Cliff has worked with hundreds of small- and medium-sized businesses, individuals, and universities on a full range of intellectual property issues.  He is a member of the Virginia State bar and Federal Circuit Bar, the Virginia Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Cliff received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence, magna cum laude, from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia, and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, magna cum laude, from Virginia Tech.”

Today, Cliff will be talking with us about … you guessed it, Intellectual Property issues and opportunities for small to mid-sized businesses.

We talked with Harry about “Understanding & Surviving the Current Economic Upheaval.” In addition to giving us heaps of information and suggestions for actions you can take to keep your company vibrant and thriving, he also gives us the background on the current economic situation and provides really useful tips about how to create and maintain a successful relationship with your banker. This is terrific information – useful, timely, insightful, actionable!

If you want to learn more about surviving in uncertain times, then listen in to our conversation with Harry Rauner. If you find this podcast useful, please share it with your family, friends and colleagues. And … as always, we value your input.

Thanks for helping us illuminate pathways to your business success!

Lorraine – the “L” in KANDL

A LOT has happened in the past year and a half, the world’s economy started to spiral and collapse, businesses and people were losing ground by layoffs or closing the doors. So much has happened in so little time, KANDL had been affected by the worldwide economic collapse - I had to start traveling again (not because I wanted to because like many others I had too). Lorraine has been busy too.

KANDL has been keeping up with the changes. In our latest podcast, we reflect on the major ideas that we’ve heard from our guest and look at future episodes we have planned. So take a few minutes and allow KANDL to Illuminate YOUR Pathways to Business Success.

Thanks for listening!

Kent - the K in KANDL

We’re delighted to have with us Marilyn Finnemore and Aldo Bello of Mind & Media, who were the stars of Podcast #105, and Les Smolin, founder of the Executive Leadership Forum, our guest on podcast #108.

Marilyn and Aldo have a hugely successful media strategy, communications and production company working primarily with government clients, and Les is a seasoned business executive and consultant as well as a facilitator, coach and mentor to groups of CEOs.

Today, our conversation is going to focus on those opportunities - e.g., to make organizations leaner and more agile, to enter new markets with new products/services, to work closer with customers to help solve their problems, to work with suppliers in ways that serve both parties, and to form strategic partnerships for mutual benefit.  In short, we’re going to be talking about how to be resourceful and resilient, about how to run businesses better and smarter.

In upcoming weeks, we have some great guests including a discussion with Cliff Hyra, founder of Hyra IP, LLC, an attorney who specializes in Intellectual Property - it’s a timely conversation, which, you the listeners, will find important for protecting your business. Other future guest will include Julie Lenzer Kirk who will talk about thinking like an entrepreneur. I know Lorraine and I are excited about our guests and realize our listeners are just as valuable - so keep listening.

We’re delighted to have with us Marilyn Finnemore and Aldo Bello of Mind & Media, who were the stars of Podcast #105, and Les Smolin, founder of the Executive Leadership Forum, our guest on podcast #108.

Marilyn and Aldo have a hugely successful media strategy, communications and production company working primarily with government clients, and Les is a seasoned business executive and consultant as well as a facilitator, coach and mentor to groups of CEOs.

Today, our conversation is going to focus on those opportunities - e.g., to make organizations leaner and more agile, to enter new markets with new products/services, to work closer with customers to help solve their problems, to work with suppliers in ways that serve both parties, and to form strategic partnerships for mutual benefit.  In short, we’re going to be talking about how to be resourceful and resilient, about how to run businesses better and smarter.

Kimberly outlined her five Words of Wisdoms:

1. Start Small and Grow Organically

2. Focus on Creating an Experience

3. Be the Brand

4. Seek Balance

5. Set an Intention

Les spoke with us about the elements necessary for successful business growth. Among them were such things as clarity of purpose, inspiring leadership, performance and accountability, surrounding yourself with people from diverse perspectives who are willing to “tell you like it is,” and having fun. On the flip side, failure can result from under-capitalization, ineffective leadership and lack of ongoing innovation.

