Features

• Fast Pack 1999

  For the second year in a row, we invited some of the smartest people we know to consider four of the toughest questions around. Fast Company celebrates its third anniversary with the ultimate business round table.

• Digital Diagnostic

  How digital is your company?

• Chief Travel Scientist

  Job Titles Of The Future: Danamichele Brennen O'Brien

• The Empire Strikes Back

  Oakley Inc. specializes in making sunglasses and sneakers that look as if they come from a galaxy far, far away. They are made within the company's $40 million headquarters, where Oakley's work style combines a passion for design with a lust for combat.

• Play Smart

  Take your best shot with these swingers.

• Think Like Crazy!

  A letter from the founding editors.

• Road Rules - Rule 7

  Phone Home - Often

• This Means War!

  Business is so intense, it's war. Are you ready for combat?

• Balancing Acts

  Unit of One

• The Brand Called UK

  If you think it's hard to move a big company into the future, try changing the course of a big country. Geoff Mulgan wants to rebuild Great Britain by "rebranding" it. His pitch: You can't reshape national realities without reinventing national identity.

• The Consulting Cat Is out of the Bag

  Consultant Debunking Unit

• Personal Protection

  Report from the Futurist

• Digital Companies

  Sidebars to the Big Idea -- Digital Talent, Digital Customers, Digital Finance.

• Don't Get Mad - Get Over It!

  Work wouldn't be work without its day-to-day delays and defeats. If you can't get over them, you'll never get along. Meet three great contenders who can show you how to cope.

• Start the Day with Coffee and a Scrum

  Meeting I Never Miss

• Hope Is a Weapon

  For 30 years, Eleanor Josaitis has been battling some of the toughest problems in one of America's toughest cities. And she's been winning. Her weapons are passion, purpose, and performance.

• A Cut Above

  Make those out-of-the-office meetings with a razor-close shave.

• How Digital Is Your Company?

  Forget about the e-hype. Going digital -- converting from atoms to bits -- gives your company a competitive edge, but only if you focus on the basics: money, talent, customers, and time.

• Saleswoman for the 21st Century

  For seven years, Marty Rodriguez has been the top U.S. salesperson for Century 21. What's her secret? "Just because the transaction is done, that doesn't mean the relationship is over."

• Mindspring Does a Mind-Flip

  Forget everything you thought you knew about Internet companies. Here's one that's growing responsibly, serving customers well -- and making money. Oh, by the way, it's worth $1.5 billion.

• Capitalists of the World, Innovate!

  Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist for the computer that changed the world, has a new message: You too can change the world. His manifesto: Create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave.

• Advertisers in Issue 22

  Interact with the companies whose products and services are advertised in Fast Company.

• Software Doesn't Have to Crash

  If we're so smart, asks Alan Cooper, why is our software so dumb? His manifesto: "Most software needs to be spanked."

• Let Outsiders in, Turn Your Insiders Out

  What's Your Problem?

• Pump Up the Volume!

  These speakers offer high-quality audio at a not-so-high price.

• Does Your Job Plus Kids Equal No Time?

  Here's how spending some time online can help. From finding a nanny to preparing dinner, the Web offers tools and resources -- and a virtual shoulder to cry on.

• This Ain't No Ordinary Race

  It's an adventure! Here's what happens when nearly 270 teams take on the ultimate corporate challenge: to run, bike, paddle, and puzzle their way through the Connecticut woods.

• Your Ad Here

  The Miami Ad School creates the future stars of the advertising business. It's also inventing new ways to teach and learn that are relevant to rising stars in any business.

• The G Files

  A Spy in the House of Work

• My Favorite Bookmarks - Christy Jones

  Picks from Christy Jones, president and founder, PCOrder.com Inc.

• Director of Great People

  Job Titles of the Future: Barb Karlin

• Are You on Digital Time?

  Nearly 10 years ago, George Stalk Jr. literally wrote the book on how companies can compete on speed. Today, he says, time is still the ultimate competitive weapon -- but by going digital, you can make your company even faster and even more competitive.

• Failure Is an Option

  The dream behind Exponential Technology was bold -- to build the world's fastest computer chip. The reality was messy. The end was bloody -- $30 million of wasted capital, four years of wasted effort. So why are so many people grateful for the experience?

• Is Your Gear out of Sync?

  You've got the best hardware and the slickest software. But you can't get all of it to flow together. Here's how to get in sync -- and to keep your work from getting sunk!