We asked 49 business visionaries what single philosophy they swear by more than any other -- in business, life or both. (more)

Google CEO Eric Schmidt gives us his golden rules for managing innovation. (more)

Forget condos and strip malls. Domain names, the real estate of the Web, have been delivering far greater returns. How some of the savviest speculators on the Net are making millions from their URL portfolios. (more)

How the founders of a hot young photo-sharing site are helping to change the focus of the search engine giant--and turning its fight with Google into a battle of man vs. machine. (more)

Tight supply and soaring prices have some experts predicting the demise of the petroleum age. But those very economic forces are also spurring innovation that could keep us in black gold for years to come. (more)

 

Peace on earth and an Xbox 360 would be nice. But for many CEOs, an IPO is at the top of the list. This season, the market could be ready to grant their wish. (more)

Has Hollywood found a peer-to-peer system it can live with? (more)

Interactive TV may finally be ready for prime time, and it could be a way to wean consumers off TiVo. (more)

least of all corporate America. According to the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, sick days after overindulgent nights cost the U.S. economy $148 billion annually. But business is booming for the 50-plus hangover remedies now on the market, more than a quarter of which came out during the past two years. That doesn't mean the market is flooded with effective cures: Congress ruled in 1994 that manufacturers don't have to prove that products work as long as they're safe. "Consumers are skeptical," says Lynn Dornblaser, director of consulting at research firm Mintel International. "It's a stretch to think that a pill cures all those symptoms." (more)

Google. The Mountain View, Calif., search giant has started buying companies on the cheap, before they even make the pilgrimage to Sand Hill Road. (more)

Trader Joe's pioneered the concept. Whole Foods took it upscale. Now Supervalu, the $20 billion discount grocery giant, is moving into the lucrative natural- and organic-foods niche, which is expected to grow to $32 billion by 2009. To appeal to shoppers put off by Whole Foods prices, the Minneapolis-based owner of the popular Sav-A-Lot chain will open its first organic outlet, called Sunflower Market, in Indianapolis this month. The 12,000-square-foot store will steal a page from the Trader Joe's playbook by offering low-cost, private-label brands, plus hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and organic produce. While Supervalu hasn't laid out its expansion plans yet, it's presumed to be focusing first on the Midwest--where Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are relatively thin on the ground. (more)

Applying photovoltaic cells to windows could transform skyscrapers into solar panels. (more)

Research in Motion, maker of the blockbuster BlackBerry, is down on its luck, thanks to an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit. But there's worse news coming in January: Motorola and Nokia are both expected to launch competing e-mail devices on par with BlackBerry's selling price. Nokia's E61 is part of a new line of phones aimed at business customers. Motorola's Q, below, takes design cues from the company's hot-selling Razr. After the tepid reception of its iTunes-equipped Rokr, the Q could be the hit Motorola needs to regain its mojo. (more)

In the 1990s, corporate America became "a two-bit securities scam." That's the premise of Pump and Dump, a comprehensive history of new-economy scandals, out this month from Rutgers University Press. Authors and sociologists Robert Tillman and Michael Indergaard posit that, in recent years, the two sides of Wall Street merged--the one inhabited by big bankers, and the shady side defined by the "pump and dump," the practice of promoting stocks just long enough to profit from them. (In one grisly example, the book tells of two online stock promoters who were murdered in a Mafia-style execution.) As Congress gutted industry regulations and investor protections over a period of 25 years, the seamy side became the norm. The power brokers behind WorldCom, Enron, and dotcom IPOs all embraced the pump-and-dump idea: Get rich by shifting risk to someone else. (more)

Wal-Mart may stock just about everything you need, but you still have to actually go inside the store to get it. Soon you might be able to pick up your groceries, dry cleaning, office supplies, prescription meds, and DVD rentals without leaving your car. That's the goal of AutoCart, a high-tech drive-through superstore set to debut next spring. Customers will be able to place orders 24 hours a day and drive to AutoCart to retrieve their purchases. (more)

Software company Blackbaud is the matchmaker of the nonprofit world. With a suite of data-mining software and services called Blackbaud Analytics, the for-profit firm helps organizations in need of cash find the donors most willing to cough it up. Its sophisticated statistical model sifts through financial data--everything from donors' stock filings to their charitable and political contributions--and predicts who is likely to give more. "There's hidden gold in every database," says Charlie Cumbaa, VP for products and services at Blackbaud, based in Charleston, S.C. (more)

Three years ago a scientist named Flaming Zhou built a new fuel-cell prototype in his garage. This month, with $500,000 in funding from German industrial giant Siemens, Zhou will unveil the technology and a new company called H2Volt. The Berkeley startup wants to commercialize what Zhou claims is the first "dry" fuel cell. It uses chemical hydrides that won't leak over time like liquid methanol and hydrogen gas do, so H2Volt's technology has a much longer shelf life. The H2Volt fuel cell could be used in everything from MP3 players to stoplights; Siemens wants to eventually try it in tiny wireless sensors. With the mobile fuel-cell market expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2010, Zhou says the next step is zeroing in on one niche. (more)

Anshe Chung is raking in real money in an unreal online world. (more)

At Kleiner Perkins, he nurtured seedlings that grew into the Valley's mightiest oaks. Now, out on his own, Vinod Khosla is tilling the startup fields again. (more)

 

For highly trafficked websites, bubble-era buyouts are back. (more)

Networking gets you into parties, but business success often demands doing deals with complete strangers. (more)

Lindland Clothing launched a fashion mini-hit by rotating traditional designs 90 degrees. (more)

At TheLadders.com, execs shell out to find the high-salaried gigs. (more)

The PC maker's newest and biggest factory makes its other state-of-the-art plants look like slowpokes. (more)

Metaphase blends aesthetics with ergonomics to design products that look good, work better--and sell more. (more)

At this convenience chain, the "green" runs deeper than veggie wraps and solar-roasted coffee. The gas is eco-friendly too. (more)

It's not black, not shiny, and not as heavily advertised. Yet the DS has gained ground on the PSP, thanks to clever software that shows off what the hardware can do. (more)

A fridge for Korean kimchi? A microwave for Iranian kebabs? LG stands out in emerging markets by catering to national lifestyles. (more)

Web-based programs lack Ivy prestige, but they can boost aspiring executives' fortunes. (more)

Impressive credentials are nice. But character and values are the qualities that matter most when making a hire. (more)

 

At Swobo, employees can't help but rock the boat -- their office is one, after all. (more)

Stuff we'd like to see in our stockings. (more)

Try these time-saving techniques to have a pain-free business trip. (more)

When a work trip goes awry, there are ways to assess--and repair--the damage. (more)

It starts with sex appeal. But once you begin driving Maserati's new four-door, its strength and intelligence conspire to forge a deep and lasting bond. (more)

 

[MISS] The burghers are revolting! With its arch, ad-driven revamp, Burger King has climbed back atop its throne, with U.S. same-store sales rising 9 percent in the past two years. Yet the enlightenment of the monarchy isn't sitting well with its subjects: After a period of unrest, Burger King has reportedly "severed relations" with the group that represents the owners of 90 percent of the chain's 7,600 U.S. outlets. The company claims the franchisees are refusing to support key initiatives such as late-night hours and value menus; as a result, it withheld its $1 million annual subsidy to the group. Industry consultant Ron Paul says the feud may squelch the chain's long-rumored plans for an IPO: "It's never good when you're not getting along with your own franchisees. This is a red flag." (more)