Fast Company’s Fast 50 List: an analysis by David

In November of 1995, Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, two editors of the prestigious business publication Harvard Business Review broke free to start their own periodical magazine which they called Fast Company. One of Fast Company’s most notable features is their Fast 50 List, an annual list established in 2002, breaking down the 50 worldwide companies displaying use of the most innovative strategies.
The list released in March of 2008 featured the internet guru Google as the number one most innovative company, an appropriate selection due to Google’s exponentially increasing list of innovative features such as Google Maps, a geographical index of our entire planet, or YouTube, a web 2.0 video sharing community. Google originated as a search engine known for its aesthetic simplicity, the tool was simple to use and also tended to load faster on dial-up modem connections. Google now ranks number one on the Alexa web traffic monitoring system. Since its inception in 1998, Google has grown to be one of the most innovative business models in terms of internet corporations, and even in terms of a regular organization. Many of Google’s business strategies are applicable in any sense, such as their employee management program encouraging individual and collaborative creativity. Managers in any firm should maintain a close monitoring process of Google’s management strategies in order to better their own companies.
Coming in at a close second on the Fast 50 List is Apple, a computer company that has been lurking in the shadow of Microsoft since the 1970s. Apple has finally broken free with innovative creations addressing the demand of the general public, such as their bestselling MP3 player, the iPod, or their intuitive operating system, Mac OS X Leopard. Apple’s ground-breaking combination of clever marketing, modern design, and instinctive software has earned it the second position on the Fast 50 List. Like Google, Apple is an ideal business model for any aspiring corporation. Apple and Google have even executed many collaborative projects together.
The social networking tool Facebook comes in at number three on the Fast 50 List. Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has rapidly surpassed other popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Netlog in terms of user visit frequency. A unique innovation in Facebook is the ability for computer-savvy users to create their own applications. Since May of 2007, users have been able to upload their own application creations, thus adding to the experience of other users in the environment. This represents an extremely intelligent business technique on the part of Facebook, by increasing the value of their product at virtually no developer costs to the company. This is an innovative business strategy that can be useful to e-companies with little to no starting funds. Facebook has climbed from the hard drive of one Harvard student to the number three position on Alexa, an astonishing feat by any standards. Facebook has quickly grown to be a first-rate internet business model.
Upon an initial examination of the top three most innovative companies of the year, a common pattern that stands out is that all three are technology-based. While Apple is best known for its hardware, it occupies a significant market share in terms of software development. Some examples include the Mac OS X operating system, the iLife multimedia software pack, and the iWork office software suite. The reason for the success of these three technology-based firms in terms of innovation is that technology provides the best platform for innovation. Successful firms such as Coca-Cola, the soft-drink manufacturer, can only be innovative to a certain point, whereas technology-based firms can be infinitely innovative. For example, Coca-Cola made an apparent marketing error in introducing a supposed new formula to their beverage and then returning to the original “classic” version. They likely were hoping for the increased sales revenue that accompanies an innovative new product, but had no room for innovation and released overly similar beverages so as not to deviate from their successful formula. The entire decision is globally regarded as a blunder on the part of Coca-Cola, a once renowned corporation now shrouded in suspicion and controversy.
Notable companies following the top three on the Fast 50 List include Nike, Nokia, Amazon, and Nintendo, each notably introducing a new dimension of innovation in their respective fields. Nike introduced NIKEid, an online tool to customize and order sneakers. NIKEid allows consumers to decide between hundreds of options and colors for their running shoes and have them shipped to their door, an innovation attributed directly to Nike. Nokia has pioneered innovation in mobile telephony and information across the entire industry since the technology has been available. Amazon has changed the way consumers think about shopping, implementing an online store selling new and used products. Consumers pay for purchases via credit card and have them shipped to their doors. Nintendo’s latest gaming platform, the Wii, has changed the way video games are played by replacing the traditional type of game controller with a wireless three-dimensional virtual pointing device, an innovation that has earned the Wii phenomenal sales numbers. The student demographic has embraced the Wii, in a similar fashion to the success of Facebook and the iPod.
Innovative products will usually be rewarded in terms of superior sales revenue. Success for a firm wishing to sell a successful product or service will not come with observing innovative products from other companies but rather with observing techniques in which other companies are able to develop such innovative products in the first place. This is the key to success in such a rapid moving 21st century business environment.