Affirmative action is rooted in an uncomfortable reality: that to remedy the effects of past discrimination against blacks and women it is sometimes necessary to discriminate against white men. The Government shied from stating the proposition so boldly, but beginning with the Nixon Administration it put the principle into practice. Throughout the '70s Washington pressed employers to set explicit goals and timetables for the hiring of minorities, even if that meant tacitly accepting "reverse discrimination." Ronald Reagan has tried to ...

For tall, burly Pat Benedict, 44, the day begins as early as it did for farmers in Mesopotamia in 8000 B.C. He rises before dawn to pull on boots, blue jeans and work shirt. By 6 a.m. he is breakfasting with some neighbors at the Double D Diner off Interstate 94 outside Sabin, Minn. . For an hour or so, he trades community gossip, argues about politics and drops casual remarks about crops and prices designed to feel out what ...

The iPhone started out the way a lot of cool things do: as something completely different. A few years ago, Steve Jobs noticed how many development dollars were being spent--particularly in the greater Seattle metropolitan area--on what are called tablet PCs: flat portable computers that work with a touch screen instead of a mouse and keyboard. Jobs, being Jobs, was curious. He had some Apple engineers noodle around with a touch screen. When they showed him what they came up ...

Think of a green businessman and Ray Anderson isn't likely to be the first to come to mind. He's not a fresh-out-of-business-school, Silicon Valley visionary — he's well over 70 years old, and his accent marks him as a lifelong Georgian. He doesn't make solar panels or wind turbines or cellulosic biofuel. His company, Interface, manufactures carpet tiles, which is about as ordinary as you can get. But Fortune has described Anderson as "America's greenest CEO," and ...

Anders Dahlvig recently hit the 10-year mark as CEO of Ikea. Under his leadership, the Swedish furniture giant has nearly tripled its number of stores and employees, and committed to a broad new slate of policies on the environment. The company maintains a mixed reputation on quality, though, in the midst of an increasingly tough economic climate. In a series of recent conversations, Dahlvig spoke with TIME's Jeremy Caplan about why the tough business climate works in ...

Michael Fertik may be running a business, but by the time new customers are knocking on his door, things have turned decidedly personal. "People send us letters that say, 'You saved my life,'" says the CEO of Reputation.com, pointing to the dramatic ways in which a person's virtual reputation can shape their day-to-day routine. "They literally say, 'I'm now able to live my life.'" When most Web surfers Google themselves, the self-search begins and ends with social ...

Time and again during the 18 harrowing years she allegedly spent in captivity, Jaycee Lee Dugard must have had the chance to cry for help. She assisted her alleged abductor, Phillip Garrido, with his home business, sorting out orders by phone or e-mail. She occasionally greeted customers alone at the door. She even went out in public. But she apparently never made a run for it, returning each day instead to a shed in the backyard of ...

This Saturday, April 16, is the fourth annual Record Store Day, when around 700 independent record shops across the country celebrate their continued existence as a cultural institution. Some will have sales, giveaways, performances and signings; upwards of 200 different limited-edition vinyl records and CDs will be appearing on their racks, too. Though most of the big music chains have shuttered their doors in recent years, many smaller, quirkier stores have stayed afloat by cultivating loyal customers ...

On a visit to Nigeria eight years ago, Felix Ekundayo spotted what he thought was the perfect business opportunity. Ekundayo knew sub-Saharan Africa's biggest oil fields lay in the vast southern swamps of the Niger Delta. As an engineer, he was also aware oil drills suck up natural gas with crude. But instead of capturing gas, Nigeria was flaring it, burning $2.5 billion a year. The pollution was turning a natural paradise for birds, insects and fish into a vast, ...

He's a country-music megastar whose tour with wife Faith Hill was one of 2006's biggest moneymakers. He's also a doting husband and dad who has vowed never to spend more than two nights away from Hill and their three young girls. Now, with this week's opening of his family-friendly movie Flicka, Tim McGraw can add "lead actor" to his titles. McGraw, 39, talked with TIME's Jeff Chu about parenting, politics and the secret to the success of his 10-year marriage. ...