Bob Sesek

Bob is about making masterpieces out of messes. Think of him as a catalyst or disciplinarian of chaos. From writing, rehearsing, and revising command plans for space vehicles at Hughes, through testing printers that were changing in functionality, under tight release deadlines, with a team needing a transformation of its self-image, throughout his career Bob has found jobs where leadership, capacity for independent thought, and understanding of systems come together to bring renewal and redefinition of teams. A prolific inventor at HP and beyond with 46 issued and over 30 pending patent applications, Bob was also a mentor to inventors at HP Boise converting new HP employees, who did not know what they could not do, into respected members of the inventing community. Bob likes to break things. And then he likes to repair them. And then he likes to invent improvements. As an adult child of US immigrants, Bob is adept at blending in without belonging. Blending in gives him a capacity to empathize with and understand the people he is among. Not belonging frees his irreverence and sharp tongue to throw out a steady stream of observations and tough love that are invaluable for getting a team to reflect on its performance.

Bill Meade

Bill produces results by mobilizing technical and business creativity. Started career as new products manager for materials handling robots at Litton Industries. Conducted primary research with customers to define market requirements. Worked with engineers specifying software requirements, electrical engineering requirements, chemical requirements, industrial engineering and mechanical requirements for mobile robots. Entered grad school for an MBA, recruited by marketing faculty into marketing Ph.D. program. Ph.D. minors in econometrics, statistics, electrical engineering, and evolutionary ecology. Assistant professor, University of Missouri—St. Louis 6 years, taught high-tech marketing, and rest of marketing curriculum. Discovered the Internet in 1992, Guy Kawasaki in 1994, and Geoffrey Moore in 1996. Moderated Internet discussion lists for every class taught, for Guy Kawasaki on high tech marketing, and for Geoffrey Moore on high-tech investing. Beamed through Internet to product manager job at HP's LaserJet operation in Boise. Moved from new product development into intellectual property management providing business support for 6 gigantic patent lawsuits between HP and Xerox. Mobilized marketers, engineers, scientists, expert witnesses, public relations people, and managed these to support litigators. Played catalyst role in bringing HP/Xerox litigation to a close with a flanking tactic. Pushed the envelope in HP of quantifying IP for cross-license negotiations. Lit the fire of inventing that took HP from #18 in US patenting to #3. Conducted 200+ invention workshops for HP in the US and in 6 foreign countries. Developed business processes that embrace and extend legal policies for inventing, paying incentives to inventors, and reporting invention to HP management. Left HP and started Basic  Intellectual Property Management consulting firm.