What is the process to take ownership of an idea?
First I would suggest getting a patent or copyright but I think they cost money. My next suggestion would be to write it down, have it notarized and then seal it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. Once you get it back DO NOT OPEN IT!!! The date stamp on the envelope is proof that your idea was thought of on or before that date as well as having the document notarized with witnesses signatures. Although I am not sure how well this would stand up in a court of law. Now that would be a question for a lawyer. Good luck!
How can we engage more people in the democratic process?
As a parent of 2 teenage daughters, I hear the frustration they share with "rigged class elections, popularity vs. content, etc." within their own peer elections. I worry that our youth is missing the truth and honor of "personal integrity" and need to learn democratic integrity first from their parents and then from public role models such as teachers, community leaders and elected officials. The democratic process should begin in the home with active parenting; not passive or dictactorship styles. Active parenting provides a forum to share and to hear ideas, solutions, praise, criticism, etc. as well as an understanding that one's ideas should always be heard, considered and respected, but not necessarily always taken. This foundation then naturally expands into school where teachers may mirror this type of democratic atmoshere. Additionally, I feel more demonstrative practice is needed within the school system in order for our youth to understand the democratic process on a personalized local level. Washington is far away; OUR community is right in front of us. One solution may be to link community leaders with schools and to openly invite ideas, internship-for-a-day programs or other activities that marry "the process" with a reality that children understand. If the democratic process is understood and actively demonstrated locally then a national understanding is more easily comprehended. Of course all ages need to be engaged with this process. If we educate and engage at a younger age, it is a natural concequence that the democratic process will continue well into young adulthood and beyond. The age of 18 gives our youth the right to vote and to be a legal adult; if their upbringing engaged the democratic process, then our Leaders-of-Tomorrow will continue and expand the democratic process.
Say I've got an idea for an invention, but no money or relevant skills how do I turn the idea into something real?
Congratulations on your idea!First, I want to encourage you to continue to think of new and exciting innovations in the areas that most interest you. Let go of the belief that you’ve only got “one shot” to get your ideas out there in the world. Through your attempts to make progress with this invention, you will learn a lot and you might find ways to iterate the process and try again and again with other ideas. Think of yourself as a serial inventor who is capable of bringing many great things to market.Second, consider finding a community of folks to support your journey. You’ll need help with developing a prototype and might find support in a University’s mechanical engineering department. You’ll want to do some customer discovery to determine if people would buy your product and might watch some Youtube videos about surveys and market research. You’ll want to consider crowdsourcing your funding (Kickstarter or GoFundMe) and crowdsourcing your product progress (inviting a few folks to a slack channel to talk about possible improvements and to conduct focus group testing).Third, although there is a benefit to protecting your intellectual property and putting all the legal structures in place to ensure that it stays in your possession, this may not be your initial focus. As a first time innovator with very little money, you may want to approach this as a learning endeavor and trust that the people you meet and the knowledge you gain will set you up in the long run to have a successful and lasting career as an inventory.Lastly, an invention is another form of startup. Give yourself permission to get immersed in learning about startups. Join meetups and listen to podcasts. Get familiar with the “business” of inventions so that, when you are ready, you’ll know how to monetize your ideas.All the best,pearlo.co
We need a new process to match invoices with packing slips... Any ideas?
My process goes like this: We receive invoices, enter them into our system, then the paper copies go to me, where I am supposed to match them with the corresponding packing slip. Once it is matched, it is sent back to AP and paid. The issue with an invoice being paid before it has been matched is that it has to be attached to whatever it was paid with (either a printed credit card spreadsheet or a check stub) and then filed away. I cannot file it until it is complete, so I have to let a pile build up until I get the right packing slips. Sometimes this takes a very long time, and it's made worse because sometimes our other stores fail to send me the right packing slips (occasionally). I would like to try a different process that allows us to still make sure that we received product, have documentation proving that, without me having to spend countless work hours a week going back and trying to re-match the invoices once they have been paid. Any suggestions would be helpful. Afterno