Personal Brands

Marketing Savvy Vital For Real Estate Agents Today

Real estate agents constantly need to adjust to the changes in the real estate industry. With 83% of consumers with real estate needs starting their research online and an equal 80% or more of consumers working with the first agent ...READ»

Timberland's Jeff Swartz on Corporate Responsibility

No one preaches corporate responsibility quite like Timberland's Jeff Swartz. Embraced by hip-hop trendsetters, his boot company grew eightfold in market capitalization from 1992 to 2005, hitting $1.6 billion. He used his position to deploy social initiatives galore, instituting some of the toughest worker-protection standards in the manufacturing industry, planting 1 million trees, and sponsoring thousands of volunteer events. He won accolades from Wall Street and social activists alike. But with his company's revenue soft and the stock price tumbling, is his own job sustainable?READ»

• The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

Creativity is in the Detail, and Everywhere…

Companies need to allow employees to liberate their inherent creativity, rather than squash it as most do. Tapping one's inner creativity within a destination-driven society requires the courage to slow down and reflect inwards. READ»

Second Life

Disgraced stock analyst turned financial writer Henry Blodget talks about index funds, socially responsible investing, and his reputation. READ»

Designs on Success

Patrick Robinson Executive Vice President of Design Gap Adult and Gap Body After stints at Armani, Perry Ellis, and Paco Rabanne, Patrick Robinson is leading Gap's design team. "I've been walking by Gap for the past five ...READ»

• Homage to History
• A Club is Reborn
• Beyond Ballistic
• Keeping it Cool

Straight to Video

How will you use next-generation Web TV to reinvent your business?READ»

• Office in a Cloud

Free Your Job and Your Mind Will Follow

Steve Mariotti shone as a corporate cog, succeeded as a solo businessman, struggled as a high-school teacher, and found meaning in the nonprofit he started. Stepping out on your own, he says, can be more than a good move -- it can be a moral obligation.READ»

Diaries of a Downturn

Four Fast Company readers open their private journals and share stories of disappointment, confusion, and resilience. Real accounts from a dog-day era of layoffs and cutbacks.READ»

What Counts in a Job Now

Forget promises of options, Foosball tables, and free breakfast buffets. Today's job seekers want more tangible rewards, like challenging work, skilled managers -- and cash.READ»

The Reinvention(s) of Sophia Collier

Sophia Collier wrote her autobiography at age 21, founded her first company a few years later, and then took on the mutual-fund industry. Now she's set her sights on the cable-TV power structure. Why can't this woman sit still? And what can you learn from her entrepreneurial journey? A two-part feature.READ»

The Reinvention(s) of Sophia Collier, Part 2

Sophia Collier wrote her autobiography at age 21, founded her first company a few years later, and then took on the mutual-fund industry. Now she's set her sights on the cable-TV power structure. Why can't this woman sit still? And what can you learn from her entrepreneurial journey? A two-part feature.READ»

Memo to Self: Take a Hike!

How one vice president at Altrec.com helped save the company by downsizing his own job. A layoff saga with a hopeful twist.READ»

Smart Ways to Land Your Next Gig

The good news: You've found a good job in a company that's built to last. The bad news: Lots of others are jockeying for the same position. Here are strategies to help you stand apart while everyone else is standing around.READ»

10 Hard Truths About Layoffs

Who ever imagined that change-the-world companies like Cisco, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard would be laying off thousands of workers? And who thought that you would be among them -- or worried that you might be next? Here's a personal survival guide for tough times.READ»

How to Move Forward When You're Between Jobs

Learn how to transform a layoff into a savvy sabbatical -- a time to recharge your batteries and learn new skills without sabotaging your résumé. Author Hope Dlugozima offers tips for taking six months off smart.READ»

Get Lost

Don't just sit there -- consider these 10 sabbaticals selected by the Fast Company staff, then steal them, tweak them, and pass them on.READ»

Take-Home Test

Try these abbreviated exercises from Potentia International to uncover truths about the values and habits that influence your thinking.READ»

(Re) Brand You

This marketing expert and author will help you reboot yourself after a layoff.READ»

Just Do It

The president of JobOptions.com offers his best practices to launch a reinvention.READ»

Don't Hunt for a Job, Farm for It

Leading recruiter Eunice Azzani outlines how to grow the career of your dreams.READ»

Free Your Job and Your Mind Will Follow

Steve Mariotti shone as a corporate cog, succeeded as a solo businessman, struggled as a high-school teacher, and found meaning in the nonprofit he started. Stepping out on your own, he says, can be more than a good move -- it can be a moral obligation.READ»

Aerosmith

Sweet Emotion. Sometimes that's all it takes to bolster a boomerang. Sometimes it takes a little more to get back in the saddle.READ»

Big Shot Boomerangs

Politics. Athletics. Rock Roll. Boomerangers exist in every walk of life. Find out how, when, and why these celebrities decided to go back to the futureREAD»

Al Gore Inc.

"I have really enjoyed the business world much more than I expected," says the former Vice President. Among his business and financial interests.READ»

Al Gore's $100 Million Makeover

Not long ago, he was the butt of jokes--lockbox, earth tones, a postelection beard. Then he dusted off an old slide show and jumped with both feet into the private sector. The untold story of how an epic loser engineered what may be the greatest brand makeover of our time.READ»