March 2011

The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

An artificial heart and its lightweight power drive. A better airline for Brazil. Chocolate from Madagascar, and a soccer shirt made of plastic water bottles. All this from one simple word: innovation. The 50 companies on our 2011 list have chosen a unique path. Today's business landscape is littered with heritage companies whose CEOs battle their industry's broken model with inertia, layoffs, lawsuits -- anything that squeezes pennies and delays the inevitable.
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March 2011

A list of events and conferences you don't want to miss this month.
CELEBRATE | International Women’s Day Marks 100th Anniversary

When the first International Women's Day took place 100 years ago, there were a lot of female "firsts" we couldn’t yet celebrate. Flash forward a century and women are cracking the gender-expectations piñata everywhere from Sri Lanka to outer space.
A History Of Corporate Betrayal

What better way to remember Brutus backstabbing Caesar than by watching movies like "The Informant!" and "The Social Network"? Here are four more corporate-betrayal films primed for the Hollywood treatment.

How David van der Leer Curates the Guggenheim--and Our Cities

His focus is to use his platform as a curator at the Guggenheim Museum for exploring what our sprawling metropolises could and should be like in the coming years.
The Corporate Pursuit of Happiness

A Stanford marketing professor is teaching her students -- along with AOL, Facebook, and Adobe -- how to find and export joy.
Are Silicon Valley's Engineers Underpaid?

Call off the lottery, argues FARHAD MANJOO, and raise the salary bar for all programming talent.
Travel Search Gets Convenient With Hipmunk

On the cusp of Kayak's IPO, Hipmunk, the next disrupter of the domestic travel market, is taxiing and poised for flight.
The Case for Generosity

Couch-surfing is only the beginning, says ANYA KAMENETZ. The Internet could unlock our natural impulse to share goals--and a global economy built on the kindness of strangers.
Why True Grit Matters in the Face of Adversity

Dan Heath and Chip Heath explain why some of the biggest victories are won an inch at a time.
Practical Advances in Everyday Living

Breakthroughs in materials science mean greener, cleaner, and safer spaces. We take a closer peek at three that amaze.

Object of Desire: Naef Play Objects Bauhaus Chess Set

Step away from the video game. While playing chess on an HD screen may be convenient, nothing beats the real thing -- especially when it comes to growing minds.
The Best New Tools for Making Old-Fashioned Jams and Preserves

Nothing is both so on trend and old-fashioned as homemade preserves. Here's what you need to get cooking.
Coralie Bickford-Smith Shares the Inspiration Behind Her Book Covers

The Penguin Books cover designer shares the tools and inspirations behind her stunning designs.
Jams and Preserves With A Homemade Twist

Not into DIY? We tasted more than 100 jams in search of bliss in a jar. We found it.
Kitschy Letter Openers Make Paper Mail Fun Again

Empty mailboxes be damned, these elegant and whimsical designs make letter openers as desirable as ever.
Leica Updates the 35-Millimeter Camera

Leica moves 35-millimeter film into the 21st century.

And The Winner Is Apple!

The goal of our list is to represent the breadth of innovation across the economy -- and to inspire our readers to engage with it.

ALUMNI: A Year of Ups and Downs

For some veterans of the Most Innovative Companies lists, the past year has been very good indeed. For others, not so much. A look at some of their highlights, as well as a few of the lows.
Doing Well by Doing Good

Check out what's going on with prior Fast Company interviewees, Michael Murphy and Jessica Posner.

Re: Dec. 2010/Jan. 2011

Your letters, comments and, yes, gripes about the December 2010/January 2011 issue.