Lencioni is the founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and effectiveness. Pat's models reach thousands of leaders each year through speaking, consulting and his firm's product offerings. The wide-spread appeal of Lencioni's models have yielded a diverse client base, including Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, the military, non-profits, schools and churches.

Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win is the result of in-depth access to 32 of the world's most creative and disruptive competitors - organizations that are thriving in the marketplace by rethinking the logic of how business gets done. Just weeks after its release, it became a New York Times Best Seller, a Wall Street Journal Business Best Seller and a BusinessWeek Best Seller, and has attracted worldwide attention and acclaim. Mavericks has been the subject of high-profile articles, reviews, and columns in many top publications, including U.S. News & World Report, The Boston Globe, and The Economist, which called the book "a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great." The Economist also named Mavericks one of its "Books of the Year, 2006." Other accolades include: "Top Ten Business Book of The Year" (amazon.com), "Top Ten Book on Innovation and Design" (BusinessWeek), and "2006 Picks of the Year in Business Books" (The Financial Times).

The book has also been generating big attention on the small screen. ABC's Good Morning America devoted two segments (called "Maverick Monday") to the book, and NBC's Weekend Today devoted a lengthy segment to the book's vision of the new workplace. CNBC aired a five-part series, hosted by Maria Bartiromo, called The Business of Innovation, which spotlighted a number of companies and executives drawn from the pages of Mavericks at Work, and for which Taylor was an on-air commentator. CEO Exchange, the PBS series hosted by well-known television commentator Jeff Greenfield, devoted an entire one-hour segment to the ideas behind Mavericks at Work, including a series of commentaries by Taylor and a fascinating panel discussion with three truly maverick innovators.

In addition to its presence in North America, where Mavericks is already in its seventh printing, the book will be published in Europe, Australia, Japan, the rest of Asia (a Chinese-language edition), and Brazil (a Portuguese-language edition). The word-of-mouth buzz keeps building. "I didn't just 'read' this book, I devoured it!" declared management guru Tom Peters. James J. Cramer, co-founder of TheStreet.com and host of CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer, had this to say: "If Mavericks at Work had come out before I started TheStreet.com, I could have saved my investors (and myself) $100 million - because I would have been able to take the lessons in the book and apply them every day to my business."

Mavericks at Work may be Taylor's newest project, but it's just the latest chapter in a career devoted to challenging conventional wisdom and showcasing the power of business at its best. As a cofounder and founding editor of Fast Company, he launched a magazine that won countless awards, earned a passionate following among executives and entrepreneurs around the world - and became a legendary business success. In less than six years, an enterprise that took shape in some borrowed office space in Harvard Square sold for $340 million.

Fast Company, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, has won just about every award there is to win in the magazine world, from "Startup of the Year" to "Magazine of the Year" to two coveted National Magazine Awards. In 2004, in recognition of Fast Company's impact on business, Taylor was named "Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance" by the American Society of Training and Development. Past winners of the award include Jack Welch of GE and Fred Smith of FedEx.

Taylor is an adjunct professor at Babson College, America's top-rated school for entrepreneurship, where he created the "Maverick Seminar at Babson College" - a unique academic program in which MBA students interact with the ideas and innovators creating the future of business. He is the co-author of three other books on strategy, leadership, and innovation: The Big Boys: Power and Position in American Business; No-Excuses Management and Going Global.

Bill Taylor has published numerous essays and CEO interviews in The Harvard Business Review, and his monthly column, "Under New Management," ran in the Sunday Business section of The New York Times. His new column, "Bill Taylor on Big Ideas," runs in The Guardian newspaper of London. A graduate of Princeton University and the MIT Sloan School of Management, he lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife and two daughters.

Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Kevin spent endless hours across the street at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball. Kevin's pursuit of play and his red rubber ball took him overseas with the Air Force and quickly won him fluency in Croatian, Czech and Serbian and conversational fluency in German and Russian.

After the Air Force, Kevin landed a job as Athletic Trainer and Physical Education Teacher at The Haverford School in Philadelphia, which quickly led to his job as Head Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. While at the 76ers, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight tapped Kevin to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant and help inspire their creatives. Although no job existed at the time, Knight encouraged Kevin to "hang out" and create any job he wanted at the company. Kevin accepted the challenge and stayed for 7 years as "Katalyst." He was instrumental in helping Nike develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. He was also the inspiration for the Lance Armstrong wristband phenomenon. Kevin left in 2004 to found his own brand, The Katalyst Consultancy.

