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HISTORIES Corning Incorporated Corning Incorporated Corning, the world leader in specialty glass and ceramics, recognized the value of its knowledge and expertise. Over 150 years, the company had built a reputation for extraordinary capabilities in science and technology based on a string of fundamental innovations, from light bulbs and television glass to fiber optics and flat-panel displays. By the turn of the 21st century, though, through a combination of retirements and rapid growth, this accumulated knowledge was at risk. Senior executives recognized the need to educate employees about Corning's enduring principles and processes. Corning commissioned Winthrop to produce two books. The Generations of Corning: The Life and Times of a Global Corporation (Oxford University Press) explores themes of family ownership, loyalty to employees and the community, and corporate social responsibility. Meanwhile, Corning and the Craft of Innovation (Oxford University Press) offers a probing analysis of Corning's approach to innovation. "A guidebook for Corning strategy", as Corning chairman emeritus, James R. Houghton, puts it, this second volume explains how Corning's family owners, by promoting long-term investment over short-term cost-cutting and profits, enabled the company to sustain innovation across generations and business cycles. According to the Financial Times, "The examples of Corning's early interest in creating the right environment for innovation—and fitting scientific breakthroughs to the needs of the market place—shine through in [this] thoughtful history of the company."