We asked Les for his parting words of wisdom, and this is what he shared.

• Be clear on your go-to-market strategy. Without that, your business has no foundation.
• Beware of the culture you create. Be intentional about it, and make sure it serves you and your employees.
• Make sure your leadership style is flexible and appropriate to the situation you find yourself in. Be adaptive as any one style will not work all the time.
• Get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis. It keeps you fresh, keeps you challenged and gives you the opportunity to step back and be self-reflective.

Les Smolin can be reached in the Silver Spring, Maryland (USA) at:

P: +1 301.942.3785 E: LSmolin@comcast.net

David talked with us about ways to successfully manage change initiatives, build organizational agility and foster an appetite for change. Key success factors in managing change include having support from upper level management, developing a clear vision and project plan, putting the right team in place, and engaging people through regular communication. David also shared with us his 8-step process for successful change.

As his closing comments, David offered the following advice:

• Change is going to happen – you can either approach it proactively or kicking and screaming.
• Change is an opportunity for people to learn, grow and engage in new endeavors, both personally and professionally.
• For each change initiative, make sure you have in place a well-thought-out strategy and a solid project plan.
• The enemy of change is complacency.

If you’d like to contact David Tennant in the Atlanta, Georgia (USA) area or learn more about Windward Consulting Group, just follow these links.

Email: windward1@comcast.net

Website: www.windward.ws

In our conversation, Fred emphasized the importance of creating a solid business plan at the very beginning of his venture. It is a document that helps him keep the volunteers engaged and focuses his attention on those activities that will most leverage his investment of time and energy. Fred has also used “social networking” (e.g., Facebook and MySpace) to excellent advantage. These are extremely low-cost (free) solutions with great “tools” that help Fred build awareness of Stop the Flares and create linkages with people all over the world. He shared his success with these outreach and community-building tools.

To wrap up our conversation, Fred offered up these thoughts.

1. His passion, excitement and energy are critical for the success of Stop the Flares - they keep him going and actively engage others in his cause. Use your passion to fuel your endeavours.
2. As with any new venture – non-profit or commercial – get sorted with the paperwork at the very beginning, even if it’s your least favourite thing to do. It’s a huge help with preparation of the underlying documents, taxes and other government compliance requirements. Remain focused and organized as your enterprise grows.
3. Bottom line - he finds it a great honour to be able to work on something that’s bigger than himself. Every day he wakes up excited to move forward the goals of his organization.

If you’d like to learn more about or participate in Stop the Flares, please visit their website at www.StopTheFlares.org. To contact Fred directly in Herndon, Virginia (USA), you can e-mail him at FredMaiden@StopTheFlares.org.

Since the company’s founding in 1994, Mind & Media has grown, changed and reinvented itself several times. Throughout all of this, Marilyn’s and Aldo’s values, passion, clarity, and purpose have guided their decisions and helped them to design a company that is extremely successful, fulfilling and fun for all concerned.

In our conversation with them, they highlighted the critical importance of embedding the company’s values into everything it does – processes, communications, staff selection, and company “rituals.” They talked further about the attention they have given to creating an intentional organizational culture that not only helps them live their values but also supports and enhances the organization’s performance and its relationships with staff and clients.

1. Marilyn and Aldo highlighted these lessons learned: As a business owner, know what you stand for and don’t apologize for it. Be explicit about your values and hold people accountable to live up to them.
2. By tolerating staff who don’t uphold the values, you do tremendous harm to the organization.
3. Operationalize your core values and embed them in how you do business. This allows for creativity and prevents rigidity in upholding those values.

If you’d like to contact Marilyn and Aldo in Alexandria, Virginia USA or learn more about Mind & Media, please visit their website at www.mindandmedia.com.

This conversation with Yvonne is very timely, as companies around the world are re-evaluating their business models, spending habits and underlying assumptions in response to rapidly changing economic realities.  Yvonne offers up sound advice about how to manage cash, cut expenses and lead through volatile times.   She discusses, among other things, the value of a solid team of advisors, straight talk and strict reality checks, and  examples of companies who have done it “right” and “not-so-right.”

