The Low Down on Patents
February 3, 2007
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What is a patent and what makes one patentable?
U.S. patent law allows an individual or business to patent “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.” This means new products, methods, or steps to perform a task.
While the vast majority of patents are improvements, you still have to be making something new—not something that already exists. But it’s acceptable to combine mixtures of existing ingredients and chemical compounds to create something new. Via To Patent or Not to Patent?
Should you file a patent?
This bit of advice is some of the best practical thinking on the whole patent question….
JiNan Glasgow, a patent lawyer and CEO of patent search firm Neopatents, urges you to ensure a patent you are considering filing fits within your business strategy. She says patents that do not directly support your core business are usually a waste of time and money. Via To Patent or Not to Patent?
Be Prepared to defend Your Patent
Keep in mind that it is not easy to enforce your patent once you do it get it. There are no patent police, so it’s up to you to watch your space. You may have to initiate lawsuits to prove that you really were the first with such an idea and that someone is infringing on it. Unless you have deep pockets like Amazon and the stakes are high, this is often not practical. Via To Patent or Not to Patent?
Action is Omnipotent
January 23, 2007
Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and… it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly… The great end of life is not knowledge but action. - Thomas Huxley
In the 1990’s I remember hearing about the new economy and the information age. It was the birth of the World Wide Web and people everywhere were talking about how it was going to change everything.
I was looking at my old Business 2.0 magazines from 1999-2000 and there sure was a lot of chatter about it.
People were dreaming about what might be possible to outright speculation. There was very little reality or even post-facto rationale at that time. Everyone was talking about the World Wide Web and, was only a small minority that were actually doing something.
I am reminded of Gothes’ challenge:
“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”
Now Goethe knew nothing about the World Wide Web, he did know that our action(s) speak louder than what we say. What is it that shapes our actions?
Our world view and our will shapes our perspective, viewpoint, and thoughts - which we use to decide whether or not to get into action.
Artificial or Natural Action?
Depending on your situation, view, and will is what shapes your opinion of what is possible. If you take the view that something is possible and you have a persistent intent and purpose you will move toward your goal because your aim, view, will, and intention are in alignment. Your actions will seem effortless and natural because you are in the flow.
Whenever your view, will, and intention are out of alignment with your essential self you easily end up in an endless loop churning, processing, and trying to figure out what to do. Therein lies the problem, trying. It is artificial to ‘try’, you must do. As Yoda the Jedi Master said
“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.
When we try we examine, test, or attempt to prove something instead of actually striving and straining to ‘do it’ we are experiencing what I call the ‘churn’ and you go through all the motions of trying to figure it out instead of actually getting something concrete accomplished.
The problem I have with the word ‘try’ is unless we actually do something tangible to move forward we can end up experiencing a work stoppage, hindrance, and rejection - at worst the non-achievement of churn. Plus there is no tangible, measurable ‘intent’ in ‘trying’ to do something. As Nike said, “Just do it!” and for that you need an incentive, motivation.
Motivation is the Precursor to Action
I remember someone asking me, “How do you motivate salespeople?” and my response was, “The best salespeople are already motivated.” They have their own emotional, intellectual, and material reasons for getting up in the morning and going after what they want most.
It is this ‘motivation’ that moves them to make plans, take certain types of actions, do what needs to be done. It is this internal motivation plus a clear vision of the goal that actuate and incite them into action. You cannot build what you cannot see, which is why having a clear vision makes such a big difference.
Vision Precedes Motivation
The biggest mistake I see people make is to set goals before they have a clear vision or know what exactly is required to make their goals a reality. It matters not whether your objective is real or imagined because your mind cannot tell the difference between your imagination or a real experience. This means your mind will fire up your motivational juices to get you moving.
Remember, the achievement of a goal is simply the point the time that terminates your behavior of the intended end result. The only real question is whether or not you get their automatic pilot or by conscious choice.
