Voices of Innovation 2008

By Helen Walters

linkedin connections In recent years the inherently positive meaning of the word innovation has become increasingly diluted. As executives have bandied the word about to describe everything from new product introductions to layoffs, it has become increasingly difficult to discern genuine innovation from wishful thinking or marketing spin. Just look at financial innovation. The complex derivatives aimed at the globalized economy were certainly new; they were transformative, too. But as it turns out, they weren't well thought out, and they sure weren't smart.

This year's "Voices of Innovation" series celebrates 10 individuals from very different worlds, including finance but also from medicine, digital networking and design, architecture, and technology. Each one embodies the optimistic spirit of innovation. All are in it for the long haul. These are innovators whose ideas are challenging received wisdom and the status quo. Their intellectual curiosity and confidence allow them to synthesize skills from other disciplines as well as from other individuals and organizations, an increasingly rare gift in a world of ever-narrower specialization. In short, these individuals get it. Even if they sometimes find themselves struggling along the way, their work represents a distilled form of innovation at its finest.

Take the subject of our first profile. Chad Mirkin is the head of Northwestern University's International Institute of Nanotechnology, one of the premier nanoscience research centers in the world, and co-founder of companies including Nanosphere (NSPH) and NanoInk. He's the winner of the highly regarded Feynman Prize and the world's No. 1 cited nanoresearcher, according to the Nanomedicine Lab Registry. And yet, since he took Nanosphere public last fall, he's watched the stock slip steadily. So why pick him as worthy of special focus and commendation? Because, as he himself puts it, "This is a company that is in a marathon not a sprint." Genuine innovation balances quick hits with long plays.

Passionately Articulate
Majora Carter, the subject of another forthcoming profile, has been a boldface name in social and environmental activism circles for years. Her work at Sustainable South Bronx, the organization she founded in 2001 to sponsor economically sustainable projects in her native New York borough, has had a profound impact on the local community. Now, as the president of the eponymous green-collar consulting firm she launched earlier this year, this 2006 MacArthur Fellow is increasingly looking to implement environmental policy nationally and around the world. Looking to unravel the red tape and unlock the potential of communities of any scale, Carter is passionately articulate about her chosen cause, a quality shared by all of our Voices of Innovation.

By its nature, innovation is not a frozen moment in time but ongoing. And while the discipline can be taught (or so the numerous consultants claim), there's no one-size-fits-all way to innovate. Frustratingly for bean counters and process devotees, successful innovation contains elements that are hard to quantify and impossible to buy. At its best, a spirit of innovation becomes embedded in a corporate culture, allowing both individuals and firms to thrive. That's why companies such as Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) are regularly cited as the World's Most Innovative (BusinessWeek, 4/17/08), not least by this magazine. And that's why it's seemingly so difficult for others to knock those firms from their lofty perch: Mere replication of individual processes is never enough.

There are, however, lessons to be learned from looking at the experiences of those working passionately on their own agenda. Those profiled in this new BusinessWeek series represent the very finest thinkers of a generation. That their work will evolve yet further is a given, but for now, here's a snapshot of where they are now. Check back every Monday evening (EST) through the end of 2008 for a new profile.