Celebrating the 2006 Inc 500

This year’s issue of the Inc. 500 is terrific. Not just for the main body of text but also for two excellent articles distinct from the special focus. In The Idiocy of Crowds, Dave Freedman does a great job of debunking the current wisdom of crowds about the wisdom of crowds, pointing out how often a single individual actually makes better judgments than the masses; and in Three Scary Words: Buy It Used, Max Chafkin reports on the continued impact of the eBay effect in terms of building the secondary market for goods. (More this week on the book Futureshop, which talks at length about this argument.)

Long before I joined Inc. magazine for a stint as a writer and editor, the magazine was a favorite read of mine. Unlike other business publications, Inc. and its writers told company stories, seeing each growing business as a distinct character whose actions and thoughts merited analysis. The best stories, and there were many, blended snappy writing, smart business understanding, and a simple wonder at the amazing drama that was contained in the lives of startups. This same spirit still animates the pages of the magazine.