All entrepreneurs consider their ideas sacred and most dream of offering them "hard protection" with with patents. The truth of the matter is, however, that most ideas benefit from sharing, not protection. So, here are my top three reasons why

3. IP protection is expensive
If you have ever looked into this, you know how expensive it can be to apply for a patent and only years later can you know the outcome of that investment. And if your concept is complex (and not obvious) you will need to likely file for multiple patents to protect the various aspects of the idea in specificity enough for the patent office. If you are lucky enough to be issued a patent, that is only the tip of ice berg in terms of cost. If you actually want to defend a claim against your IP, you can expect to pay 5 to 10 to 100 times more than you paid for the patent filing. If you intend to create a business (not just a licenseable patent portfolio), and you have invested that same cash in marketing, partnerships, or prototypes you would have been ahead.

2. You should give the world a chance to help
An idea you keep to yourself is something that others can't help you with. The more people you tell, the more people you can get thinking about your problems and offering solutions. The more people you tell, the more likely it is that the resources you need (ie, engineering help, marketing advice, an introduction to the buyer at a key reseller, etc) will materialize. You can't get the help you need, while fearing infringement.

1. An idea isn't enough
And the number one reason that IP protection is a false assurance...because the idea isn't enough to make a successful business. As anyone will tell you, there is a HUGE gap between an idea and its successful implementation. Most often than not, the idea itself changes wildly once implementation begins and feedback from customers rolls in (see #2). The key is to begin implementation as soon as possible and identify the steps necessary for commercial success.

In short, seeking IP protection can hurt a small business more than it can help. If you want to bring something to market, bring it to market. Be the first to promote it and the first to be successful. Anyone copying your idea and wanting to build a successful business will have to catch you first.

Okay, I confess, I don't know the secret of life. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with not seeking the secret (doing) and becoming a better person.

Something to think about as we ponder new year's resolutions here in a few weeks.

I read a great blog post by Dan Pink on this topic and thought it would make a great cartoon. This might be a good one to print out and put by your computer or where decisions are made or priorities are set. Watch against activity that feels good and right, but doesn't clearly lead to results or value that your customers perceive.

A colleague of mine said this the other day (in the context of some technical issue he was dealing with) and I thought it good advice for other areas of life as well. Sometimes you have to pick your battles and some are just not worth fighting. Other ones, are worth overcoming the impossible for.

This quote, along with so many other great ones, can be found a Chris Guillebeau's blog.

What's the worst thing that could happen? It probably isn't as bad as you think (or as likely).

Ryan Sims from Virb.com spoke at WebVisions. One of the things he talked about was a matter of taste and talent, in which he showed a graph inspired by Ira Glass, of NPR's The American Life fame.

Along the top is a line slightly angled up the represented the degree that one has taste. Even early in ones career, in Ryan's case graphic design and visual arts, he had good taste. It has certainly gotten better, but natural talent and inclination made him start out pretty high. The next line is more of a steep slope and represents talent. It starts low and over time, with what Ira calls an incredible "volume of work," improve to the point where it can approach the taste line. In other words, you have the ability to produce work you are truly proud of. Ryan said that he wished he had been taught that earlier in his career.

To hear Ira explain it himself, see this video below:


So many artists, writers, bloggers (ahem), fail to live up to their own standards. But rather than getting discouraged we must press on (or post on) and remember what Penelope Trunk said:

For more thoughts on midlife crisis, see Craig Damrauer's excellent drawing on the subject (which inspired mine above) or my friend, Lisa's post which says something powerful about possibilities yet to come.

Okay, in fairness, I have some years to go before I can have a full-blown midlife crisis, but my husband will tell you that I have been talking about convertible sportscars, exotic vacations, and the restless ambition that I always have has sprouted out in a bunch of new activities, like drawing doodles, writing songs (and other related endeavors that I'll tell you about later), and scheming about yard improvements. Maybe these are the energy field fluxuations before the big earthquake of creativity to come.

The kids were playing in the yard today and I was enjoying hearing them decide what characters they were going to be. It made me think that at some point we stop deciding what characters we are, but that doesn't keep us from being characters in terms of having a defined dress code, language, location, strengths, weaknesses, and purpose for being. We are all characters, but we don't put much thought into the choices we have about all of these things.

So, if we were to imagine something different for ourselves (personally, professionally, in our work, in our play), what would it look like? I can't help but believe that daring to imagine would in itself open doors.

You are free to use the doodle above for any non-commercial purpose as long as you give me credit and link back to http://jenniferbdavis.blogspot.com.

I find myself using made up words and one my recent favorites is "retwizzled." I use it to mean when I need to tweak, edit, or change something (usually a document) to reflect the latest thoughts or direction that it needs to go. I retwizzle it and then we are good to move forward.

When a colleague teased me about it, I began to think that the word has broader applications. It is not only documents, plans, or decisions that get retwizzled from time to time, but often it is our entire life. If something is no longer working. If the circumstances have been altered. If changes need to be made. It is your chance to retwizzle.

