Innovation is the fuel that powers outsized corporate success. But who really has it flowing? Today Forbes releases its annual list of the most innovative public companies with market values between $2 billion and $10 billion.
Jeff Dyer, a strategy professor at Brigham Young University, and Hal Gregersen, executive director of MIT’s Leadership Center, conducted extensive research to create the ranking. They collaborated with Credit Suisse HOLT, a platform that does investment analyses, and Michael McConnell, a former research director at Credit Suisse who led the HOLT analysis. (In August, Forbes will release a second ranking of the most innovative large companies.)
Rightmove, a U.K.-based real estate portal with more property listings than any other platform in that country, takes the top spot as the most innovative growth company. And Dexcom, a San Diego firm that makes medical devices for diabetes management, ranks second. Technology and health care businesses dominate this year’s list, but companies from many other industries also make the cut.
Below are links to the full list, an explanation of the methodology, and two articles by Dyer and Gregersen that tell the stories of how Rightmove and Dexcom have mastered innovation.
• Most Innovative Growth Companies: The Full List
• Most Innovative Growth Companies: The Methodology
• Behind Rightmove’s Extraordinary Growth (by Hal Gregersen and Jeff Dyer)
The London-based firm was a first mover in online real estate listings, and it has capitalized on network effects—the idea that a platform grows more valuable with every additional user. Its CEO eschews process and hierarchy and encourages employees to share ideas early, before they’ve spent so much time on them that others will be less likely to point out their flaws. Read the full article.
• Expecting the Remarkable at Dexcom (by Hal Gregersen and Jeff Dyer)
Dexcom focuses on a narrow yet technologically challenging problem: helping people manage their diabetes with continuous glucose monitoring devices. The company has resisted the urge to make small, incremental product improvements, opting instead for big changes. Its partnership with Verily Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, has helped intensify this approach. Read the full article.
To see the top 25 most innovative growth companies, open the gallery below.
The research team behind The World’s Most Innovative Growth Companies.