Since leaving Nike, Kevin has traveled around the world promoting the importance of play in everyday life, whether at the office, at home, or on the playground. He has helped turn creative ideas into reality for such organizations as Nike, The Discovery Channel, ESPN, HBC Bank, Mattel, Capital One, The National Hockey League, The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Television, and Starbucks (his encouraging words will appear on 17 million of Starbucks' grande cups beginning in January 2006).

In September of 2005, ESPN Books released Kevin's first book, Rules of The Red Rubber Ball, which Newsweek calls "an adult's version of Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! -- a pocket-size guide to finding your way in life." The acclaimed book is already in its second printing. Kevin's second book, Play@Work: How the Genius of Youth Manfiests Itself in Business, will soon follow along with three more books - all with ESPN.

Kevin spent ten years in the United States Air Force as a language Interpreter and Translator. He is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association as well as the National Strength and Conditions Association, and the Oregon Athletic Trainers Society. In May of 2005, Kevin addressed dignitaries from 31 nations at the United Nations about the importance of play in their developing countries, which led to his appointment at Special Advisor to the global outreach organization, Right to Play. He is also heavily involved in the organization Architecture for Humanity, which builds playgrounds for children around the world.

Kevin holds a MS in Health Education from St. Joseph's University, a BA in Speech Communication with a minor in Physical Education from Angelo State University, and an Associates Degree in Interpreting and Translating from the Community College of The Air Force. Kevin is a frequent visiting professor across the United States and often teaches at the University of Colorado at Boulder's School of Journalism.

Over the past 25 years, Kevin has helped the world chase and realize its dreams. His favorite quote is from The Alchemist, "to realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation," inviting everyone to join him in the chase and to - most of all - enjoy it!

Kevin lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and family.

Son of the internationally recognized pastor and author Charles Stanley, Andy is widely known as a man who carries on the tradition of excellence in ministry. Before becoming senior pastor of his own church, he served for several years as a youth minister in his father's church. For the past twelve years of his ministry, he has consistently mentored a young group of future leaders and Christian ministers. He has also hosted conferences for leaders under forty.

As founding pastor of North Point, Stanley learned the importance of establishing a vision for an enterprise and setting a practical action strategy. His speaking skills flowed effectively into his writing with the publication of Visioneering, a 1998 Foreword Book of the Year finalist. A bestselling author with more than one million copies of his book sold, Andy has written The Next Generation Leader, How Good Is Good Enough, Choosing to Cheat, The Best Question Ever, Am I Good Enough, and 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, among others.

Andy earned a master's degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and bachelor of arts in journalism from Georgia State University. He and his wife, Sandra, coauthored The Toddler ABC Book. Making their home in Atlanta, they are the parents of two sons, Andrew and Garrett, and a daughter, Allison.

He was drafted by the Houston Oilers where he played for two years before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He played there for three years, serving as captain in 1990. He was then traded back to his original organization, the Oilers, to finish his playing career in 1994.

Spencer prepared well for a career in broadcasting by earning two bachelor's degrees at Oklahoma in both journalism and communications. He even used his off-seasons to hone his skills as an anchor and reporter at KPRC-TV in Houston. He was then promoted to sports anchor for WABC in New York in 1997. In 1999 he joined CBS Sports as the lead studio analyst for College Football Today, the network's pre-game studio show. He can also now be seen as the host of DirecTV's Sunday NFL Ticket.

His thorough knowledge of the game is brought forth in an enthusiastic, passionate, sometimes controversial - but never boring - style. In February 2004, Vitale was named a finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.

Vitale called ESPN's first-ever NCAA basketball game - Wisconsin at DePaul on Dec. 5, 1979 (a 90-77 DePaul win). Since then, he's called close to a thousand games, including NBA contests for ESPN during the 1983 and '84 seasons.

