The Ultimate Corporate Entrepreneur

Before You Sign that Contract! 7 Copyright Essentials for Collaboration

Out of the ashes of the Great Recession lie the beginnings of new partnerships and creative collaborations. 

However, exuberance is no excuse for not establishing clear expectations upfront and ensuring that the IP of partners is clearly spelled out in a formal agreement.

It's unfortunate when business alliances, partnerships and creative endeavors fail because the partners didn't invest upfront time in thinking through the "what if" scenarios.

This is why I invited Alan Korn, a Berkeley, California-based attorney specializing in art, entertainment, intellectual property and business law, to join me for a candid discussion on copyright essentials on Sunday, March 14 at 6pm (PST) (PDT) during my Coach for Innovation show on BlogTalkRadio. 

1. What is a copyright and what does it protect? 
   
2. Who owns a copyright?
   
3. When is a written contract necessary?
4. What should the contract cover?
5. What is copyright infringement?
6. Are there any limitations on rights of copyright owners?
   
7. Why registering copyrights with the Copyright Office is a good idea.

Change Happens When (and Where) You Least Expect It

A few weeks back I received an email message that sounded a bit spammy to me. But fortunately my intuition trumped first instincts and I responded to the request for help from someone who believed he could innovate, but was having trouble "figuring out the path to get me there."  

Thus began my connection and conversation with a 5-year medical student in Cairo who found me via a search on 'how to innovate'. After reading a reprinted article that I had written on innovation, he decided to reach out to me via the resource box I included at the end of the article.

Since then, we've exchanged a few emails and had a Skype conversation about his studies and soon-to-be-graduation. I provided him with a link to a colleague's upcoming book on innovation. I also suggested some creative exercises to get him started.

During our Skype conversation we explored:

• Why had he decided to pursue medicine as a career?
• What challenges exist in the field of medicine in Egypt?
• Does he like to take what already exists and figure out new ways of doing it better or does he prefer to build new things from scratch?
• What is his optimum cycle for personal change, in other words, when does the boredom start to set in?

These questions helped to jump start his creative thinking, since we all have a tendency to get too close to what we focus on day in and day out (in this case, his medical studies). This can make it difficult, at times, to step back and see our value, appreciate our area(s) of expertise, and define what makes us unique. 

Technology can help us build bridges in understanding one another. Our Skype call was also a great reminder that innovation and mentoring truly have no boundaries.

Cross-cultural Communication - It's the Way of the World

January 20 marks the 2008 kick-off of my Coach for Innovation show on Blog Talk Radio with the topic Why Can’t We Just Get Along? Bridging Cultural Communication Gaps in the Workplace.

As companies extend their global reach and country borders become blurred, what frequently fall between the cracks are effective cross-cultural communication skills.

This is where my guest, Melba Schertler, and her European-based company International Communication Coaching come in. Melba is an internationally recognized NLP Coach, NLP Master Practitioner, and Intercultural Trainer with extensive experience preparing senior professionals for cultural competency.

As Melba so succinctly described intercultural communication in one of our conversations...

"Cross-cultural competence is a skill that can be mastered with an open mind and understanding of how other people’s beliefs and value orientations differ from ours. Leaders & teams need to make an effort to learn about the deeper values that motivate people and provide the context for their actions. 

The bottom line is that People are at the heart of any business deal."

Join us on Sunday, January 20 for practical intercultural tips and role-play that raises the bar on your communication skills. Please note: this week's show is at an earlier time to accommodate Melba's time zone in Munich - 12:00 noon Pacific.

Just a few of the topics we'll discuss on tomorrow's show Why Can’t We Just Get Along? Bridging Cultural Communication Gaps in the Workplace.

• How can business leaders prepare their staffs, culturally, for the evolving global arena of distributed work teams and mobile professionals?
• What cultural competencies will be the most sought after in 2008 for business professionals and how does social media play into this?
  
• What would “fast track” coaching look like in preparing you for an international engagement in three months time?

Negotiating Expectations: Why It Matters

In the days when I used to review supplier RFPs and negotiate contracts for a living, one of the key areas my team would focus on was how well the supplier understood the spirit of the contract.

The same holds true whether you're attempting to establish initial rapport and trust with someone or building your credibility cache within your organization. You need to be able to communicate your own expectations and negotiate the expectations of others. 

The spirit of negotiations lies in the expectations between the parties. You don't need a contract in front of you for others not to expect something from you.

Managing Your Expectations

When you enter into negotiations, do you know what you expect to get out of it?  Whether you're in a conference room, walking the halls at work, or discussing project details over the phone you'll want to know what your formal, i.e. tangible needs and your informal, or emotional, needs. Your negotiations plan must capture both aspects; otherwise, you'll miss opportunities that present themselves, as well as risks that lie below the surface. 

The Spirit of Entrepreneurial Service

When was the last time you experienced really great service? Where did you find it? Was it at your local retail store or were you bowled over by great customer service via a technical support site?

Maybe it came from a small shop, a start-up business, or even a global company with service centers around the world. 

Those who know me find out early on how passionate I am about service. I’ve spent most of my career delivering great service to my customers, whether internal to the company or external.

This is both a blessing and a curse for those who now serve me. The blessing because when I receive it I scream it from the rooftops (well, not literally), but I do share it with my personal network. Over and over again. And the curse? Well, I share that as well.

Getting the Basics Right

What makes the difference between good and great service? It’s the unexpected things that go beyond someone just doing their job. I want to be treated to the same level of service when I have a problem as when you excitedly made the initial sale.

Please keep in mind that consistency isn’t about continuing to do the same level of service, but surprising me with innovative ways you’ve improved the service since the last time I visited. 

An example of great service in my own backyard, comes from a family-run European-style coffee house that opened in my neighborhood where competitors surround it like the three men on the boat in the movie Jaws.

Just the place to hang out, Bellano Coffee not only makes great coffee (expected), offers their own Internet connection at no cost (a plus), but their personal level of service to customers continues to wow me!

Influential Selling

Years ago I wrote a customer letter to the folks at Virgin-Atlantic because my daughter and I had experienced outstanding service from one of their flight attendants in Coach, no less. I must have shocked them with my outpouring (most folks write letters when they receive bad service), because I received a personal response that was as surprised as it was sincere.

2-Minute Communication Drill

It’s football season here in the U.S., and although my post will have little to do with football, it will have everything to do with the sport of communication.

One of my all-time favorite football players is Joe Montana, a great quarterback during his heyday with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.   

Montana was given the nickname ‘Joe Cool’ for his calm handling of intense situations when the stakes were high. He was able to do four things in two minutes that increased his team’s chances for success.

1. He looked across the field to find his open receivers.

2. He didn’t waste time and made the most of each play.

3. He adjusted his passing style to match that of his receiver.

4. He kept the end goal in sight and didn’t allow himself to get distracted.

2–Minute Communication Drill

People have a tendency to waste prime time when they don’t know what to look and listen for during the opening minutes of a conversation.