SECTION
FEATURES
THE 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR
The 2017 List
In our 20th annual ranking of America's greatest workplaces, we pay tribute to the best in corporate culture and employee satisfaction. Who made the grade this year? We've got some big surprises.
PAGE NO. 35
How to Get on This List
By MICHAEL C. BUSH and SARAH LEWIS-KULIN
Our partners at Great Place to Work explain what goes into creating the list—and why we're shaking up the process in a major way.
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The Legends
By CLAIRE ZILLMAN
The 12 companies that have made the list every single year have one thing in common: They take generous care of their part-timers.
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Wellness Plans: Healthy or Hokey?
By ERIKA FRY
Companies spend billions getting employees to do everything from lose weight to practice mindfulness—but does it really make workers much healthier?
PAGE NO. 53
How Delta Built a Great Place to Work
By JEFF JOHN ROBERTS
In an industry known for cost cutting and boom-and-bust cycles, Delta makes its first-ever appearance on our list. Why? Credit its strong culture—oh, and profit sharing by the billions.
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That Ubiquitous Corporate Eye
By ROBERT HACKETT
Chances are, somebody is watching you in the office—and technology is racing ahead far faster than laws and practices to restrain it.
PAGE NO. 64
Meet the Workplace Culture Warriors
By JOHN KELL
Best Companies W.L. Gore, Workday, and SAP America are remaking their offices and staying ahead of the pack.
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Can AT&T Retrain 100,000 People?
By AARON PRESSMAN
Where did one of the country's largest employers find the right talent to manage its new technology? In the mirror. Inside a modern workforce revolution.
PAGE NO. 70
When the Best Workplaces Are the Best Investments
By JEN WIECZNER
Top-performing mutual fund Parnassus Endeavor bases its stock picks on the 100 Best Companies to Work For—which is in large part why it succeeds.
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"TECHNOLOGY SHIFTS HAVE BECOME SOMEWHAT ROUTINE. BUT WHO CAN TRANSITION THEIR TALENT AT SCALE AS THE TECHNOLOGY CHANGES?"
—AT&T CEO RANDALL STEPHENSON
82 Unlocking Your Big Ideas
How sleeping, walking, and drawing connections can spawn breakthroughs. It worked for Albert Einstein. Could it work for you?
By OLIVIA FOX CABANE and JUDAH POLLACK
90 China's New Craft-Beer Bully
Global beer giant AB InBev got left behind by the craft boom in the U.S. Now it's using its muscle to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in China.
By SCOTT CENDROWSKI
98 The Invisible Selling Machine
From the unlikely setting of Ottawa, Shopify has quietly been powering an e-commerce revolution.
By STEPHEN M. BALDWIN
CLEAN ENERGY SPECIAL REPORT
106 The Best Energy Revolution Money Can Buy
Germany has taken huge strides toward renewable power. But if even that rich nation can't afford the steep costs, will other countries be able to follow?
By JEFFREY BALL
116 Wind on the Water
The first offshore U.S. wind-power project is up and running, backed by hedge fund giant D.E. Shaw. And while the obstacles to offshore power may be huge, so is the potential.
By BRIAN DUMAINE
DEPARTMENTS
FOREWORD
8 A Smart Investment in America
Innovative ways to restore value in U.S. politics and the workplace.
By ALAN MURRAY
BRIEFING
9 Big Food Is Going to Get Even Bigger
The nation's largest foodmakers are getting set to gobble each other up.
By JOHN KELL
12 Trump's Travel Ban Could Hit Colleges
The President's immigration policies may drive away students and revenue.
By ERIKA FRY
13 Free Trade Can't Get a Break
Nativism's global popularity could have severe consequences, warns FedEx founder Fred Smith.
By ALAN MURRAY
14 Fashion's Great Handbag Crash
Retail power players reel as consumers tighten their purse strings.
By PHIL WAHBA
15 That "Huge" Tax Cut May Take a While
Passing tax reform is hard enough. More challenging? The GOP isn't sure what it should look like.
By TORY NEWMYER
FOCUS
VENTURE
16 The Future of Work
Automated manufacturing technology is becoming affordable for smaller companies. What does that mean for jobs?
By JENNIFER ALSEVER
20 Managing L'Oréal's "Organized Chaos"
CEO Jean-Paul Agon on staying flexible in a digital age.
By ERIN GRIFFITH
22 The Stories We Fall For
We crave narratives that make sense of random events. But this impulse can create serious problems—in the markets and in politics.
By ROGER LOWENSTEIN
24 The Growth Guru
Five trends to ride in 2017.
BY VERNE HARNISH
TECH
25 Blink of an Eye
A new Silicon Valley company could allow travelers to skip airport lines.
By JEFF JOHN ROBERTS
26 G Is for Graveyard
Several of Alphabet's high-flying "moonshots" have crashed in recent months. A roundup.
By ROBERT HACKETT
FORUM
27 Disrupted
Snap—the latest, hottest IPO—is destined to follow in the footsteps of another social media giant. Hint: It isn't Facebook.
By DAN LYONS
INVEST
28 Avoiding a Steep Descent
Airline stocks have roughly doubled over the past few years. But how long can they keep investors aloft?
BY RYAN DEROUSSEAU
30 Stocks That Are Better-Off Single
When a merger falls through, investors often shun the jilted companies. They could be missing a great opportunity.
By LUCINDA SHEN
THE BIG THINK
32 Why Politics Is Failing America
Beware the political-industrial complex. They rig the game for their benefit. The public interest is the loser. Here's how to fix it.
By KATHERINE M. GEHL and MICHAEL E. PORTER
BACK PAGE
LAST BYTE
124 China Buys Into the U.S.
Tracking the recent surge in China's multibillion-dollar investments.
Text by BRIAN O'KEEFE; graphic by NICOLAS RAPP
ON THE COVER: ILLUSTRATIONS BY JONATHAN CALUGI