The doodle above reflects my renewed interest in drawing. You are free to use the image for any non-commercial purpose, as long as you give me credit and link back to http://jenniferbdavis.blogspot.com.

I have been reading Alan Webber's new book, Rules of Thumb. In it, he offers and describes 52 different rules of business that he has learned over the years.

The concept in the cartoon above is a saying that I think I started repeating since my very first week on my very first job out of college. There was never a shortage of ideas. Things that could be done. Places to go. People to see. Products to build. Features to add. Only a shortage of everything else to make ideas reality: time, money, expertise, capacity, etc.

To me this is not only a inescapable truth, but it is also a blessing. Not all ideas are good ones. Without constraint the best ideas wouldn't win and we'd waste a lot of time. The corollary to this (and perhaps a future cartoon) would be "May the Best Ideas Win."

As always, feel free to use the cartoon for any non-commercial purpose, as long as you give me credit and link back to http://jenniferbdavis.blogspot.com. Thanks!

My friend and coach, Julie Naster, posted a great article about the danger of getting facts and interpretation mixed. Things she calls "assertions" are statements of fact, like the weather is 45 degrees. "Assessments" are the judgements we apply to those, for instance "it is cold and dreary" or "it is crisp and refreshing."

If we collapse the two or confuse them, we are ruled by our unguarded thoughts instead of having mastery over them. This is the little collapse that can lead to an avalanche in our mood or perspective, trapping us below it.

When you catch yourself making a judgement statement today see if it is fact and if there are alternative explanations that might be more useful to you?

Photo by Nebulous1 on flickr.

I really enjoy the articles about HowStuffWorks. Everyday they take some complex idea or product and walk you through it step-by-step. Although the articles won't make you a genetic physicist or an economist, you will walk away with a much better understanding of cloning or capitalism.

So, it is in this style and spirit that I present some details about how our praise team came to publish and market a CD of praise and worship music. You can learn more about the CD and our group at http://www.WestsidePraise.org.

This information accompanies a talk that will be given at the Pepperdine Lectureship by my friend and worship leader, Josh Stump. He'll be focused on the music itself, including the composition and arrangement process. He'll brag on our excellent producer, Kris Strobeck, and all the talent that went into arranging the music. He will talk about the impact the music is having. What people are saying about it and will share some stories, like this one about his son (warning: get Kleenex box handy).

In this post, I'll be focusing more on what we did with the music after it was recorded and we were ready to share it. This is the "playbook" he promised folks in the session, which I hope is useful whether or not you attended. For those who are not necessarily interested in music publishing or worship music, I hope you are able to take the concepts of self-publishing and marketing and apply them to your particular field of interest or your business, as most of these ideas are economical and applicable to other projects.

So, with no further "pre-mumble," here are some of the things we did to publish and promote the CD project. For each category of things, I have answered three questions: why did it matter, how did we do it, and how else could we have done it (as a way to provide additional resources).

Let's begin with our website at http://www.WestsidePraise.org.

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If you have questions about any of the above or want to learn more, leave a comment below and we'll find a way to connect.

As the economy tightens around us, I think we all feel a little poorer than we did even a few months ago. I read a few things in the past week that I have been thinking about.

1. Save Pennies, Spend Dollars
When times are tight (or perceived to be tight), it is still important to do the important things. Spending your child to private school or investing in a new business are those types of important things. To spend dollars on those things, you may have to scrimp on the things that don't matter as much. Save pennies elsewhere to make bold, purposeful investments where you need to. So, if celebrating a milestone birthday with a loved one is one of those important things, celebrate big (and bike to work the rest of the month)!

2. All Economics is Micro-Economics
I know the academics would disagree, but for most of us the only economics that matters is that which is very personal to us, close in physical proximity or time. Of course, the world economy is intertwined, but most of don't need millions of jobs, we only need one. We don't need a large bank, we just need someone to give us a return on the use of our money (which could be a micro-loan we make). The economy in our local community and the tax-base of public services we use is more important to us than the larger trends of housing starts across the country. Even our own retirement portfolio is only super critical if we are actively spending it (close proximity in the dimension of time).

3. Wealth is a Feeling, not a Bank Balance
I remember hearing a joke: "I have all the money I will ever need," the comic said. "As long as I don't spend another dime." How true. A feeling of wealth is still comes down to spending less than we earn, individually. Mr. Macawber, from Dickens' fame, wrote pointly about this type of micro-economics when he said that "to have an income of twenty pounds per annum, and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, is to be the most miserable of men; whereas, to have an income of only twenty pounds, and spend but nineteen pounds and sixpence is to be the happiest of mortals." Apparently, wealth is an emotion, like contentment or anxiety, that can be managed by perception and by personal action.

So, although we need to be concerned about the economy, about the bank bail-outs, the political races, and other things that good citizens need to stay up with, remember that the micro-economics matter the most. I wish you all wealth, in the truest emotional sense of the word.