About the Author

Jim Andrew is a senior vice president and director of The Boston Consulting Group. He leads BCG's global efforts to articulate and improve how companies transform ideas into profits. He joined the firm in 1986, founded and ran BCG's offices in Mumbai (Bombay), India and Singapore, and is now based in Chicago. Jim writes and speaks extensively about innovation. He is lead author of the Harvard Business Review article "Innovating for Cash" (Sept. 2003). He has been featured in The Economist, Business Week, Fast Company and many other leading periodicals globally. Hal Sirkin is senior vice president and director at BCG and worldwide leader of the Global Operations practice. He has extensive experience in operations across a wide range of topics and industries. Throughout his career he has helped leading companies to develop breakthrough innovation strategies. He is the co-author of "Innovating for Cash" and is the author of many other articles, which have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Industry Week, Journal of Business Strategy and other publications. John Butman is the author, editor, or collaborating writer of more than a dozen books about business management and social change. His most recent collaboration with BCG was Trading Up: The New American Luxury, which was a BusinessWeek bestseller and was named Berry-AMA Best Book of 2004.