MICHAEL E. FRIESEN is former Director of Product Development and Director of Sales Operations at UtiliCorp United. He is currently a consultant specializing in the maximization of organizational performance through strategy, team development, and performance enhancement. He has consulted and lectured to a wide range of industries, including airlines, manufacturing, high technology, insurance, education and health care, and has held various positions at Sprint and The Boeing Company. His first Quorum book (with James A. Johnson) The Success Paradigm: Creating Organizational Effectiveness Through Quality and Strategy, was published in 1995.