Monday Mornings with Madison

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Business Development

June 1, 2015

Intellectual Property: Are Your Brands, Products and Services Protected? – Part 3

Issue #380

A hiccup treatment device. A snake walking system. Carry-out food containers. Tiny umbrella for your drink. A fireplace waterfall. A wind-harnessing bicycle. What do these things have in common? These are all odd but real solutions to specific problems. More importantly, besides being a little strange, they are also among the millions of inventions that have been patented since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) first started issuing patents in 1790. A patent protects an invention the way a trademark protects a brand and a copyright protects intellectual property. However, unlike trademarks and copyrights, which don’t need to be registered to be in effect, patents do require an application and approval to get patent protection.

That makes patents less attractive to the average small or mid-sized business. That’s because taking an idea from conception to patent is a long, rigorous, and expensive process. An idea that isn’t fully developed might result in patent protection that is too narrow in scope. And patenting an idea that never gets to market is a waste of good money. It can cost from $25,000 to $50,000 to get an idea patented. Yet the vast majority of patents are never commercialized. So when does it make sense to patent a product or process? And what protection does a patent provide?
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May 26, 2015

Intellectual Property: Are Your Brands, Products and Services Protected? – Part 2

Issue #379

Anyone with a new invention or process must file for a patent in order to protect his or her ownership and use rights. However, that is not so for new works of art, photos, pictures, songs, books, manuscripts, publications, plays, movies, and shows, among other things. For items of creative expression, copyright is automatic, meaning that nothing needs to be done to claim copyright protection. Although additional rights are provided if the work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, legal protection is guaranteed once a work is created – which is the day it is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.”

That’s not all that is different between copyrights and other intellectual property protections such as patents and trademarks. That is why this is an area of business about which there are many questions. Why is a creative work automatically copyrighted but not other kinds of inventions? Do copyright protections expire or do they last forever, like a trademark? And what kind of legal protection does copyright offer the average person or business? The answers to these questions help shed light on how people and businesses can protect creative property.
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May 18, 2015

Intellectual Property: Are your Brands, Products and Services Protected? – Part 1

Issue #378

The average person knows very little about patents, copyrights, trademarks and service marks. They all fall within the complex legal realm of protecting the rights to something unique created by or belonging to a person or company, generally referred to as ‘intellectual property’. If you ask the typical entrepreneur if his brand needs a trademark or service mark, he probably wouldn’t know. And if you asked an average CEO to explain if or when a product needs a patent, he is unlikely to know the answer. In fact, even the average attorney knows little about this niche area of the law. It focuses on that special axis point where creativity and invention intersects with business and marketing.

While multinational companies have huge legal departments that handle trademarks and service marks for their intellectual property, the average mid-sized and small businesses generally do not. In fact, the leadership at small and mid-sized companies may not even give any thought at all to protecting the company’s intellectual property. Although they should protect their brand, products or services from possible infringement, most don’t. And that is risky business. The first step in protecting intellectual property is to understand the basics about the protections available and how they work.
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May 11, 2015

Obsession: The Shared Quality of the Uber-Successful

Issue #377

Obsession is an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes in a person’s mind; a compulsive or even irrational fixation. Obsessive thinking often leads to habitual, uncontrollable behavior. Mildly obsessive behavior is seen as a personality quirk. In extreme cases, it is even characterized as a mental defect. In fact, there is even a recognized psychological condition called Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. People who have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder may engage in repeated illogical behaviors such as serial hand washing, compulsive checking (to see if a door is locked or an oven is off) or hoarding. Psychologists think that perhaps obsessive behavior originates from the brain’s warning system to ensure people worry about everyday things such as whether something is still good to eat, or to be aware if a noise is approaching from behind or to be alert to protect children from harm. Then it grows from there into thoughts and behaviors that are ‘out of control.’

Most people don’t want to be obsessive or be perceived by others as obsessed. In a world where one’s time and attention is pulled in many different directions, there is a general desire to achieve balance – balance between work and play; balance between taking care of oneself and doing for others; balance between action and rest. If balance is the ideal, then obsession is generally regarded as ‘the enemy.’ But some think that perhaps obsession has a bad rap. Is obsession always a bad thing? Can obsession be a good thing?
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May 4, 2015

Go Mobile or Go Home

Issue #376

Marketing is constantly evolving. First there was print advertising. Then came persuasive radio commercials. After that came colorful TV ads. Then, with the evolution of technology and the advent of the World Wide Web, companies established an online presence. Business owners quickly surmised that without a website, their company would not be perceived as ‘legitimate’ or ‘reputable’ by most consumers. Even the smallest mom-n-pop shops set up simple, informative websites Then, as e-commerce flourished, websites became more sophisticated. Then companies were forced to go social. Social media sites sprouted up like weeds and companies had to get engaged or be forgotten. All of this marketing takes time and costs money. Still, the pace of change is relentless and businesses are now facing yet another change thanks to the growing tidal wave of Smartphones. Used by tweens, teens and adults of all ages, Smartphones are quickly taking over the shopping landscape and businesses are now feeling pressured to design websites that are mobile-friendly.

However, many companies have been slow to embrace the mobile revolution. After all, setting up and maintaining mobile websites, in addition to traditional websites, is both costly and complicated. Why go mobile when a company’s standard website works just fine and is delivering tons of traffic and sales? The answer: because Google has just said so. And Google, the 800-pound gorilla of the digital realm, will not take “no” for an answer. Continue reading →

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April 27, 2015

Cultivate Creativity for Business Success

Issue #375

Creativity is an invaluable skill… one that everyone wants to possess but not everyone has. It is a quality that companies desperately desire in its their employees, but one that has been nearly impossible to test for, spot or measure in any discernable way. From the smallest shops to the most successful Fortune 100 companies, everyone wants the most creative talent. Why is creativity so sought-after yet so elusive…. so needed and yet so scarce? It is because creativity makes people more effective and resourceful problem-solvers… and ultimately solving problems is what businesses do. That’s the crux of it. Solving problems is how companies make money.