But Vitale's talents and influence extend way, way beyond just game analyst. He provides commentary on a variety of topics in his "Dick Vitale's Fast Break" segment which airs Wednesday evenings during the college basketball season on SportsCenter, and serves as a college basketball analyst for ESPN Radio, including appearing each Monday on the "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show. He has been a college basketball analyst for ABC Sports since 1988, and has also covered the NBA Finals and the 1992 Summer Olympics for ABC Radio. His weekly ESPN.com column is one of the web site's most popular features.

Also, he's a regular contributor to ESPN The Magazine, and, of course, has his own web site - www.dickvitaleonline.com.

Vitale is also a columnist for Basketball Times, has served as a guest columnist for USA Today since 1991, and has been a featured guest on virtually every sports radio station across the nation. He's also been profiled by a wide array of national magazines, ranging from Sports Illustrated, Sport and The Sporting News to People, Playboy and Travel & Leisure. He received eight CableACE nominations, and captured awards in 1994 and 1995.

Vitale coached at the University of Detroit (1973-77), compiling a winning percentage of .722 (78-30), which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1976-77 season when the team participated in the NCAA Tournament. Included in the streak was a victory in Milwaukee over Al McGuire's eventual national champion Marquette team. In April 1977, Vitale was named Athletic Director at Detroit and later that year was named the United Fund's Detroit Man of the Year. In May 1978, he was named head coach of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, which he coached during the 1978-79 season prior to joining ESPN.

Vitale's also authored seven books, the most recent of which - Living a Dream (Reflections on 25 Years Sitting in the Best Seat in the House) - was released in 2003 and co-authored by Dick Weiss. In 1988, Simon & Schuster published Vitale, an autobiography with Curry Kirkpatrick, which was issued in paperback in 1989. In 1991, Time Out Baby!, his second book was published. The book, written with Weiss, chronicled the 1990-91 season. In 1993 his third book, Tourney Time, was published. In 1994, Dickie V's Top 40, his fourth book, was published. In September 1995, he co-wrote a fifth book, also written with Weiss, called Holding Court: Reflections on the Game I Love. His sixth book, also with Weiss, was released in 1999 - Campus Chaos: Why the Game I Love is Breaking My Heart. He also had popular home videos distributed by ESPN Video - Time Out Baby! Dick Vitale's All-Time College Hoops Superstars and Dick Vitale's Dreamtime, Baby.

Vitale graduated from Seton Hall University with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. He also earned a master's degree in education from William Paterson College and has 32 graduate credits beyond the master's degree in administration.

Recognition for his achievements and contributions to a wide array of areas are quite numerous. He was named Honorary Alumnus by the University of Detroit in 1976, and voted Man of the Year by the Detroit Athletic Club in 1977. In 1978, he was presented with the Greater Detroit Community Award by the Hartford Insurance Company.

In addition, Basketball Times named Vitale one of the sport's Five Most Influential Personalities of 1983, less than four years after entering the TV business. In 1988, he was presented with an Honorary Citizens Award by Father Flanagan of Boystown. In 1989, Vitale was recognized by his peers as the American Sportscasters Association "Sports Personality of the Year," while the NIT Metropolitan Media did the same in 1991.

Who is this man who walked the golf course with Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez as she played her last tournament as a touring professional? Why was he invited to spend an afternoon with General Norman Schwarzkopf and his son? What was he asked to discuss with ninety-one-year-old Bob Hope, alone by the swimming pool in the entertainer's backyard?

Hailed by a New York Times writer as a "modern day Will Rogers who has quietly become one of the most influential people in America," Andy Andrews is an internationally-known speaker and novelist whose combined works have sold millions of copies worldwide. He has been received at the White House and has spoken at the request of four different United States Presidents.

Andrews' bestseller, The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success (Thomas Nelson Publishers, November 2002), is an international sensation, remaining on the New York Times bestseller list for 17 weeks and being translated into nearly 20 languages. As featured on ABC's Good Morning America as a book of the month selection, The Traveler's Gift is a stunning story of one man's search for meaning and success in life by traveling back into time and conversing with seven historic individuals. Its message of hope, faith, and perseverance is transforming thousands of lives worldwide every day, spurring a teen version, The Young Traveler's Gift (Transit, April 2003), a journal, The Traveler's Gift Journal (J. Countryman, June 2003), a home study audio program, Timeless Wisdom from the Traveler (Lightning Crown Publishing, March 2003), and life-study curriculums in high schools, mental health organizations and prisons nationwide.

