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PREFACE This is not a typical book. It was not written all at once—it contains articles, forecasts, and studies made over the past 30 years. Life passes so quickly one can hardly remember how old one is; having just written that phrase, I remembered my age. I did not know how many pages in this book I should dedicate to those individuals who have helped me. So I decided to thank, first, those who inspired me with the idea to prepare this collection. Secondly , I need to thank those people who helped me with the actual preparation of the book. Before all else, however, I am indebted to my mother for her unconditional support in all my life’s endeavors and to my father for, during my childhood, introducing me to business. I am grateful to my older brother, Pavel, a talented engineer who, instead of dating girls, often stayed home to explain to me the fundamentals of modern technology. I am thankful to my daughters, Liza and Valeria, for forcing me, after a long day’s work, to sit down behind my desk and write many of the articles that are collected here. I also thank my Dina, who provided a warm environment during the preparation of this book. I will never forget my first arrival in the United States when I was met at JFK airport by Charlie Powleske and Peter Tichansky, leaders of the Business Council for International Understanding, who have been and continue to be my friends and colleagues throughout all my years in the United States. We all have different periods in our lives, but my American period was particularly difficult because I came here without any knowledge of the English language. I’m reminded of my cat, Benji, who understands everything, but can say nothing. It was under these circumstances that I came to Forbes magazine and tried to explain the ‘‘strange’’ concept that the Soviet Union would soon disappear. They ended up publishing this as a cover story. This was the beginning of my writing career in the United States. Consequently, there is no limit to my gratitude to Steve Forbes and Forbes’s editors James Michaels and Lawrence Minard , my friend who in 2001 left forever to the mountains. Throughout my 30 years in the academic structures of various xiv preface countries, I have never met a man with greater academic tact than the head of the Management Systems Department at Fordham University , Professor Robert Wharton. Robert and Dean Sharon Smith created an encouraging environment that allowed me time to write and study. These are the people who, in my business and academic life, helped me to prepare this book. Of course, I am grateful to Ann and Ken Bialkin, Jacqueline Gallus , Theresa King, Evelyn Kenvin and Arthur Rosenbloom, Arthur and Kathryn Taylor, and Vicki and Ron Weiner, whose support was invaluable in helping me to understand American business, life, and culture. I am appreciative to Lawrence Weinbach, Donald Hanson, and Peter Berger, who were my leaders—my guiding forces—during my years at Arthur Andersen. It is always crucial to have the support of close friends, and so I would like to express my warm feelings to my friends Dr. James Hatt from Great Britain and Dr. Arben Malaj and Dritan Celaj from Albania, who helped me immensely during my Fulbright time in their country. I am very happy that I have my dear friends from Russia, Dr. Alexander Granberg, Dr. Eugene Ardemasov , Dr. Valeriy Korotkov, an outstanding hockey player and now a minister of sport in Russia, Slava Fetisov, President of the Russian Bar Association Dr. Gasan Mirzoyev, President of NEP Bank Boris Sokalsky, professor at Moscow State University, Dr. Zeidulah Yuzbekov , and the Gamzatov family. I am thankful as well to my American friend, Alik Yanovsky, who gave me a clear understanding of how our years bring us to friendships with people who are younger than us. Finally, I thank Fordham University Press, who encouraged my enthusiasm in putting this book together. Executive Editor Mary Beatrice Schulte and Production Manager Loomis Mayer were instrumental in bringing this project to completion. Of course, all potential success and any interest in this book will be shared with my relatives and friends, but should any dissatisfaction with its contents arise, all conclusions drawn here are solely my responsibility. Vladimir Kvint ...

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