As baby boomers celebrate their 60th birthday and prepare for retirement, a growing number of them are choosing to leave wealth to their children in the form of a family foundation. Philanthropy offers an important and meaningful legacy to generations that follow, and it's critical that younger folks find their own footing in the world of giving. BusinessWeek staff editor Jessi Hempel talks with Sharna Goldseker -- a vice-president at the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies -- about next-generation givers. Goldseker works with Grand Street, a group for Jewish people ages 18 to 28 who are inheriting a family giving legacy. She herself also came into a role in her family's foundation

Robert C. Hagerty, CEO of Polycom, discusses why he thinks videoconferencing and telepresence (essentially very high-quality videoconferencing) will spark invention and new business partnerships

Alec Ross, senior advisor on innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, discusses how governments at home and abroad can fuel inventive thinking. Companies such as Google and Cisco, he says, have gained from public funding

Despite financial, economic, and regulatory pressures, companies must hurry along their product development. Standardizing or automating routine processes can help, as Asian leaders are showing