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Features

Thinking Outside The Cup

Surprise! Starbucks barista-in-chief Howard Schultz is making a big, bold push into the music business. He aims to transform the record industry -- and turn Starbucks into the world`s biggest brand, period. Alison Overholt

Do You Hear What Starbucks Hears?

The nation`s leading coffee chain`s step into music retail is a strategic extension of the Starbucks brand. In a candid Q&A, Howard Schultz expands on the company`s attraction to Hear Music, the importance of the customer experience, and how the partnership could remake the music industry. Alison Overholt

The Soundtrack of Success

What does strategy sound like? Success? Help Fast Company compile a playlist of songs that help you strive for success.

Rocky Mountain High

How do you clean up and shut down an infamous nuclear site? By getting employees to work as hard as possible to put themselves out of jobs. Jena McGregor

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Plot the Graph.

Marketers have figured out a way to measure how consumers really feel about brands. Warning: Love hurts. Linda Tischler

We, Incorporated

More than neighborhoods and churches, corporations define our values. But they`re not up to the task. Keith H. Hammonds

The Anarchist`s Cookbook

John Mackey`s approach to management is equal parts Star Trek and 1970s flashback. It seems like a recipe for disaster, but at Whole Foods it`s a prescription for world-beating growth -- and maybe for a world-changing company. Charles Fishman

When Couches Fly

Rowe Furniture Inc. vows not to fall to imports. All it needs is a faster way to make sofas and chairs. Chuck Salter

The Fable

Once upon a time, a business magazine wanted to understand the popularity of business fables. Ryan Underwood

A Day In The Life Of Work: Prima Donna

For opera prompter Jane Klaviter, all the world`s a stage -- and she has the best seat in the house. Jennifer Vilaga

Fast Talk: Summer Amusements

It`s family vacation time, and we asked the operators of five lower-key attractions how they`ve adapted to compete in the Spielbergian, conglomerate-driven entertainment universe. What we try to do is create an environment that makes people want to take a picture. Paul Lukas

Next

The Privacy Arms Race

Fancy new software lets managers spy on employees -- and employees evade the scrutiny. Um . . . trust, anyone? Lucas Conley

Refusing to Gamble on Privacy

Sandy Hughes, chief global privacy officer for Procter & Gamble, oversees privacy efforts for the company`s 98,000 employees working in 80 countries. In an interview with Fast Company, she expanded on the company`s approach to privacy, the need for consistency, and the challenges associated with keeping up with change around the world. Lucas Conley

Chatter

Googlemania!

Weathering the Perfect Storm

Hotels in San Francisco have been hit harder by the economic downturn than in any other city. One progressive hotelier, Joie de Vivre`s Chip Conley, plans to survive -- and thrive -- by focusing on investors, employees, and customers. Cheryl Dahle

CEO See-Ya!

This month: Franklin D. Raines, CEO of Fannie Mae. Carleen Hawn

GE Smackdown!

Jeff Immelt and Jack Welch go toe-to-toe. Scott Kirsner; Keith H. Hammonds

A Pill With Brains

Swallow hard: Here`s a nanotech biosensor that will monitor our bodies from the inside. Lucas Conley

Never Say Never

Claim: "We never simply throw away." Reality: We sometimes do. Jennifer Esty

How Do You Steer This Thing? !

Can biker moguls Senior and Paulie Teutul of American Chopper leverage their brand? Ryan Underwood

Ah, to Be Young and Underpaid ...

Gofers who get it. Ryan Underwood

Introducing the World Wide Warble

How does Yahoo build its brand on the cheap? With a world-record sing-along. Chuck Salter

Give Hackers the Finger

Desktop security becomes a pointed exercise. Michael A. Prospero

Mobile " Nokia Moments"

Living life to its fullest -- online. Ian Wylie

Dance of the MBAs

The Pilobolus dance troupe teaches us a few new leadership moves. Alison Overholt

Something A-SKU

Paralyzed by the supermarket aisle? A new approach to managing stock keeping units could help marketers roll out -- and back -- food products strategically. Kim Girard

" There are good people everywhere."

What it takes to beat 38,000 coders to become the world`s best geek. Keith H. Hammonds

Office Handbook

Chapter 31: Personal Hygiene Ryan Underwood

The Corporate Shrink

Email addicts and the people who love them; life at the bottom of the food chain. Dr. Kerry J. Sulkowicz

Playbook

How to Spot A-Players

There`s nothing more important -- or tougher -- than finding talent. Here`s advice from some top scouts. Ryan Underwood

Hamiltonian Keys to Business Success

That fella on the $10 bill can teach you what to do -- and what to avoid. Hint: No dueling. Daniel Rubin

The 8 Habits Of Effective Job Searchers

You got the offer, now what? Questions every candidate should ask before signing on.

MBA Summer Blues

You are a newly minted MBA. You don't have a job. You are not alone. Here's what you should do.

Turn Change Into Dollars

Is your industry and market shifting? This course helps leaders identify problems, find solutions, and manage change.

Readers' Choice

Your pitch won't fall on deaf ears if you follow The 5 Paths to Persuasion.

If They Don`t Care, Don`t Waste Your Time

Try to change people who don`t care, and you end up wasting everyone`s time. Marshall Goldsmith

Small Insults, Heavy Toll

When our complex lives don`t fit into a corporate model, we pay a heavy toll. Shoshana Zuboff

Rules for Off-Roading at Work

Going off-road? Go way off-road. Seth Godin

More Great Stuff

Eulogy for My Father

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

Between The Lines

The stories behind this issue`s stories.

JetBlue Is Superfly

Letters. Updates. Advice.

Saving Grace

Rules may be made to be broken, but promises aren`t. The State of Grace Document upgrades the traditional contract for a more personal workplace. Heath Row

The Net/Net

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