Recognizing Technology's Entrepreneurs And Mavericks -- Those Who Inspire

Certainly, the drive that inspires certain individuals to aspire to that which seems unreachable is something to admire. And when that drive translates into a truly groundbreaking achievement, the cycle continues, inspiring others around them to think in different ways and push themselves in new directions.

This year’s inductees to the CRN Industry Hall of Fame, like the dozens of others recognized in the past nine years, definitely have that power. James Goodnight, a lifelong programmer and founder of business analytics powerhouse SAS Institute, impressed the audience at the induction ceremony in Santa Clara, Calif., with his quiet charisma and appreciation for the proper work-life balance.

Others, like Data Systems Worldwide founder Frank Mogavero, appealed on a more personal level to the solution providers in the crowd. “I liked what he had to say about good times and bad,” said Darrel Bowman, CEO of AppTech, a security and wireless solution provider in Tacoma, Wash. “How he emphasized relationships both within the company and with business partners. ”

Ramsey Dellinger, president of LanCom Technologies, Hickory, N.C., said Ray Kurzweil’s remarks opened a vision to “another world that we normally only get to see in movies.” But it was relatively simple to see the impact of the evening’s two final inductees: Research In Motion co-founder and BlackBerry inventor Mike Lazaridis and Toshiba CEO Atsutoshi Nishida, responsible for the revolutionary T1100 laptop introduction 20 years ago.

“Most American business and social thinking lives by the credo ‘Don’t burn your bridges,’ ” said David Dadian, CEO of Powersolution.com, a solution provider in Hohokus, N.J. ”I felt Mr. Nishida’s ideas regarding bridges most refreshing. Sometimes you just have to burn them—the only way you can go is forward, never looking back. I instituted this philosophy immediately with a business decision that I was struggling to come to terms with, and I must say we are better off for it.”

And more evidence that the industry is far better off because of these five men.