Entrepreneurial guru Guy Kawasaki pointed last week to Bill Meade's list of the ten things companies can to do re-start their IP program if it hasn't been paid much attention lately. (Not paying attention to your IP?! I won't shake a finger at you and say, "Tsk tsk"… Even if I'm thinking it.)

Meade's list–and the idea of re-starting an IP program–fits well with some of the things that our Entrepreneurs in Residence have written over at the Innovators Network in the past couple of months about how to survive in a down economy . Both Andre Carter and Raymond Millien wrote that IP, your company's core value, becomes particularly important in a downturn. Meade's first suggestion is to isolate your patent business model — Carter and Millien both suggest looking at your IP through the prism and perhaps discovering something new 

With the economy maybe, possibly, perhaps on an upswing, it seems a great time to check Meade's list for ideas and give your IP program some much-needed love.