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When it comes to protecting a company's technical innovations and ideas, there are two main options: patents and trade secrets. Let's explore the unique strategic considerations you need to review to decide which of the two would help your company best protect and profit from your ideas and innovations. Defining Patents and Trade Secrets Granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a U.S. patent gives its owner a federally granted monopoly over inventions for a limited time — 20 years for utility and plant patents, 14 years for design patents — in return for a detailed public disclosure of the invention. Under federal law, patent owners have the right to exclude others from using, selling, or importing a patented invention in the U.S. for that period of time. To be patentable, an invention must be unique and "teachable" — meaning you cannot patent something naturally occurring or unrepeatable, and your invention must be outlined through the patent in a clear … [Read more...] about Protecting Inventions Through Patents and Trade Secrets

Every year between October and January, nonprofit organizations prepare for the flood of interest from well-meaning community members seeking opportunities to volunteer, write a check or simply engage in the concept of "giving back." There are a million ways nonprofits can host heart-warming projects and events, but this often requires the organization to sacrifice a little (or a lot) of its commitment to dignified service to make the experience "worth it" for the generous, privileged supporter. The Danger Of "Warm Fuzzies" In the U.S., one aspect of our concept of charity has become so embedded in our culture that it's now unspoken but universally agreed-upon conventional wisdom: We must make the donor feel warm and fuzzy at all costs. Nonprofits and non-government organizations can't survive without the generosity of those who choose to prioritize our missions. Yet, it's important to understand the negative consequences of giving that's driven by a savior complex, a … [Read more...] about From Savior to Servant: 4 Ways for Philanthropists To Avoid the “Savior Com

When I first became a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), I knew there would be some interplay between my role of implementing technology and our company's legal exposure. Back then, the main concerns were around copyright and intellectual property — easy concepts to grasp and relatively easy to protect your company from. Wow, how things have changed. These days, there are legal implications for a CTO that affect everything from the codebase you use to how you store data to how you contact your customers to how you display information... the list goes on and on. Add the fact that many regulations vary from state to state and country to country and you are left with a patchwork quilt of regulations that at times can feel impossible to manage. In this article, I'll dive into some of the issues CTOs should have on their radar and a few strategies to help you be successful in mitigating those issues. Data Privacy One major change in recent years is how companies manage customers' data … [Read more...] about Technology and Law: Why CTOs Should Be Concerned With Both

Quiet quitting is a buzzword for slacking or taking your foot off the gas pedal at work. Doing the bare minimum. Doing nothing more than meeting expectations. The concept is nothing new. In a recent Gallup poll, "quiet quitters" make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce . In 2023, employers are responding by quiet firing. ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,000 managers with at least one direct report. One in three managers have responded to "quiet quitting" by "quiet firing." Their key findings include: • 98% of managers of "quiet quitters" say it's important their reports do more than the bare minimum. • 91% of managers have taken some action against "quiet quitters," including taking steps to terminate them and denying promotions/raises. • 64% of managers say "quiet quitters" are unlikely to have a successful career. Rage-applying is the phenomenon of simultaneously applying to several different jobs when feeling burnt out or distressed at your current job. Again, the … [Read more...] about Quiet Quitting, Rage Applying, Resenteeism: What Is a Disgruntled Employee

Sir Richard Branson has famously said, "Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients." Attracting — and retaining — top talent is on the minds of every business leader I know, and the reality of a tough marketplace for hiring is borne out in the data. As recently as August 2022, reports told us there were two job openings for every person unemployed , which indicates there is a "persistently strong demand for labor." Lots of shifts in how people feel about work were prompted by the pandemic, and as that converges with economic concerns, it's likely that the world of work will remain in flux in the coming year. In my business — the business of physician recruiting — we are not strangers to these phenomena. Physician shortages span decades, in part due to a complicated formula that dictates our capacity for residency that has not been revised adequately enough to create a robust line of medical professionals … [Read more...] about Five Things Employers Can Do To Attract and Retain Top Talent

