Topic: C.K. Prahalad

Humanitarian Design or Neocolonialism?

Fast Company's Bruce Nussbaum raised some controversial questions in a trio of posts -- and readers had a lot to say. We sample the debate.READ»

• Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism?
• Do-gooder Design and Imperialism, Round 3: Nussbaum Responds
• Nussbaum: Should Humanitarians Press On, If Locals Resist?

Al Hammond Shares the Latest in Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Innovations

Hammond says some cutting-edge researchers afraid to "make a technology decision."READ»

Remembering C.K. Prahalad

The author of "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" who passed away earlier in the month was influential in transforming Ravi Sawhney's design practice.READ»

• Ravi Sawhney's Design Reach blog
• Browse more Expert Design blogs

C.K. Prahalad and The Meaning of Life

The passing of leadership and innovation guru C.K. Prahalad leaves us wondering; "how can I broaden my company's impact on the world?"READ»

Playing Aces: Going for the C-Suite Flush

In the last post of their 7-part series, John Elkington and Charmian Love look at how a new breed of 'Aces', among them Chief Innovation Officers and CTOs, are coping with the new wild cards dealt by environmental, social and governance challenges.READ»

Corporate Innovation from the Global Poor

Professor and author C. K. Prahalad explores how G.E. took a local innovation, designed to help those in the poorest and most remote villages in India and China, and turned it into a global, game-changing product. In his book, The ...READ»

Microinsurance: The New Microcredit

A core value in my consulting work with corporations is that CSR will only be effective and sustainable if it is aligned with the company’s business mission. So it’s exciting to see an innovative iteration of that principle where ...READ»

Will the World's Cheapest Solar Lantern Pull in Profits While Igniting Economic Development?

When the sun goes down, much of the world goes dark. At-home productivity sinks--you can't read or learn without light--unless you can afford to buy kerosene, which emits noxious fumes. D.Light, a company that originated as a ...READ»

C.K. Prahalad on How Corporations Capitalize on Innovation at the Bottom of the Pyramid

C.K. Prahalad, author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, chronicles the evolution of corporate social responsibility, or CSR, from hands-off projects which were primarily for publicity to innovative experiments that lead to ...READ»

Thinkers50 Business Guru Competition

The Times of London hosts the annual business guru competition. READ»

Tata, Maker of the $2,000 Car, to Build $8,000 Apartments

Tata Motors, India's largest automobile company, has unveiled plans to build what might be the world's cheapest high-rise apartments--ranging in price from $7,800 to $13,400. The company is already famous for it's $2,000 ...READ»

Fast 50 Face-off: A Conversation with Innovation Guru Dev Patnaik

Innovation specialist Dev Patnaik of Jump Associates on which companies were ingenuity champs and which ones needed to "kick it up a notch."READ»

• Presenting the 2008 Fast 50
• The World's Most Innovative Companies

Fast Company Library

Books previously featured in Fast Company (2001)READ»

Q&A: C.K. Prahalad - Pyramid Schemer

Three years ago, C.K. Prahalad unearthed the "fortune at the bottom of the pyramid." It is, he says, still very real.READ»

Smart Strategies: Putting Ideas To Work

"There have been several great eras in strategy," says one consultant. "This is not one of them." Still, there are signs of a renewed appetite for new thoughts. To get a sense of the enduring power of a big idea, we look at five companies that are putting smart strategies into action.READ»

Jones Soda's Secret

Peter van Stolk is getting people jonesin' for his soda by turning the brand over to them.READ»

A New Path To Profit

Save the world (and make a fortune) by selling to the world's poor, says C.K. Prahalad.READ»

Smart Strategies: Putting Ideas To Work

"There have been several great eras in strategy," says one consultant. "This is not one of them." Still, there are signs of a renewed appetite for new thoughts. To get a sense of the enduring power of a big idea, we look at five companies that are putting smart strategies into action.READ»

What We Learned In The New Economy

What We Learned A Brief History Profiles Vocabulary Where Are They Now? What You Learned It's a foggy, rainy December afternoon at the port of Redwood City, California--the kind of day that makes reality hard to discern, ...READ»

Man of Mystery

Ram Charan lives nowhere and goes everywhere, consulting for the largest and most powerful companies seven days a week, 365 days a year. Work is all he does, and all he wants to do. But even more than his dedication, it's his insights that have won him the ear of hundreds of top managers. Find out why.READ»

Can C.K. Prahalad Pass the Test?

One of the business world's most influential professors and consultants has invested millions of dollars of his own money to put himself to the test. Can he build a company around the principles that he has been teaching other high-powered leaders? And can he possibly change the world in the process?READ»

Fast Foundation

Zoë Baird and her colleagues at the Markle Foundation have embraced a daring approach to the risk-averse world of philanthropy. The results have been remarkable -- and controversial.READ»

The Perfect Vision of Dr. V.

At the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, 82-year-old Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy has solved the mystery of leadership: He brings eyesight to the blind and light to the soul.READ»

Please Don't Feed the Consultants

Consultant Debunking UnitREAD»

The Untapped, $5 Trillion Market

C. K. Prahalad, the University of Michigan strategy guru and author of the best seller "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid," has lately taken some flack for his have-it-both-ways proposition that multinational corporations ...READ»