In fact, whereas once upon a time, critical thinking – which is the ability to synthesize and evaluate information — was hailed as the essential process skill for success, today ‘creating’ is the most valued of all higher order thinking skills. In today’s fast-paced world, people need to be able to reframe challenges, extrapolate and transform information, and deal with uncertainty in order to spot opportunities and craft solutions. In fact, a 2010 IBM survey of 1500 CEOs in 33 different industries found that “creativity” was ranked as the most crucial factor for success. Given the increasing value of creativity, it is not surprising that more universities have added not only “Creative Studies” courses to their menu, but also full Creative Studies degree programs. That begs the question then, can creativity be taught, improved, and harnessed?
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April 13, 2015

Handling Difficult People – Part 2

Issue #373

In most companies, being a manager comes with certain perks. The manager may get a bigger or nicer office. The manager might have an assigned parking space. The manager is likely to make more money and earn more vacation time. However, being a manager is not a total cake walk. There’s a reason managers typically earn more and get more perks. The job can be tough. While a manager’s job primarily entails managing people, products and processes, make no mistake that dealing with challenging employees is probably the hardest part of the job. “Difficult employees” – which can be manifested in a myriad of ways – are time-consuming to manage. It is usually the most draining and thankless part of any management position.

Consider that the average workplace in the U.S. is hugely diverse in terms of the nationalities/ethnicities, job skills, personalities, attitudes towards work and life, individual quirks and personal preferences of its staff. It is a salad bowl of qualities, flaws and behaviors that, when mixed, may produce a qualified team and rich work environment. But it can also deliver some “difficult” employees whose personalities, attitudes, or approaches to work and life are so skewed that they create problems for colleagues and managers alike. What is a manager to do when faced with one of these exhausting employees? One thing is certain…. ignoring the problem is NOT the answer.
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March 16, 2015

Is Less More When It Comes to Office Space?

Issue #370

There has been a growing trend of businesses cutting back on the amount of work space allocated per person. Sharing offices has become more common. Cubicles are getting tinier. And open shared space with a number of desks or work stations in one open area – once considered so cutting-edge — has become ubiquitous. Employees are being packed into ever-smaller spaces. There have been a few tech firms in the San Francisco Bay Area that have gotten to worker densities of up to seven workers per 1,000 square feet of space or 142 SF per employee. The average just a decade ago was four workers per 1,000 square feet. As the Russian adage says, they are packed so tight that there is no room for an apple to fall.

Last week, we looked at how smaller work spaces are impacting employee productivity. The evidence — at least in some occupations such as computer programming (which, like many jobs, benefits from quiet and concentration) — shows that cramped, busy, noisy offices can have a negative impact on productivity. In one study, programmers working in quiet, private offices were up to 10 times more productive than equally talented programmers in office environments that were busy, crowded and noisy. If small work spaces can affect productivity, what impact might smaller work spaces have on creativity and innovation. Whereas once upon a time, open shared office space was heralded as a springboard for collaboration, managers are reconsidering the evidence. Continue reading →

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March 9, 2015

Is Less More When It Comes to Office Space?

Issue #369

Office design has been evolving over the last few years. Once upon a time, all managers and executives had offices with walls, doors, desks and furniture. Space was abundant and a deluxe office was a standard perk of working at most any successful company. Clerical, secretarial and support staff also had individual work areas such as cubicles or separated from other desks by partitions, cabinets and space.

However, with the advent of technology coupled with the increase in population density and the skyrocketing cost of office space, business owners have been increasingly forced to make more of every bit of space. Architects are tasked with being ever more creative in the use of space. According to Corenet Global, a commercial real estate association, the average amount of space per office worker in North America dropped to 176 square feet in 2012, from 225 in 2010; a decrease of over 20%. Employees are being packed into increasingly smaller work areas. The question is how these smaller office environments are impacting productivity. Does this trend in design work? Continue reading →

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February 16, 2015

Benefits Employees Want Most – Part 2

Issue #366

Although the most headline-grabbing economic issue in the U.S. during the last decade was the ballooning unemployment rate, this particular woe has been decidedly declining in direct proportion to the rise in jobs. With the Department of Labor Statistic reporting unemployment holding at about 5.6% – 5.7% since October 2014, job gains are still being reported in retail trade, construction, health care, financial activities, and manufacturing in January 2015. Ironically, though, a decline in unemployment is now accentuating a different concern for U.S. businesses; namely, the need for more highly-skilled employees. U.S. companies report wanting to only hire people who are “job ready.” But such skilled workers are increasingly harder to find.

Indeed, recent surveys of business executives indicate that finding appropriately skilled workers is their biggest worry, and they foresee it getting worse. In 2015, businesses are facing the reality that, with little slack in the U.S. labor market plus a global skills-job disconnect, efforts to attract enough employees to fill high-skill jobs is becoming increasingly difficult. If skills shortages do increase in 2015, as expected, businesses will need to get more creative in how they attract and keep top talent long-term. In addition to increasing wages, which have been stagnant, employers will need to offer benefits that are most valued by employees. According to the late Steve Jobs, “I noticed that the dynamic range between what an average person could accomplish and what the best person could accomplish was 50 or 100 to 1. Given that, you’re well advised to go after the cream of the cream. A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players.” Indeed, in the long run, companies with the best benefits will be the most successful simply by attracting and retaining the most innovative and productive staff.
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