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The Future of Innovation: a CNBC.com Special Report

Fusion-IO CEO on Innovation
Insight on why Barrons named Fusion-IO as the number one tech company, with David Flynn, Fusion-IO CEO, president, & co-founder, who discusses the company's reported profit of over $7 million.
Spine-Tingling Technology
CNBC's Seema Mody has the story on an intuitive technology for surgeons.
iPhone 4S: Another Apple Blockbuster
Melissa Chau, Market Analyst, IDC Asia/Pacific, says players in the innovation-driven and competition-heavy tech sector can't rest on their laurels.
Innovation Engine Must Remain Apple's Priority
Mark Newman, global semiconductor memory & consumer electronics analyst, Sanford C. Bernstein, thinks that Steve Jobs' death will not have any effect on Apple in the short term. He adds that Apple must remain innovative to compete with other market players.
Business Innovation in Economic Uncertainty
There are businesses that are doing great and maintaining a good cash flow, says Robert Johnson, The RLJ Companies founder/CEO, who addresses what the nation and politicians need to do to help businesses create jobs.
Oracle's Hurd on Future in Hardware
CNBC's Jon Fortt talks with Oracle's president, Mark Hurd on the company's future in computer hardware.
Friedman: Hard Decade or Terrible Century?
NY Times Columnist Tom Friedman, author of 'That Used to Be Us,' on re-making American greatness and innovation.
Expansion: U.S. or China?
Where should the company build a new plant? How can the U.S. compete with China for cutting edge manufacturing?
Kudlow Commentary: The Economy
CNBC's Larry Kudlow says he may have been a bit too pessimistic about the economy, and that bashing rich people doesn't create jobs. Robert Johnson, RLJ Companies; Gen. Wesley Clark, Rodman & Renshaw; Rick Lazio, former Congressman (R-NY); and Sam Wurzelbacher, Congressional candidate (R-OH) discuss what can be done to increase economic growth.
  • Best And Brightest Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:49 AM ET

    Invention and innovation can change how an economy, a company, even the human body, works — quickly and profoundly. Our special report, "The Future of Innovation," is about defining innovation in the 21st century, and seeking out where it is alive and well in America.

What it Takes

  • Salt Lake City Roads Worse Than New York's@f0 Road Frustration Index Says Yes
    By: Joan Voight, |Special to CNBC.com
    Friday, 9 Dec 2011 | 9:35 AM ET

    Audi and MIT have teamed up to create  a website that tells users how the roadways and drivers’ moods in their city compare to others nationwide and how urban planners can improve the transportation system.Index findings can tell planners which road segments to improve for the most efficient results. It can also reveal how drivers change their motoring routines when they have more information

  • Developing Your Inner Innovator
    By: Hal Gregersen, Jeff Dyer, and Clayton M. Christensen
    Wednesday, 23 Nov 2011 | 10:28 AM ET
    Thinking

    Innovators question the status quo, observe like anthropologists, network for new ideas, and experiment. In short, innovators consistently act differently to think differently.

  • Emerging Economies Challenge Western Innovation
    By: Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam|London Business School
    Thursday, 10 Nov 2011 | 3:56 PM ET

    Can India transition from being the favored destination for offshored services to a locus of innovation?

  • Myths — And Realities — About Innovation
    By: Benjamin L. Hallen,|Assistant Professor, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, London Business School
    Friday, 28 Oct 2011 | 10:12 AM ET

    Many would-be innovators have misconceptions about the process of innovation itself. Here, we review some common myths of innovation and separate fiction from fact.   

  • A Booz & Company study found that companies whose innovation strategies are clearly aligned with their business and culture goals delivered 17-percent higher profit growth over five-year periods than those lacking such tight alignment.

  • Small Innovations Are a Big Deal
    By: Bhaskar Chakravorti,|Senior Associate Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University
    Wednesday, 12 Oct 2011 | 3:55 PM ET
    ChotuKool, the world's cheapest refrigerator, launched by Indian conglomerate Godrej and Boyce

    With so much need that must be met, businesses with that “bigger is always better” mentality are struggling with how to capture all of the opportunity.

  • The Right Climate for Innovation
    By: Jeffrey Weiss,|Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:12 AM ET

    What a terrible time to try to sell an innovation. Oh, for the boom years of a decade ago, when investment capital was as plentiful as the dew.

  • National Success
    By: Rob Reuteman,|Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:12 AM ET
    Man with wings

    Great new ideas are only the first link in a chain that includes government and corporate allies in an economy that supports risk.

  • Good And Bad
    By: Janet Whitman,|Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:12 AM ET

    Necessity no longer seems to be the mother of invention. The disposable consumer society has facilitated rapid-paced innovation that has blurred the line between good and bad.

How it Works

  • Changing the Way Kids Learn
    By: Michael Horn,|Co-founder, Innosight Institute
    Friday, 18 Nov 2011 | 5:14 PM ET
    Education

    For the first time in roughly a century — since the transition from the one-room schoolhouse to the classroom- and age-based school — a dramatic change in the basic way we structure our educational system is afoot.

