Edison in the Boardroom: How Leading Companies Realize Value from Their Intellectual Assets

by Julie L. Davis, Suzanne S. Harrison, Suzanne Harrison

Julie L. Davis and Suzanne Harrison Today's corporations are always on the lookout for exciting new and innovative ideas that can be used to generate revenue. Up until recently, this meant taking these ideas and turning them into products or services, which could then be sold for profit. But today, a unique new concept is revolutionizing the way companies are getting value from ideas. Instead of incorporating them into products or services, today's...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471397369
• ISBN13: 9780471397366
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

On Becoming Proactive to Realize the Value of your IP

Harrison & Davis offer intellectual property (IP) professionals - including IP attorney's seeking to advocate for their client - a better and more effective understanding of how to manage IP as a strategic business asset. Unlike other books on the subject, Edison, and it's sequel, "Einstein in the Boardroom" (2006), offers rare pragmatic advise with evidence-based outcomes from a community of IP-savvy companies on the benefits of becoming proactive in identifying, protecting and leveraging all forms of intellectual capital to address strategic business objectives.

Very Good

The authors provide an excellent framework for companies to manage their intellectual property - without using too much consultant speak.They quote examples at different levels of their framework and look at companies who are suceeding at managing and valuing their IP effectively. This is a skill which can only be more and more wanted in the future.The most interesting takeaway is that most companies are very bad in this field, and there are very few success stories.

Visionary and Innovative Pragmatism

The basic concept of this book is very intriguing: Briefly examine the life and career of Thomas Edison and then suggest direct correlations between his achievements with real-world situations in which various companies are now deriving substantial value from their intellectual capital. The authors also make skillful use of Edison's own recorded thoughts and feelings. Of special interest to me was what he had to say about the creative process. For example, "Men are just beginning to propose questions and find answers, and we may be sure that no matter what question we ask, so long as it is not against the laws of nature, a solution can be found." This what the author refer to as "The Edison Mindset." Edison apparently had almost no concern about a given experiment's "failure" which he continued to view, rather, as non-success to that stage. Too often, senior-level executives become preoccupied with results and neglect the process by which they can be achieved. Among Edison's greatest (and perhaps least appreciated) achievements was the establishment of the first research laboratory in which he and his associates would collaborate on various projects. Edison was a pioneer in recognizing the importance of assembling the best available talent and providing them with sufficient resources as well as a culture wherein those talents could be fully utilized. Davis and Harrison obviously have this point in mind when observing that "benchmarking best practices without any regard for the underlying culture of the firm can be problematic." NOTE: For those interested in this subject, I highly recommend Organizing Genius in which Bennis and Biederman examine the collaborative efforts of those involved at the Disney studios which produced so many animation classics; at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which developed the first personal computer; at Apple Computer which then took it to market; at the so-called "War Room" which helped to elect Bill Clinton President in 1992; those active in the so-called "Skunk Works" where so many of Lockheed's greatest designs were formulated; at Black Mountain College which "wasn't simply a place where creative collaboration took place. It was about creative collaboration"; and at Los Alamos (NM) and the University of Chicago where the Manhattan Project eventually produced a new weapon called "the Gadget."This is an extremely well-organized and well-written book in which Davis and Harrison use the life and career of Edison for guidance to understanding subjects of major importance today such as breakthrough innovation, collaborative effort, the development and management of intellectual property, and effective organizational transformation. They suggest that companies (indeed all organizations) function in one or more of five levels which comprise "the hierarchy of value" for intellectual property, a model created at Andersen's Intellectual Property Management Practice and then at ICMG:1. Defensive: "If a corporation o

THE IP Value Extraction Methods Book of the New millenium

I throughly enjoyed the book, I read it in just a few hours. It is an informative text on how to make the most of your IP, especially for those companies that either have a great start by already having IP (patents) or those that want to get started developing it. This would have particular interest for those who want to start their journey in developing IP processes in their company. I have worked in this field for years and have read many books involving IP, but never has their been such a informative book. The nice thing is it is 100% up to date on what is going on and who is doing it. For instance, learn how Dow, probably the leader in the field of IP Practices, does what they do.Davis and Harrison have taken their vast experiences and knowledge that they have obtained over the years of work with their clients and codified these experiences in a "best practices book", particularly focused on how to manage the IP you already have.If you don't read this and you have an interest in this field, you will be missing what is likely to be the cornerstone text of the field.John Cronin, CEO of ipCapitalGroup, Inc an IP Professional Services Company.

Finally!

At last a book with both stories and practical frameworks! I found Kevin Rivette's book a nice story, but it had little substance, whereas Harrison's ICMG co-patriot Dr. Sullivan's books are rooted in the theory of what to do to manage intellectual assets, but sometimes tough to apply without the help of his company. This book is a good blend of the two, with company examples and an intuitive framework for managing intangibles. And its not too long to give to my execs to read on a plane. Good show!