Andy Andrews lived a relatively normal life until the age of 19. It was then that both his parents died - his mother from cancer, his father in an automobile accident. "I took a bad situation and made it much worse," Andrews says with a rueful smile referring to choices he made during this tragic period of his life. Within a span of several years, the young man found himself literally homeless, sleeping occasionally under a pier on the gulf coast or in someone's garage.

It was at that time Andrews asked a profound question that would alter his own life, and ultimately affect millions of people: "Is life just a lottery ticket or are there choices one can make to direct his future?" To find the answer, he first went to the library. There, over time, he read more than two hundred biographies of great men and women. "How did they become the people they were?" he wondered. "Were they simply born this way? Or were there decisions made at critical junctures in their lives that led to success?" The young man finally determined there were seven characteristics each person had in common. "What will happen," he mused, "if I study these seven common denominators and harness them in my own life?"

The rest is history. The "Seven Decisions," as he calls them, were the engines used to carry Andrews' life in a different direction. And twenty-plus years later, these same Seven Decisions became the outline around which he built the story of The Traveler's Gift.

Andrews newest book, The Lost Choice - A Legend of Personal Discovery (Thomas Nelson Publishers, June 2004) elegantly blends riveting fiction, extensive research, and a powerful message of hope. The novel's plot takes the reader from modern day Denver, Colorado to the Sinai Peninsula sixteen centuries ago. The Lost Choice is the story of two couples and their gripping quest to uncover mankind's destiny. Along the way, they discover a key to understanding the extraordinary achievements of esteemed men and women throughout time. Debbie Elliott, of National Public Radio, says, "The Lost Choice is a masterpiece of ideas and emotions - a magnificent and bold achievement that should be read by everyone."

Driven by his own personal moving story, Andy Andrews communicates to his audience through the heart - an uncommon style in today's media driven world. Arguably, there is no single person on the planet better at weaving subtle, yet life-changing lessons into riveting tales of adventure and intrigue - both on paper and on stage.

Andrews lives in Orange Beach, Alabama with his wife Polly and their two sons.

Organizations such as American Airlines, Toyota, O, The Oprah Magazine and Ohio University have hired her as a speaker. She has also spoken at events for some of the nation's largest churches, including The Potter's House (Dallas), Lakewood Church (Houston), and New Birth (Atlanta).

Ms. Burton is a frequent media contributor and has engaged in hundreds of interviews with media such as CNN, ABC Radio, The 700 Club, Focus on the Family, Psychology Today, InStyle Magazine, Self, Essence, and the Los Angeles Times. She is the resident life coach for the syndicated radio program, "Sharing Life Together," which airs on 80 stations nationwide. She is a regular columnist for CBN.com and BlackAmericaWeb.com. She is former co-host of the national daily television program, The Potter's Touch with Bishop T.D. Jakes and served as the on-air life coach for KXAS-TV (NBC5/Dallas) and two, nationally-syndicated morning shows on the ABC Radio Network for two years.

An entrepreneur at heart, her first and only corporate position was as marketing director for the largest Dallas-based CPA firm. Two years into her career, she founded The Burton Agency, a marketing and public relations firm. She was named one of the nation's 30 rising stars in public relations by PR Week Magazine in 2000. She sold the business in 2001 to pursue her passion for helping people, women in particular, live more fulfilling lives.

She was appointed by Governor Rick Perry (Texas) to the Governor's Commission for Women and served a two-year term (2001 – 2003). She is a former Miss Black Texas USA, Miss Black USA 'top 10' finalist, and a runner-up to Miss Texas. She is creator of the annual Texas Trailblazer Award luncheon, which honors trailblazing women and has raised over $400,000 for The Family Place, a domestic violence shelter.

At age 21, she earned a master's degree in journalism from Florida A & M University. Her undergraduate degree is from Florida State University. Ms. Burton is a credentialed member of the International Coach Federation and a member of the National Speakers Association. She has more than 200 hours of professional coach training and is a graduate of Coach University, the pioneer coach training institution. Ms. Burton and her husband live in Annapolis, Maryland, where they enjoy boating and being near the water.