The value of "Free"

My son would most likely be an engineer.  He's already shown a number of traits that leads me to that conclusion:  For his age, he's very advanced in math and science; He loves building things; He loves being recognized for his work; etc.  And yes, there's another trait: He loves things that are "free".  He would spend $10 to get a $5 thing for free!!

To a lot of people, acquiring something for free is in itself a reward worth more than the thing itself.  People most often associate a higher value for something that's "free".  But this it true as long as it's tangible - i.e. it's a "thing".

On the other hand, if you offer your opinion for free, it is taken as just that ....  Many years ago, I learned that doing pro-bono consulting as way to get engaged with a client and then grow it into a consulting contract later just doesn't work.  A consulting contract would only happen if the client sees value in your services.  Once you've offered it for free, the value perception of the service is almost entirely washed out and hence it's almost impossible to recreate it to a point that it's worth paying for.

Lesson learned: Always combine your pro-bono consulting with a free "thing"!  Make sure there is a deliverable at the end where your value is captured.  If it's a report or presentation, deliver it in a nicely bound printed on good quality paper.  If it's something that required a lot of time and heavy thinking, make it large and heavy.  In either case, present it with a big final bang (invite board members, make several copies, etc.).

Once your have the free "thing" delivered, it's much easier to move to the contract negotiation.

"Confidentiality is Overrated!"

OK.  This one's a bit controversial, and I don't necessarily subscribe to it. But.... someone whom I respect greatly as a high tech executive made that statement in a coffee conversation last week, and I thought I'd be interesting to share his point of view.

His point was simply that engineering mentality in any high tech industry has such a strong sense of NIH (Not Invented Here) that even if you present them your IP (patent), they won't use the IP since they believe can do it better themselves and that the IP is "of no real value".

I know from personal experience (having worked in an IP company once) that an engineer's first reaction to an IP is that "it's no good" and her IP is just much more relevant.  In fact in one case, I remember the engineering team I was dealing with didn't want to sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) since they didn't want to even see the IP to avoid contamination as they were sure they were going to invent something "better".

As it turns out, the value of IP, just like anything else, is in the eye of the beholder.  So if the engineer might think the IP is irrelevant, his management might think otherwise and see it as extremely relevant since it could provide them a economic advantage or at least a leveled playing field.

Confidentiality might be overrated (in a hyper-practical view) but also in the same hyper-practical view, it never hurts to have one (e.g. NDA) in place to remove all possible future issues.