When the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the most recent jobs report in early February, many celebrated that unemployment rates hit an over-50-year low. And while these numbers are laudable, one industry has yet to see the same encouraging economic trend: hospitality. Even three years after the pandemic began, hospitality businesses remain far from their 2020 employment rates, and there are currently over 2 million unfilled positions in the industry. Flexible work is still a new concept for many businesses, but flexibility is what workers want . All businesses — whether they create the next big app or provide guests with a great experience — need to figure out how to adapt to this new reality. If hospitality wants to bring workers back and fill millions of open jobs, I believe it is time to embrace the future of flexible work. Flexibility Is King To understand how to fix this problem, it's important to understand how it was created. When many hospitality businesses … [Read more...] about Hourly Workers Left the Service Industry — What’s Next?

KPIs. Analytics. Metrics. The rise of big data and AI have made data analysis a hot topic in business, but focusing too much on the numbers can work against you. One thing that will never change about business: it's a fundamentally human enterprise. To be successful in business, you need to harness the power of your most important asset: the humans of your company. Ambiance Matters As Much As Your Product Imagine walking into a restaurant for a delicious meal. Shortly after, you realize that there's no music playing, the decor is lackluster, it's dirty, and the service is terrible. Your experience was lacking — not because the product was poor, but because of the environment. You probably won't return to that restaurant, and odds are you'll steer your friends away from it, too. It's the same with client relationships. If your sales efforts leave a sour taste in your client's mouths, they might hold their nose and do business with you for a while, but you're leaving opportunities … [Read more...] about Don’t Get Lost in the Data: The Humanity of Business Development

With 2023 now well underway, business leaders are feeling uneasy. 2022 was a turbulent ride, beginning with a spike of hope that the pandemic was ending, only to crash into the conflict in Ukraine and its domino effects of skyrocketing fuel prices and supply chain disruption. As the year continued, we faced economic unease and the evolution of the "great resignation" into "quiet quitting," and now a wave of layoffs that have amplified uncertainty across the business universe. After so much chaos, it's hard to predict what the rest of 2023 will bring. The IMF forecasts a recession for approximately a third of the global economy this year, cutting its global GDP prediction to 2.7%. Economists expect that business activity will be dragged down by a number of factors, with 90% pointing at weak demand, 87% at increased borrowing, and over 60% at higher input costs, while others add concerns about talent shortages and regulatory and policy uncertainty. But strong business leaders … [Read more...] about How To Ensure Your Business Wins, No Matter What 2023 Throws at It

In less than three years, Gen Z will become the world's largest group of consumers, accounting for just under 21% of the world's population and their spending power will make up 40% of all consumers . Born in the late '90s to 2010, their expectations are wildly different than the majority of Baby Boomers who, according to the Pew Research Center need someone to assist them in the process of learning new technologies. Even millennials, who grew up with the introduction of modern technology and have watched it evolve, have much more forgiving expectations than Gen Z has on digital. But if you can show Gen Z a good customer experience, 75% say they are more likely to buy a product if they can customize it according to an international study of Gen Z, conducted by The Center for Generational Kinetics. With that in mind, upping your digital game should be a top priority to capture your piece of the market. Gen Z interacts in very different ways than previous generations. Have you … [Read more...] about Make Sure Your Customer Experience Is up to Par for Gen Z

After a few red-hot years for home sellers, rising mortgage and interest rates along with widespread economic uncertainty have cooled the market, leaving many buyers out in the cold and forcing sellers to reevaluate their pricing strategies. In recent months, we started to see rates drop — for example in January 2023, they were at their lowest in four months (then in February, rates crept up again ). But keep in mind that mortgage rates hit a 20-year high (subscription required) in late 2022 at more than 7%, so we're still better positioned than we were last year. In fact, I've noticed that offer activity seems to be resuming as buyers return to the table with pent-up demand; this should help balance out higher interest rates. Regardless of market conditions, the decision to sell your home is generally based on personal circumstances like stage of life, financial situation, family changes or career moves. Some homeowners can wait until the market starts trending up again, … [Read more...] about Selling Your Home This Spring? How To Navigate a Tricky Real Estate Market