Have you ever had proprietary content plagiarized? If you have a website, send out blogs or post on social media, chances are you have. There are services to track this sort of thing. They do matches of word patterns to catch the scofflaws so your lawyer can send a nasty-gram telling them to cease and desist.
It typically does no good as the party stealing your stuff is often in a part of the world where you’re not going to get to them legally. I have a couple of tools on my website and these get downloaded and used by others without attribution. Here’s what I think about that: Have at it! Steal it! Use it! I don’t care!
In fact, I encourage people to take my stuff. In particular, I’ve got a Generic Monthly Agenda that is posted on my website and can be downloaded. Clients typically modify it and make it fit their situation. Non-clients do the same. Other consultants do the same and call it their own. I don’t care! It’s a great (if I do say so myself) tool for a monthly check-up for a business’s health.
Then there is my handy, dandy Emergency Succession Planning tool. It’s stolen all the time! Good! If someone is better prepared for an emergency succession situation, I’m pleased I could help, whether I know the party or not.
Here, take them yourselves, I encourage it: http://www.lightfootcfo.com/downloadsresources/
Why am I so cavalier about this? Why don’t I protect my Intellectual Property? Why don’t I care?
There are a couple of reasons. First, I want all small business owners to be successful and to achieve their financial and life goals via their businesses. If I can help in some small way, I’m honored. Second, these downloads are a tiny part of the value I can provide a business owner. All the artificial intelligence in the world can’t solve small business challenges like I can.
Here’s the deal—They can’t download me. I’m in a service business and, if you are too, they can’t download you either. People still make the difference.
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