A deeply ingrained culture of innovation is vital for all companies, but particularly for those that are technology based; it is innovation that allows a technology company to continually generate new business. For this kind of culture to take hold, all the microcultures in a ­company--including those devoted to business planning, marketing, operations, and developing new ideas--must be understood, supported, and (though they may at times seem incompatible) brought together under leadership that truly cares about creativity.

When such a culture is in place and creating a steady stream of innovations, a company enjoys an institutional value beyond Wall Street appraisals based on financial metrics. In my experience serving on the boards of a variety of companies, this outcome is easiest to achieve in private companies, where management can focus on creating long-term value without fretting about a few pennies per share with every quarterly report.