Making a difference is not always easy. If you are a changemaker, the difficulty is not only about finding new ways of doing things – a big barrier is about how to convince the management board of your idea. Especially if you have to face long-established directors that experienced well-functioning processes for years and don’t see the point to change anything.
Although IP is a relatively new business area, it is not exempt from this issue. If you currently intend to introduce new processes in IP, it may help to learn some lessons from someone, who has already gone through that. We interviewed Carrie Sindelar, working in Patent Operations at Honeywell International Inc., at the last IP Service World. This article gives a short overview of the steps she undertook to achieve a successful change in her department. To get full insights, watch the video on our YouTube channel.
Cloud-Based IP Portfolio
Carrie Sindelar’s journey began when Senior Management created the Patent Operations role. Her mission was to make a difference – so she tried to find ways how to do so. Her first approach was to get as many insights as possible about the industry. She quickly realized that having a dedicated resource to manage the IP systems was critical to the success of transforming the department.
The idea of a cloud-based IP portfolio was created. It should help understand processes and systems better. But – as experienced changemakers already know – they could not do it alone. The next step was to choose the right partner on this journey. A partner, who complements the capabilities Honeywell International was not able to provide. Together, they have been able to develop standard operating procedures that serve the company’s needs better than the previous ones. But did they also overcome the management board obstacle? Did they convince them about new procedures? Find out in the full interview video.
Lessons on the way to success
Carrie Sindelar learned three lessons on her path of making a difference in the world of IP. First, when you want to persuade the management that your new system should be implemented, always show them the money you will save. Second, it is not enough to know how to improve processes. You need to teach the whole team to perform better. And third, you have to understand your system to the core. Knowing every single link in the process by heart leads to an understanding of what works for you and what works against you.
To dive deeper into these lessons and understand how they may support your individual change project, we advise watching the full video. Further interviews with experts in the IP world are provided on Management Circle’s YouTube channel.
