Summary

With aggressive attempts to capture the value created by the firm’s intellectual property, while at the same time reducing costs, IP-rich companies can emulate Thomas Edison’s slow but sure journey to the boardroom. But we still have further to go. Profits are not everything, and we still haven’t arrived at the boardroom door. More levels are ahead—including the Synthesize Opportunities level, the next tier on the IP Value Hierarchy.

Notes

1. For more information on this framework see Donald C. Hambrick and James W. Fredrickson, “Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?” Academy of Management Review 19, no. 4 (2005): 51–62.

2. For the complete report, see P. Sullivan and R. Mayer, “An Update on IP Reporting Practices,” IAM Magazine, (September–October 2011): 54–59.

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