Serving as President of the Palo Alto Area Bar Association involves all sorts of varied and persistent responsibilities. Every aspect of the organization is under my review: every event, member, operational detail, meeting, administrative requirement, planning logistic, certification and reporting requirement etc., all issues outward facing and inward, cross my desk. This is just an illustration...
Many companies take vigorous measures to achieve LEED Certification for their building projects. However, LEED Certification does not guarantee that the building will be highly energy efficient. What explains this gap? What can be done to align LEED Certification and energy efficiency? Why LEED Certification Does Not Ensure Energy Efficiency Introduced in 1998, Leadership in...
Now that The Walt Disney Company (WDC) has acquired Marvel and its characters for $4 billion (a 29% premium), the question is how will Disney impact Marvel? Both companies touted the deal as huge win. Will WDC propel the comic book powerhouse to greater success or erode its value? The Good Of The Deal Stan...
Will the smart grid develop through proprietary intellectual or open innovation? To what extent can both contribute to the smart grid's growth? The answers to these questions will have a huge influence on how the smart grid works and what it ultimately does for energy efficiency. In this post, I offer a few thoughts on...
China's Anti-Monopoly Law, implemented in August 2008, continues to take shape. The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued draft regulations regarding price monopolies. The proposed regulations apply to monopoly price activities both within and outside China, when the activities outside China affect price competition in the domestic market. What The Proposed Regulations Cover The...
Greenwashing involves attempts by companies to convince consumers that their products or services are environmentally friendly. As companies increasingly want to be seen as green, the practice has become more common -- and dangerous. In light of recent Federal Trade Commission actions, your business needs to understand the Commission's guidelines for environmental marketing claims. Recent...
Do big organizations promote learning? In today's Big Shift Blog on HarvardBusiness.org, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison argue that big organizations can and must help individuals learn, experiment, and innovate. However, big organizations are not best equipped to promote learning and innovation because learning and relationships are difficult to scale. The Argument...
In this post, I continue to examine how small businesses and startups can avoid common misconceptions about intellectual property. This time, I turn to patent issues that small and emerging companies must consider to maximize the value they create and capture from their intellectual property. As noted in the previous post, these misconceptions come from...
Small businesses often worry about protecting their intellectual property. Yet, they also hold misconceptions about how to strategically manage their intellectual property. The New York Times recently cited five common misconceptions that small businesses often make concerning their intellectual property. To remain competitive, small business owners need to make smart investments in their intellectual property...
When Amazon remotely removed George Orwell's "1984" from Kindle devices, copyright law and big brother clashed in the world of eBooks. But the copyright versus big brother debate is missing an important point. Amazon's control over how eBooks are sold on Kindle is a business strategy first and foremost. Enforcing Copyright or Big Brother? Amazon...