As Fast Company magazine editors compile this list, they must inevitably consider the definition of innovation. While I don't know how they define it, I myself and have trouble finding a proper description.

An innovative company could be considered one that does something different, but that would be a disruptor. And doing something different, doesn't necessarily mean you find success.

So is success part of the definition? It seems wrong to think of dollar signs and innovation in the same breath. Maybe it is success in inspiring others and influencing business as a whole? But that is a backward glance that is more fitting for a decade-long retrospective doesn't work with current innovation. I would argue it could mean social responsibility and efforts to change the world, but that is what our annual Social Capitalists package is about.

I think the final answer may all of the above: success in the market, success in business, inspiration and disruptive. But I am not even 100% sure.

What do you think an innovative company is?