Will = Conscious Choice
Automatic pilot is something we have all experienced, for example, have you ever jumped in your car and started driving when you suddenly realize that you can’t remember the last few traffic lights? That is an example on automatic pilot.
What happened was after you begin to drive you start thinking about something that consumes your conscious attention. The experience of being on autopilot is just as common at work and business - not a real good habit - common just the same.
I should clarify that the goal of athletic training is to train muscle memory and is a form of autopilot. What differentiates muscle memory training is the athlete makes a conscious decision to train in muscle memory whereas being on autopilot is the result of our socialization.
As Martha Beck says we are “social creatures” and between our parents, schooling, and others expectations - are socialized to behave in certain ways. Our social senses are so strong that we will do something that is not good for us for fear of shaming and being ostracized.
The challenge in becoming more conscious and aware is the people who have trained and socialized you may not like it. Why? Because you begin to make decisions and take actions that are unexpected at least from their viewpoint.
You have to make up your mind and determine your path and follow it - for your own reasons. That is what they call integrity and you will be rewarded with a sense of wholeness and unity. You are undivided, focused, and in action moving toward your objective.
Sounds like a little piece of heaven on earth to me. What do you think?
If you would like further reading or to explore this topic further stop by and check out “7 Steps to Achieving the Results You Want” which will walk through a powerful seven step process to achieve the results you want and develop your vision.
Live Large!
7 Steps to Achieving the Results You Want
October 20, 2006
1) Getting Clear About Results
The first step to writing a business plan or achieving any significant result is to define what you specifically want.
- If you feel confused coming up with a list of results, answer two questions:
- What do I want more of in my life (or business)?
- What do I want less of in my life?
Then when you feel clearer about the results you want, review them using these questions:
- What do I want? (focus on defining your end results)
- What is the real issue, problem or challenge that is preventing you from moving forward?
- What judgments have you made? (your abilities, opportunity, resources, motivation, capabilities etc.) Are they appropriate?
2) Deal with Unresolved Issues
Approach dealing with the issues or problems you identified from the last question with sense of urgency. When you identify roadblocks, beliefs, and attitudes that have been holding you back, deal with those before you go any further. Whenever, you identify roadblocks deal with them within 72 hours by completing it, planning it, set a date to deal with it, delegate or dump it.
Moving forward before resolving roadblocks and problems is not wise because it will waste precious time, energy, and resources. Wait until you resolve all unresolved issues and potential roadblocks.
3) Assess the Risk
Every major decision has implications and a cost associated with pursuing the goal. To remain congruent make sure you understand the risk and who will be affected by the actions you take. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Why do I want this?
- What will I experience more of in my life as a result of achieving/doing this?
- How is/will this decision/action affect me, my family, company and all those involved? Is this satisfactory?
- Who has successfully done this before that I can learn from?
- Who can I share this with immediately to get positive support, and feedback?
The Performance Bridge Target Most people start with goals and totally miss the other six planning and management strategies. Setting goals is the very last thing you do and only after you have checked your intent, are prepared to pay the cost and have a clear vision of the results you want.
4) Examine Your Intent
Remember, the content of your intent becomes the content of your results. Maintaining a brutally honest perspective by maintaining agreement and harmony with you will create a powerful force, the force is called congruency. You can try and lie to yourself but the results you create do not lie. Answer the following questions:
- What is my intent?
- What is driving me?
- Do I really intend to do this?
- Is this consistent with my values and beliefs?
If you find anything that makes you feel uncomfortable examine what is behind that feeling. If you get stuck, go back up to the previous question and expand on your answers. As you rework your answers look for any conflicts or mismatches to the risk of pursuing the result identified.
5) Cost
It is easy to start a project but it can become very difficult to stay with the project, give 100% and actually finish what you start.
- What is the cost associated with getting the result you want?
- Does this fit into my overall focus or will this simply be a strategy to divert my focus and attention?
