Business Week "gets creative!"

It was only a matter of time, after Fast Company released a string of articles on creativity, innovation and change and devoted an issue to design, that Business Week would jump on board. Unfortunately, at first glance - I have yet to read an article in full - BW looks dopey in comparison.

BW's shortcomings start on the cover: a campy cut-out-to-make-your-own-box design of the BW masthead, much like the paper boxes we used to cut out and make in elementary school (I believe Weekly Reader was the source for this concept). Open to the table of contents and you'll find the "Special Report" section reads like a regurgitated menu of ideas bloggers, FC and other sources have been developing and commenting on for the past six months. The premise for "getting creative!" (and yes, BW included an exclamation mark at the end of this phrase) is about as lifted from other ideas as it can be. Included are the requisite props to Apple, P&G, 3M, design-based thinking, etc...and an article even touts the change in relevance from Business Schools to "D-Schools." I believe we just read that article in Fast Company. The magazine smells of, "Oh crap, people are buying into this design-thinking stuff and we'd better print something fast."

I am sure this "Special Report" will include good learnings. I'll post on those as I read more, but I'll have a hard time getting past the fact that a magazine like Business Week dedicated a report and large section of its August issue to innovation, a word that seems completely unfit to describe BW's development of its August content.