The beauty of intellectual property development is that it doesn’t have to be complicated. Think about it this way. If your IP is geared around your strengths, then usually this means it’s something you enjoy talking about. When is the last time you had a great brainstorming session with a trusted colleague, friend or family member?

Sometimes we can become so fixated on our ideas and our business that we don’t give ourselves the room for a reality check. Some of the best ideas I’ve ever had, weren’t my ideas at all. They were ideas that evolved from the synergy in a room with two or three people.

Brainstorming is nothing new, but here’s a tip for you. Try brainstorming with an audio recorder. Whether you’re on a conference call or in your living room, use a digital recorder to capture your ideas. (Just make sure whoever is on the call knows they are being recorded because in some states, it is a felony to record people without their permission.)

You’d be amazed at what comes up in conversations when you aren’t focused on taking notes, but rather intently focused on dreaming about your ideas and actively listening to the other players who are brainstorming with you. The real treat is when you go back to listen to the discussion. Since your mind goes off on rabbit trails while your in the live discussion, you will pick up all kinds of new ideas when you listen to the recording.

Give it a shot…you’ll be amazed at what can happen. If you don’t have a way to digitally record your discussions, drop me a comment and I’ll share an easy way to set it up.

Cheers,

Steve Olds

Q: What do get rich quick schemes, microwave ovens and flawed business strategies have in common?

A: They all promote near instant results.

In my experience, one of the fastest ways to trash your business idea is to move too quickly. This of course, flies in the face of the gurus de jour who claim the internet and ‘instant action’ marketing strategies make up for old fashioned development time.

While it is certainly true that testing and development can happen much faster online, well thought out marketing and business development still operate best when pursued with well planned execution time lines.

This is especially true when adding new products and services to your existing product lines or creating new deliverables from whole cloth. Remember, it’s always easier to pick up the pace as you validate your marketplace assumptions. It’s usually a nightmare to slow down if you launch your product or service too fast.

In my former career as a fighter pilot, this rule was a cornerstone of aerial combat; “Take your time and get there faster.” In that game, the stakes were deadly serious. Every time I’d get in a hurry and try to make the F15 do something prematurely, I always paid a price.

In the game of business, I suggest this rule should guide our thinking and our actions. Ask yourself what’s driving your pace. Breathe through your nose and take your time.

Cheers,

Steve Olds

Overload. Most professionals are simply maxed out. Some might call it an entrepreneurial curse of sorts. We have so many ideas and opportunities that could be developed, but we simply don’t have enough hours in the day to work on them.

Q: What’s the solution?

A: Start

Easy to say, but difficult to do. How do you start when you have so many ideas and virtually no time? If you have a big dream, it can be exciting to imagine the possibilities, but can be harder than you might think to drill down into a beginning strategy.

So how do you develop an initial strategy?

One suggestion I’ve found helpful is to start by observing and recording your thoughts. Begin to zero in on an area of focus where you believe you can contribute AND one which the marketplace is willing to invest in.

Keep a small journal or a “Brain Book” (as one of our board members calls it) in your pocket, purse or briefcase. When you have a few minutes of downtime at lunch, on the train or waiting for an appointment, write down your latest thoughts on your ideas. You’ll be amazed at how much clarity you can create when you simply write your thoughts down in one place.

Why handwritten versus electronic? Because more of your brain gets in the game and because you can easily go back and review your thoughts from past days, weeks and months. When your ‘Brain Book” is dedicated to recording your IP, you’ll discover your BRAIN starts pushing conscious and subconscious ideas through your fingers to the paper….give it a try for a couple of weeks and let me know how it works.

Cheers,

Steve Olds

Most business professionals generate a tremendous stream of IP throughout their careers. It’s easy to recognize products and services that generate income, but the real question is how much money are you leaving on the table?

“Approximately 85 percent of a company’s value resides in such intangibles. Unfortunately, many of those assets go unexploited because they are hard to inventory, manage, or even recognize.”

How much of your IP could be leveraged through other marketing channels, strategic relationships or joint ventures?

Ask yourself a few simple questions. Have you developed concepts, ideas, processes, systems or protocols that could have value for other businesses in your industry? How much IP has your business developed over the years that your are not pursuing anymore? One of the easiest ways to add revenue streams is to license previously developed IP to startups or to collaborative industry colleagues. These stored intellectual assets can garner leverage, good will AND create revenue.

Surprisingly, many businesses don’t want to invest the time and energy to assess the value of their existing IP because they have no way to measure the time investment to generate a potential payoff. Have you come to recognize valuable IP that was previously hidden in plain sight? If so, leave a comment and let us know how you did it. If you’d like to get a few strategies on how to do it, stay tuned.

Cheers, Steve Olds

Many people have a challenge getting their arms around the concept of intellectual property (IP). I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t even think their ideas have marketplace value. That is, of course, until we start to drill down and unearth the truth of the matter.

Is IP a patent, a trademark or service mark? Is it simply a copyright? Not necessarily.

IP at its core is an idea. It’s an idea that is borne out of what you know; your thoughts, experiences, skills, and dreams. Sometimes it shows up in a flash, other times it incubates over months and years. From a market perspective, sometimes it can be protected other times it can be shared.

Ultimately, before you can turn your IP into income, profit or equity, you must give your IP time to grow. This can be one of the most difficult challenges because our society has grown accustomed to instant results; although most people agree what comes quickly can also leave quickly.

As a good friend of mine says, two things happen quickly; miracles and disasters. We accept the miracles, but many times people create disasters by being in a hurry.

Stratworx is committed to a fundamental operating principle; ‘Take your time and get there faster.’ Our blog will be a place where we can take our time to explore ideas, share insights and viewpoints, and support your efforts to turn your intellectual property into income, profit and equity.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to share your thoughts. Welcome to the conversation.
Cheers,

Steve Olds

Welcome friend,

Pardon our dust as we continue rolling out our new site here at StratWorx.com

Visit us again and watch for updates as we launch the official StratWorx.com Project.

All Good Wishes,

The StratWorx.com Team