- When should I start paying the price?
- Is this something I really want?
- What are my reasons for pursuing this? Am I listening to my own voice or someone else’s? Am I thinking for myself?
- What is my investment in the goal?
- Is my heart, mind and priorities in harmony?
- Am I willing to pay the price?
6) Vision
Take the time to create a picture with words of the end result and how much it will mean to you upon completion. Your vision is how you see the business executing your goals and implementing your ideas.
- Do you have a clear vision of where you want to be?
- What you will create and what you will become?
- Who you or your business can help?
- How you will make a difference?
A business plan is the best tool I know of to create a comprehensive plan that minimizes risk and maximizes your rate of return. A business plan is simply an organized way of setting goals, and making sure that you have the resources to achieve them.
7) Goals
Now is the time to put your plan together. At this point you should be a lot clearer about what it will take to achieve the results you want. You will have dealt with any stinkin’ thinkin’ and are sure this is what you want. All that is left is to define the goals that will need to be achieved to produce the result you want and need.
- What specific steps will have to be achieved to accomplish this?
- Am I applying the most basic concepts that I know work? Am I making this project more complicated than it needs to be?
- Is there something that you will need to change or learn to accomplish your goals?
- What current strengths can you apply that will ensure the successful completion of your goals?
Don’t be fooled, there is still a lot of work ahead to achieve the results you defined in the beginning. What I can tell you is that by spending the time on this process you have increased the odds you will actually achieve those results, but you are congruent, in harmony with your skills, abilities, and opportunities.
Startup-Fertilization Stage
May 6, 2006
Business ideas that solve problems, the fertilization stage of a startup, what we can learn from Steve Wozniak the engineer of the Apple I, II, III through to the MacIntosh, and what Dolly Parton can teach business owners.
To get updates of new shows automatically to your MP3 player or iPod, subscribe to Podcast: Business Tips and Traps.
U.S. Entrepreneurship Outlook
June 29, 2005
As a business coach I have been keeping an eye on small business statistics and ran across a report from the Global Entrepreneurship Center at Florida International University. On their publications page is the 2004 US Entrepreneurial Assessment.
Entrepreneurial Strength
According to the report about 31 million people are involved as business principals in the U.S., with 13.7 million involved in 7.4 million start-ups; 7.6 million owner-managers of 4.5 million new firms [less than 3.5 years old]; and 15 million as owner-managers of 8.6 million existing firms.
Entrepreneurial activity continues at a high level in the United States, compared to all other
advanced economies.
The U.S. context continues to be unique in several ways:
- the potential for substantial informal financial support,
- the presence of a substantial research and development sector,
- a system of regulations and procedures that is not excessively burdensome for business creation and termination,
- and a society that accepts entrepreneurship as an appropriate and respectable career option.
Statistics Reveal Only a Partial Picture at Best
The report goes on to affirm “There is no evidence that significant regulatory or policy issues require immediate attention.” I beg to differ. In a previous post I pointed out that this October there is a change coming in the bankruptcy act that will make it harder to terminate, close or quit operating a business.
Be Cautious Interpreting Statistics
Interestingly the Florida report also states “There is substantial evidence that the U.S. should not be complacent regarding the entrepreneurial sector and should continue to assess, adjust and refine the national, state, and local entrepreneurial context.”
Indeed, complacency is dangerous, especially for the entrepreneur. We need to communicate with local, regional and national government bodies the need for a supportive regulatory environment.
Lobby Government Officials
When was the last time you met with a government representative? Personally, it has been about 6 years since I had coffee with a government official, long overdue.
Whatever you opinions and political stripe, express you views. Make yourself and your opinions known. Let them know they can count on you as a sounding board on small business issues. That way you have an opportunity to have an open discussion and exchange of ideas, the first step towards understanding the needs of the small business owner.
I would love to hear reports back after meeting with government officials. Will you take up my challenge?
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