  • Innovation is Alive and Well in Health Care
    By: Dr. Jason Hwang,|Executive Director of Healthcare, Innosight Institute
    Monday, 31 Oct 2011 | 3:12 PM ET

    While some believe government intervention in health-care reform is the only way forward, there are already health-care organizations around the country that can deliver better quality care at a lower cost.

  • Old Products, New Innovation
    By: Taddy Hall|Senior Vice President, Global Practices and Consulting Services, Nielsen
    Monday, 17 Oct 2011 | 10:18 AM ET
    A Zipcard is used to gain entrance to a Zipcar.

  • Growing Entrepreneurs Outside the Classroom
    By: Peter Suciu, |Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:08 AM ET
    Peter Thiel, founder of the Theil Foundation and is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist.

    Some of the the best tech innovators are college dropouts. Now one of them is paying aspiring ones to quit school and brainstorm.  Peter Thiel's fellowship program is now underway.

  • School For The Digital Generation
    By: Mark McLaughlin, |Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:09 AM ET
    Haw Creek Elementary School in Cummings, GA

    A growing number of parents and educators are leveraging technology to transform grade-school education into a stay-at-home, online experience, partly because of shrinking public budgets and curricula.

  • Bright Idea From A Public-Private Partnership
    By: Mary Ellen Biery,|Special to CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:08 AM ET
    Charlotte, North Carolina

    The city of Charlotte, N.C. and a handful of major companies are hoping cutting-edge technology can show 82,000 workers in the biggest downtown office towers how to save energy

Interactive Features

  • Test Your Innovation History
    By: CNBC.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:55 AM ET
    Inflation-adjusted worldwide gross: $6.52 billion Actual gross: $400.2 million Year released: 1939 The highest grossing movie based on a book is also the highest grossing movie of all time, when adjusting for inflation. “Gone with the Wind,” which was first released 1939, was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Margaret Mitchell. The film starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, and others, winning 10 awards (eight Oscars and two other awards) and to date remains the longest American sound film ever made at 3 hours and 58 minutes.

    In the past half-century scientific advances and innovation have transformed our world, how much do you know about innovation?

  • POLL: U.S. Lost Its Innovative Edge? Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:10 AM ET
    Future of Innovation - See Complete Coverage

    As the landscape of innovation becomes increasingly global, there's growing concern that the U.S is no longer the leader.

Slideshows

  • Top 10 States for Technology & Innovation
    By: cnbc.com
    Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:33 AM ET
    In our annual CNBC rankings of our   is among the most important measures of success. States like to promote themselves as fertile ground for innovation, so we put those claims to the test. The category ranks states based on their support for innovation, with metrics including the number of patents issued to their residents, the dollar value of federal health and science research grants and deployment of broadband services rankings, per the FCC. Click ahead to see the leaders in innovation.

    States like to promote themselves as fertile ground for innovation — so we put those claims to the test. Click ahead to see the leaders in innovation.

  • 15 Influential Innovations of the Past 50 Years Monday, 19 Sep 2011 | 10:32 AM ET
    Innovation has come at such a dizzying pace in recent decades that it has transformed our world in ways once only imagined in science fiction. As part of our "Future of Innovation" special report, we decided to take a look at some of the most influential innovations of the recent past. Compiling a definitive list turned out to be difficult, if not impossible — and almost certainly up for fierce debate. Nevertheless, we gave it a shot. Here is our list of the 15 of the most influential inventions

    Here is our list of the 15 of the most influential inventions over the past 50 years, created using a variety of studies as reference points, including ones from Knowledge@Wharton and Popular Mechanics.

  • Ten Ideas That Made $100 Million Wednesday, 20 Jun 2012 | 9:38 AM ET
    Chances are, just about anyone you talk to will have an idea for a business with the hopes that one day it will help them make millions. Although business ideas may be easy to come by, turning those ideas into huge successes is an entirely different ballgame. However, many entrepreneurs with simple ideas and humble beginnings have been able to effectively turn their ideas into booming businesses. Names like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg usually come to mind when people think abo

    Many entrepreneurs with simple ideas and humble beginnings have been able to effectively turn those ideas into booming businesses.

  • Inventions By Kids Thursday, 29 Sep 2011 | 2:37 PM ET
    Most kids are creative—they color and make up games—but some kids get  creative and use their imagination to invent new products.“Kids are natural innovators,” said Jon Dudas, who used to work for the but is now the president of an organization designed to help foster innovations by kids in science and technology.Dudas said Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST and the inventor of the Segway personal transporter, got his first patent for an insulin pump when he was 17 years old. “His mom had to sign

    Did you know that the popsicle, ear muffs AND the trampoline were invented by kids? Here are 10 cool and inspiring inventions by kids — and how they did it!