01 April 2009
Fix your broken IP structures
Managing Intellectual Property
Is IP given its due importance in your company? If not, say Andrew Watson and Jordan Hatcher, maybe it's time to stop being a blue personality, and become red or yellow
| One-minute read |
| How do you convince your CEO to take IP seriously? The answer to this question depends on who is asking: if it’s the head of IP then it may be unrealistic to expect the CEO to listen. This is because the traditional reporting structures in commercial organisations create a gap between IP and business, meaning that IP is not recognised as an asset that can drive return on investment. Part of the problem may be that CFOs and general counsel (where IP often sits) don’t play a risk-taking role in the business. Instead, what’s needed is the right IP mindset for a business. This means having the right cultural environment for IP to flourish and new organisational structures. Based on the Insights Discovery Learning System (inspired by Jung’s research) which breaks personality characteristics into four colour groups, IP leaders may need to be more red (decision-making, risk-taking) and yellow (innovative, dynamic) within the business rather than blue (accurate, cautious). This requires a new approach to defining job specifications and setting targets. |
As part of the opening panel discussion at the 2008 IP Business Conference in Amsterdam a question was raised along the lines of "how does the panel believe that a business's CEO can be required to take IP seriously?"
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