Her closing words of wisdom were essentially these:

1. You have to be willing to take advice.  Surround yourself with people who are smart, aren’t just “yes” people, and can provide solid support.
2. Get on the phone; set up meetings.  Talk to as many people as you can.  Look for opportunities regardless of how much money you have in the bank.  Even if you don’t have a million dollars in your account, act (but don’t spend) as if you do.  Think big, outside the box, and shift out of desperation mode if that’s where you find yourself.
3. Leadership is critical in these changing times.  Refresh yourself on what good leadership is - model it, read about it, listen to podcasts (like this one!), think back to those people who were good leadership role models for you.
4. Look around you to see what successful people are doing.  See what you can learn from their behaviour and choices.  Model what makes sense for you.
5. Have fun and take care of yourself and your family.  Do something nice for others; give something away.  There are always people worse off than you.  Do things to raise your “internal temperature,” your energy, so you can fuel the fires of creativity in yourself and others.

Yvonne is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand (and soon to relocate to the UK).  Regardless of which hemisphere she’s in, you can reach her at:

E:  Yvonne@va.co.nz.  To learn more about her and her services, visit her website at www.va.co.nz or check out her blog at www.think.flokka.com.

Marta discussed the importance of having guidelines around the process for family members becoming (or not!) part of the family enterprise.  Further, she highlighted the challenges that members of business-owning families face when trying to keep straight which “hat” they are wearing - that of owners, managers, and/or family members. This “millenary” dilemma often leads to role confusion, misunderstandings and chronic unresolved issues.  It isn’t all (potential) problems, though.  Marta did stress that working together in a family enterprise can be hugely rewarding and satisfying given the right combination of factors specific to family businesses and families in business.

Marta wrapped up the conversation talking about the value of developing a family constitution.  She enumerated that such a document provides these four important benefits.

1. A method of ensuring continuity for the enterprise, within and between generations
2. A tool for managing expectations of family members
3. A means to promote profitability
4. An effective mechanism for making critical decisions for both the family and the enterprise.

Marta can be reached in Santa Monica, California USA at:

P: +1 310.396.5034

E: MartaVago@aol.com.

We asked Lorraine to list the few things she felt were critical elements for business success.  Here’s what she said.

• Most companies spend too much time looking inward.  Be sure to look outside of the organization, scan the environment, be informed about the competition, and put in an “early warning system” to monitor trends and highlight opportunities and/or threats.
• Intentionally create an organizational culture that is open and honest, places deep value on difference and on what people bring to the table (e.g., ethnicity, skills, background, networks, diverse perspectives), and is focused on sincerely developing and nurturing people.
• Don’t just plan strategically; make sure you manage, think and act strategically as well.  There is great value in strategic conversations.
• Identify, nurture, scrutinize, and reward those behaviors and attitudes that drive the organization’s desired outcomes.  Too many times companies reward the wrong behaviors and then wonder why they don’t achieve the results they expected.  Encouraging the right behaviors is probably the single biggest success factor for businesses.

Lorraine can be contacted in Auckland, New Zealand, as follows:

M: +64 (0)21.506.384

E: LWarshaw@BusinessNext.co.nz

When asked about his list of Project Management DOs and DON’Ts, he provided listeners with this information:

• DO keep it simple; DON’T overcomplicate things
• DO remember to think about your project on all three levels:  strategic, operational and tactical
• DO make sure you both provide and seek out coaching and mentoring
• DON’T rely just on your certifications to be successful - they’re the starting point
• DO be direct, up-front and clear in your communications, all the while being professional
• DON’T allow people to be indecisive - seek clarification and clear decisions
• DON’T take things too seriously
• DO have fun!

Kent’s personal contact information is as follows:

E:  kbarnett@managementoutsourcing.com

M:  +1 703.926.4035 (Reston, Virginia USA)

W: http://www.managementoutsourcing.com