Howell, with his knowledge of design and sociocracy made the design clear and simple – he came up with the way this book represents double-linking. Edwin M John’s vision and the neighborhood parliaments have a place in our hearts.

We are grateful for the many organizations, communities and the individuals we have worked with. The biggest inspiration in our lives are the people we train all over the world, as we spend hour after hour in video calls exploring details of human organizations and interactions together. Many of our training participants are now peers in our membership organization, Sociocracy For All, and they continue to be a source of companionship, connection, and learning.

Thanks also to our personal network: Gina Simm, Jennifer Ladd, Darla Stabler, Nancy Bair, Greg Bates, Sophia Rau, Helena Rau, Jochen Rau. The place we call home, Pioneer Valley Cohousing community, provided not only practice ground for sociocracy but was also where we met.

This book is just the beginning, and just a small piece of a collective journey into a collaborative future. May it do good in the world!