This is Part 1 of the Business Journal's annual Power 100 list. Subsequent installments will be published each day this week.
Power is a wonderfully malleable term. It can be employed as one thing and then reinvent itself with the slightest atmospheric change.
To adequately define power, it requires more than a dozen entries in Merriam-Webster. We found 100 ways to define it.
This week the Business Journal is pulling back the curtain on its annual list of power brokers, newsmakers, influencers and luminaries — otherwise known as the Power 100. Our methodology, like power itself, all depends on perspective.
Unlike some of our awards programs, there is no nomination process for Power 100. Rather, this program is the culmination of a year's worth of reporting and listening to people in the community.
Each September, our newsroom gathers to reflect on the biggest newsmakers of the previous 12 months. This discussion has always been the starting point for defining the year and remains so. Among other things, the Power 100 is our shortlist for executive of the year, which we will announce in November.
So, you might be asking, how does one make the Power 100 list? Our internal conversion usually boils down to a few key factors:
- Did this person make a big bet this year?
- Did they change the public discourse?
- Did they inspire (or demand) meaningful change in the community?
- Are they a force in their industry?
As you peruse the first installment of this year's list, the answers will be apparent. Fourteen of first 25 names are new to this year's list, which again shows how power can be broadly defined.
Ultimately, we hope this list inspires healthy debate and robust discussion.
