Tomoye Named One of Fast Company Magazine's Fast 50
February 17, 2003
Ottawa – CANADA, – The Tomoye Team has been named as one of Fast Company magazine’s debut list of “Fast 50” Champions of Innovation – individuals and teams whose achievements helped change their companies or society.
“We are over the moon that we have been recognized by Fast Company readers and editors as one of the world’s fastest companies,” says John Mertl, former President & CEO of Tomoye Corporation. “Fast Company is the publication for today’s generation of top executives, business innovators, and thought leaders. And the Fast 50 award is the ultimate recognition of our hard work over the past two years helping our customers drive their businesses faster through connecting people with people in Communities of Practice.”
The Fast 50 appears in the March issue of Fast Company, the leading magazine for management innovators, hitting newsstands on February 17. Tomoye is among 50 exceptional achievers selected from more than 1,400 entries submitted by individuals in 30 countries and nearly every U.S. state.
The Tomoye Team, named in the Value of Values category on the Fast 50 list, has been a pioneer in promoting and providing software solutions for Communities of Practice. “When we started Tomoye, Communities of Practice were a little known organizational form”, says Mertl. “Most of the organizational leaders we talked to didn’t know how to spell it, much less how to apply them to solve their business problems. We knew this would be harder than just selling software. It would require a revolution.”
The Tomoye Team has been tirelessly driven by a passionate belief in the value of connecting people with people (peers with peers) so that they can help each other solve critical business problems. Essentially, re-creating the informal peer networks – water cooler discussions, hallway chats, and monthly breakfast meetings where the really valuable professional exchanges of knowledge take place.
Today, Tomoye Community of Practice solutions are powering the people in some of the world’s most impressive knowledge-based organizations – the United Nations, the U.S. Federal Government, the Government of Canada and the World Bank, to name a few – helping them build their social infrastructure, and changing how they cultivate and reap the benefit of the knowledge assets that are, often, their only competitive advantage.
Mertl continued to share that one of the reasons why the Tomoye Team is so honoured to receive the Fast 50 award is because the values of Fast Company so tightly align with the values of the Tomoye team and the organizational leaders who are their customers. “Fast Company is all about leadership, revolutionizing business, and sharing best practices. Our customers are rebels in their organizations, leaders who are connecting their peers in Communities of Practice to share the best practices that will help them be more innovative, and make better decisions faster.”
“The Fast 50 had the vision to see ways of improving our world – and the persistence to accomplish their goals,” said Fast Company co-founder and co-editor William C. Taylor. “At a time when our nation is rediscovering what it means to be a hero, the Fast 50 recognizes 50 individuals or teams who are each courageous in their own way.”
Selected by Fast Company editors, the Fast 50 includes executives, activists, marketers, designers, scientists, engineers and other leaders from large corporations to non-profit groups. Profiles of the Fast 50, as well as all reader submissions, may be accessed online at the special Fast 50 Website at www.fastcompany.com/fast50.
About Fast Company and Tomoye Corporation
Founded in 1996 and published monthly, Boston-based Fast Company covers ideas, trends and individuals devoted to innovation and managing change in today’s economy. The magazine is owned by Gruner + Jahr USA, one of the top-ranked magazine publishers in the U.S., reaching one of the largest readerships in America. Gruner + Jahr USA also publishes Inc, Child, Family Circle, Fitness, Parents and YM.
Tomoye is the leading provider of Community of Practice software solutions that help leaders in knowledge-intensive organizations worldwide make the most of their collective know-how by building better Communities of Practice. The company's flagship product, Tomoye Simplify™, offers tools and features designed to foster dynamic, productive Communities of Practice.
Tomoye, the Tomoye symbol, Knowledge Powered by People, and Tomoye Simplify are registered trademarks of Tomoye Corporation.