The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2012 (Fast Company)

Do not assume artists and designers are the only imaginative and inventive professions. Creativity is everywhere. Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and the most creative person in 2012, figured out a way to help clean up China’s environment. Garet Hill, founder of the National Kidney Registry, helped design an algorithm that is 167% more effective in facilitating a kidney exchange than the previous algorithm. Jeff Charney, CMO, Progressive Insurance, sent a high school marching band through company headquarters, won an Effie award for marketing efficiency, and grew the firm’s Facebook fan base from 500,000 to almost 4 million in two years. Neil Blumenthal, cofounder, Warby Parker, knows how to sell an old product in a new way—the company’s sales quintupled in its second year. Marvel, learn from and get inspired.