IP is Fuel

The name of my business, Think Beyond IP, is core to my message that there is value in our businesses beyond the assets we immediately think of as IP, such as books, courses, and software (i.e., products).

The first graphic that I created was the Think Beyond IP iceberg.

The obvious intellectual property assets, such as copyrights, trademarks, and patents, are above the waterline. Below the surface, there are so many other intellectual assets that aren't technically IP, but absolutely increase the value of your business, arguably more so than the assets that we see on the top.

As I was writing new copy for my website, it occurred to me that there is another way to think about the name Think Beyond IP.

Intellectual property--here I'm using the term to mean copyright registrations and trademark registrations-- is just a moment in time in your business. There is the business before IP, there is the IP, and there is the business beyond IP.

Beyond IP

It is “beyond IP” that significant value creation can take place. When we are beyond IP we have created a set of assets that are original to us, that we own and control, and that we can use as leverage to increase our income and our impact.

In other words, it is beyond IP that we drive value by putting our IP work. By using our IP as fuel.

Before IP

First, we need the right foundation to make sure we own and protect work that is original to us.

“Before IP” is the make or break period when we are still developing our expertise when we are creating new processes while providing one-on-one services, when we are signing those client services agreements that want to own 100% of the deliverables when we use third-party materials that we found on the Internet or incorporate parts of trainings owned by somebody else. If we don’t get the before IP right, there will be no IP and, therefore no beyond IP.

Got questions about using the before IP right?

Cheers.💡