Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/54894
From the Editors The Innovative Journey I love my Prius, but I hate driving in heavy traffic, so there are times when I wistfully think about a day in the future when cars will actually be able to drive themselves. Thanks to the boundlessly creative folks at Google, that day might be coming sooner than I expected. Last fall, the company revealed that it had already built and road-tested a fleet of self- propelled vehicles, sending them off to navigate more than 140,000 miles of California roadways. The only accident occurred when a human driver rear-ended a Google car at a stop sign. Experts expect self-operated cars to offer all sorts of advantages, from lower fuel con- sumption to fewer traffic fatalities, and I'm ready to see one parked in my driveway right now. But then I think about all the other innovations in transportation that I might like even better—flying cars, personal jetpacks, teleportation systems. It's possible that, some- time in the future, no human will ever get behind the wheel of a car again. Innovation is the theme of this issue, but we're not just celebrating the kind of imaginative thinking that results in alternate modes of travel. We're looking at innovations in management—and management education—that are trans- forming the way business is run in the boardroom and taught in the classroom. We open by talking to Cheryl Perkins, a former chief inno- vation officer at Kimberly-Clark who now consults with busi- ness leaders on processes, strategies, and reward systems that will make their companies more innovative. We then share the details of new courses and curricula at schools like Stanford, Berkeley, and Aston Business School, where students are learn- ing to think innovatively and manage creatively. Soon we also will be showing off a few innovations of our own. BizEd reaches its tenth anniversary this November, and we plan to mark the mile- stone with a graphic makeover and a few other changes. In the May/June edition, we'll introduce an updated logo, a new cover concept, and a different look for the feature pages. Meanwhile, we've redesigned our Web site, which can be found at www.bizedmagazine. com. Before the year is out, we plan to have a digital edition of the magazine up and run- ning so readers can access the issues online. When our anniversary issue rolls around, we plan to fill it with special content. We'll not only look back on the most important trends we've identified over the decade, but also look ahead to what business schools might expect in the next ten years. Of course, the nature of innovation is that it's hard to forecast. Like the self-propelled car, it turns a familiar journey into a wholly new experience. At BizEd, we strive to find and share the stories of the business schools where the future is already being reimagined so we can develop a roadmap for where business is going next. ■ z 6 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 FRANK WHITNEY/GETTY IMAGES RAQUITA HENDERSON