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I joined IDEO in the late 1980s, when it was reaching that critical stage at which many start-ups either stall or implode. Since that time, however, IDEO has grown dramatically in size and influence, and Fast Company magazine now calls it "the world's most celebrated design firm." The Wall Street Journal dubbed our offices "Imagination's Playground," and Fortune titled its visit to IDEO "A Day at Innovation U." Every spring, Business Week publishes a feature story on the power of design in business and includes a cumulative tally of firms who

have won the most Industrial Design Excellence Awards. IDEO has topped that list for ten years running. What's unique about IDEO is that we straddle both sides of the innovation business, as both practitioners and advisers. Every day we work with the world's premier companies to bring innovative products and services to market. Even the best management consulting firms don't enjoy that hands-on, in-the-trenches experience. Yet, like the best consulting firms, we

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