Business at Its Best profiles the groundbreakers and mavericks demonstrating the power and promise of business. Using the smartest tools, management techniques, and innovations, these are true standouts in their industries and provide inspiring examples for excelling in business.

Want to serve, and attract, customers more effectively? Pay attention to what they want and what they need.

A Prescription for Innovation
The Mayo Clinic's new SPARC lab is driving experimentation at the frontier of health care. How? By getting physicians to think more like designers.

Talk to Customers--Are You Crazy?
David McQuillen's "experience immersion" is forcing Credit Suisse to think differently about its clients. For starters, there'll be no more wet grocery bags.

Just Two Good Ole Boys...
Two city slickers help make MTV's country music channel, CMT, cool without alienating a devoted audience of diehard country music fans.

These companies leveraged, and even created, technology to better serve their business needs.

Being There
DreamWorks Animation couldn't find a videoconferencing system that made CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg happy--so it built its own.

Nothing But Net
As broadband and wireless take over, NBA.com is scoring in traffic.

Resources for making your company "people ready" from Microsoft.

Video: People Are Your Greatest Asset
View the story of a top executive who focuses on processes and efficiency but forgets his people, and discover the lessons he learned.

Whitepaper: What Is a People-Ready Business?
Businesses don’t find customers, streamline operations, close deals, or invent products people do. Is your business people-ready?

Case Study: Faster Decisions Save Money
Manufacturing executives improve speed of decision-making, saving $400,000 annually.

Insight: Technology Is the Tool, People Are the Key
Technology is everywhere in the workplace—in laptop computers, personal digital assistants, "smart" wireless telephones, the Internet, and business servers. But people remain the core of any business.

Insight: Building Customer Loyalty
It's easy to talk about building customer loyalty. But actually providing the exceptional customer service experience that creates loyalty is another matter.

Poll Position

Which of the following would make your company work more effectively at this point in time?