"If the surge of corporate power was going to leave governments relatively impotent," Noreena Hertz argues in "Cassandra's Revenge," "then those corporations themselves needed to fill the void." Asking corporations to fill the void is like asking tigers to become vegetarians. It is not in the nature of the beast to go beyond tokens of social responsibility. Yes, capitalism can be a mighty engine that drives economies, but recent events show that left unattended, capitalism can take the whole economic vehicle straight into the wall.
Mel Blitzer
Calgary, Alberta
I own a simple coffee shop. The issue of sustainability is clear: If the people growing coffee are not satisfied with their work and their lives, they will, ultimately, pursue something else. We are, of course, all thus linked.
Jack Shipley
Wauconda, Illinois
How often is it, as you rightly point out, that a company introduces a product that's contrary to everything it has done so far and that product becomes a runaway success ("Intel Risks It All [Again]")? An Atom in a sewing machine? Awesome.
Varun Arora
Singapore
In the article about Hulu ("The Unlikely Mogul"), Bing's director of marketing is quoted as saying that Hulu "gave us the right audience, the ability to educate and entertain, and the opportunity for them to try out the product and then market our product for us... . No other ad platform lets you do all that." The oldest marketing medium in history does all of that and much more: buyers at a market stall speaking with a seller about her or his product.
Kevin Lenard
Toronto, Ontario
I can't stand the monotony of a StairMaster or stationary bicycle, so I catch up on my reading while I exercise. I get through two business magazines a workout. But Fast Company is at an awesome two-workout-per-magazine level.
Marcus P. Meleton Jr.
Houston, Texas
I nodded my head and smiled as I read Dan Heath and Chip Heath's "Stop Solving Your Problems." It reminded me of the time when I worked closely with a major athletic-shoe company that was stuck in the same old rut of simply trying to improve upon each year's model from year to year, with little creativity. So the leaders sent a team of three or four folks from sales, design, and marketing on a three-stop tour of the United States: the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., to look at rockets and other unique "vehicles of speed"; Soho, in New York, to see fashion; and Boulder, Colorado, to see what multisport athletes were wearing. In short, the trip reopened their minds.
Barry Siff
Boulder, Colorado
When I saw the title of this article, I thought that it had to be an article about the approach to innovation known as TRIZ. In TRIZ, we learn and apply a few simple rules, including these: Someone has already solved your problem. The most innovative solutions come from an industry or discipline outside of your own. Technical systems follow specific trends of evolution. And true inventive solutions come through solving the contradictions that most other people choose to avoid.
Craig D. Brown
Albuquerque, New Mexico
"The Cable Cowboy" is a great story and another example of why I love Fast Company! It's a reminder of the power of the unquenchable entrepreneurial spirit.
David Politis
Draper, Utah
Mission statements need to be written by the people who are expected to follow them ("Wordplay"). If the exec team writes the statement, the employees can just scoff and say, "This isn't ours." There is no ownership.
Jeff Mitchell
Leesburg, Virginia
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