Features

What We Learned In The New Economy

It wasn't the shiny world we envisioned. But it wasn't a train wreck, either. As the economy turns up again, we wonder: What was real? Jennifer Reingold

Where The Bucks Are

Youth-obsessed Madison Avenue is missing the biggest, richest market of the future. Boomer women have money to spend and make most purchasing decisions. Plus, they live 15 years longer than their husbands. So why aren`t advertisers paying them any attention? Linda Tischler

The King Of Curry

Sir Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon has built one of the world`s largest ethnic-food factories, cooking and shipping close to 1 million packaged meals a week. Starting at 6 a.m. every day, 1,000 workers cook from a menu of more than 800 dishes. Just don`t call it fast food. Ian Wylie

The Fast 50

Our third annual competition generated more than 1,650 entries, 15,000 reader comments - and 50 winners. From entrepreneurial monks to the inventor of magnetized sticky notes, their stories form an inspirational chronicle of creativity, struggle, and triumph. Paul Cabana

Hidden Asset

Thomas Davenport has helped midwife some of the biggest trends to have shaped business over the past 25 years--among them, reengineering and knowledge management. Now he`s asking: Where do ideas come from? And how do they get traction? Here`s his eight-point plan for winning with ideas. Bill Breen

Hold The Phone

Internet telephony is cheap: "The economics finally make sense." But as more and more companies are discovering, it also can let you do some nifty things. Voice over Internet protocol technology is keeping workers--in hospitals, Wall Street brokerages, law firms, even National Basketball Association franchises--connected as never before. Scott Kirsner

A Day in the Life of Work: Plane Crazy

Chuck Guerra is a plane mechanic--in the Mojave Desert. He parks, seals, and maintains planes that airlines can`t use, keeping them ready for their return, someday, to service. Chuck Salter

Fast Talk: Lessons From The New Economy

Everyone learned, or relearned, something from the epic boom and bust. We ask five of that era`s luminaries for their insight. Ryan Underwood

Next

China`s Next Great Thing

Though China`s factories fill our shelves, it has yet to produce truly powerful global companies or brands. That`s about to change. Thomas Hout and Jim Hemerling

Chatter

Self-Serving Surveys. Danielle Sacks

Can This Copy Shop Go Green?

Kinko`s copy shops use 32 million sheets of paper every day. Still, the company seeks a balance by conserving energy, buying renewable energy, and striving for sustainability. Abby Schultz

CEO See-Ya!

Which CEOs deserve the boot? Jennifer Reingold

Parma-Splat! An Opera In Way Too Many Acts

Enron and WorldCom introduced us to the high art of massive fraud. But Parmalat and its former chief executive, Calisto Tanzi, have elevated the form to epic tragicomedy. Ian Wylie

A Gazillion More Free Hours From AOL? Gee, Thanks.

How can AOL afford to attract millions of subscribers every year? More easily than you might think. Lucas Conley

Sadly, This Doesn`t Fix Tone Deafness

When your company`s team-building karaoke turns "scary-oke," here`s one way to keep it in the office. Ryan Underwood

The Google of Email?

Bloomba, a new email program based on a powerful search engine rather than folders, may be the answer to Outlook`s problems. Alison Overholt

To: My Editor | Subject: This #$%! Email

Keeping up with your email in the air isn`t always the smoothest of flights. Carleen Hawn

How About " Cubicle in a Box? "

Our picks for the best and worst of desk kitsch. Ryan Underwood

The B in Business Stands for Bluff

How to explain poker`s revival as America`s most popular sport? Could be because it`s the ultimate forum for liars. And that, says world poker champ Phil Hellmuth Jr., is good business. Carleen Hawn

Street Smarts

"If you can manage a bad pimp . . . and still be living," says Lateefah Simon, "you`ve got leadership skills you need to put to good use. Fara Warner

The Trump School of Business

Donald Trump`s reality series provides a playbook of sorts for corporate strivers in all manner of jungles. Linda Tischler

Corporate SPEAK

File under: All politics is logo. A type font that takes corporations to task.

60 Seconds With Jed Emerson

Someday, we may look back and wonder, What if we didn`t judge business on financial performance alone? Emerson wonders that today. Cheryl Dahle

How About This Beer Label: " I`m in Advertising!"

Upstart agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky is turning advertising on its head, from business class to beer bottles. Nate Nickerson

Fast Company`s Cosmo (Inspired) Quiz

Are you still hot for your job? Or has the relationship lost its romance? Take this quiz to find out. Ryan Underwood

FC Readers' Choice Award

Advises The Transparency Edge: Deliver as much information as quickly as possible.

Office Handbook

Chapter 7: Shrinkage. Ryan Underwood

The Corporate Shrink

All work and no play makes Jack just another typical executive in corporate America. Dr. Kerry J. Sulkowicz

Columns

To Help Others Develop, Start With Yourself

Great leaders encourage leadership development by openly developing themselves. Marshall Goldsmith

Wealth Creation, 21st-Century Style

Glimpses of the building blocks of wealth creation, 21st-century style. Shoshana Zuboff

How to Give Feedback

Give great feedback! Most people don`t. Here are four rules for making your input count. Seth Godin

More Great Stuff

Revisiting the New Economy

This month`s letter from the editor. John A. Byrne

Between The Lines

The stories behind this issue`s stories.

" Out of the Valley of Death"

Report From the Past. Charles Fishman

Feedback

Letters. Updates. Advice.

The Net/Net

A go-to guide of the products and services featured in this month`s issue.