Is this true?

My mastermind group has been discussing an issue where one member has had a patented and copyright process being copied and sold under other people's names.

What is she to do?

Spend months of time, energy and thousands of dollars to protect the patent and copyright?

First reaction is to go for the jugular, but stepping back and taking a different view, should this be the approach?

How much is the lack of focus on her real business going to cost, what loss will existing clients experience, will the business growth suffer because of the distraction?

Those who are carrying out this act have basically thumbed their nose at her and said "we will tell everyone you are a horrible person for picking on us, and this will cause your business to have problems". 

I'm a passionate supporter of Open Source software solutions, and contribute to a couple of communities in this area, the philosophy appeals because of the approach to the sharing of ideas and the subsequent growth as an outcome of this.

Having previously worked in IT and proprietary software development the issue that really got me down was the dependency model used.

When people made contact with a problem the approach was to solve their problem and charge them accordingly, when it was fixed. That's sounds fair you say.

That helped the immediate concern of the client but it continues to build the dependency relationship.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a meal, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a life time.

People are happy when their problems are solved but they are absolutely delighted when they are empowered, with help, to fix it for themselves.

• So if you share everything (including your how to) why would anyone come to you again?

• Wouldn't your sharing make you redundant?

In spite of what is claimed there are very few new ideas only numerous new ways of applying old ideas and delivering them.

So is your idea absolutely unique?

In many cases given the resources available most people can solve the problems they have by finding the solution themselves, be it via their won network or the internet. Someone on the other side of the world at some stage has and is probably doing the same thing you are right now.

The challenge for us all is to understand that ... by helping people help themselves you are taking the road less traveled.

What if the next time your clients ask for help you point them to your resources and information and allow them to solve the problem them selves as an alternative to you physically doing it for them?

They will thank you for it; you will have the satisfaction of helping your client grow as you aren't just solving their immediate problem.

Long term relationships are born out of interdependency, open sharing and growth.

• How can you help your clients, help themselves to your knowledge and skills?

• How can your products and services empower your clients to grow themselves or their business, without you being there to do it all the time?