Skip navigation

Issue 99

October 2005

The Art Of Service

  • Meet the winners of our second-annual Customers First Awards, the folks who really know what it takes to keep customers happy--and coming back.

    Read More
Follow Fast Company

Features

  • Sweating In the Hot Zone

    Imagine what life would be like if your product were never finished, if your work were never done, if your market shifted 30 times a day. The computer-virus hunters at Symantec don't have to imagine.

  • OXO's Favorite Mistakes

    The company behind some of the best-designed kitchen tools learns the most when it does something wrong.

  • High Fliers

    Two buddies from Long Island came up with the idea of offering (relatively) cheap access to private jets. And with the help of folks like Warren Buffett, Derek Jeter and J. Lo, they turned the Marquis Jet card into one very cool brand.

  • The 10 Faces of Innovation

    In an exclusive book excerpt from the general manager of Ideo, we meet the personality types it takes to keep creativity thriving--and the devil's advocate at bay.

  • Is Mad. Ave. Ready To Go Naked?

    These brash Brits say they have the cure for what ails the ad business these days. Is Naked Communications a real revolution, or just Brand X in a new box?

  • Tilting at Windmills
  • TV Guider
    Susan Whiting President and CEO, Nielsen Media Research

    Nielsen is arguably as famous a name in the history of television as Mary Tyler Moore or Jerry Seinfeld. Now, as traditional programming is being shattered by the rise of digital technology, the iconic audience-measurement company has charged Whiting, 49, with keeping the company relevant. Speaking to Fast Company, Whiting, who took over the top spot in 2002, shares her thoughts on the future of television, what to do in a fight with Rupert Murdoch, and the virtues of mystery novels.

  • Listener Runner-up: Intuit

    Intuit has many ears, open to the Voice of the Customer.

Now

Next

  • Obsessive Branding Disorder

    Corporate America is obsessed with branding. But minus the hype, branding is really just commonsense strategy, rebranded.

  • The Future's So Bright

    No one know what tomorrow will bring, except for these bold seers. They have seen the future--and it belongs to them.

  • Batter Up

    The Senate's confirmation hearing for the man named to run the world's most important financial regulatory body was quite a softball game.

  • CEO See-Ya!

    This month: Richard Thalheimer, CEO of Sharper Image

  • Be Heard Above the Electronic Din

    Even as technology expands the way leaders can communicate, it's gotten tougher than ever to be heard. Here's how to get your message across.

  • Heavy Metal

    New duds for the Buds--the aluminum bottle proves to be a hit with beer-guzzlers.

  • Hey, Lady! Women and the Art of Product Development

    It's one thing to say a product is for women, and quite another thing to mean it.

  • Cool Runnings

    Cool hunters are more than just streetwise fad spotters. Here are three blogs from arbiters of cool that offer insights and inspiration for innovation.

  • A Really Customizable Keyboard

    A new keyboard promises the ultimate in customization, with tiny screens instead of keys.

  • The Anti-PDA

    In an increasingly electronic world, it's no small irony that the hot new data-entry and storage accesssory is microchip-free.

  • What Does Green Mean?

    Architect Rafael Pelli's approach to designing healthy buildings defies easy categorization--and that's a good thing.

  • One Smokin' Jacket

    A hot new jacket built with sportcar-like engineering.

  • Datebook

    Critical calendar listings for October 2005.

  • Title Shot

    Capture it all in 30 seconds.

Fast Talk

Next

  • Circle of Life

    With our November issue, Fast Company will celebrate 10 years of publication. Each month until then, we'll review one of our favorite editions from the first decade.

From the Editor

  • The Customer Connection

    That might seem like a silly question--I hope it does, or else your business is in trouble. But when I started in this business more than 20 years ago, it was pretty hard for journalists to answer yes. Our customers--the readers--were largely invisible and anonymous. Sure, they wrote the rare letter to the editor, or, even more rarely, called reporters and editors to berate them for something they'd published.