In 1995 Arthur D. Little sponsored two Best–of–the–Best colloquia on technology and innovation management, one in North America and one in Europe. The companies nominated and selected by their peers as "Best of the Best" in the field represent a wide range of industries and face very different markets and competitive dynamics. Nonetheless, as senior executives from these companies worked together over two days at each colloquium, they were able to share some important insights into the shirting paradigms and emerging best practices of the 1990s and beyond. They also identified some important pathways and "stepping stones" that will lead to even higher performance in technology and innovation management in the future.