by Maria Boicova-Wynants
Most strategic failures are decision failures. What Would You Do? explores how real decisions are made under pressure, by the people behind IP, innovation and strategy. Not theory. Not generic leadership advice. Each episode focuses on the moment of choice, where information is incomplete, incentives conflict, and consequences unfold over time. This podcast makes those decision patterns visible. Think clearly. Decide better.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
4/20/2026
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June 22, 2026
<p>“Should we protect this?” sounds like an IP question.</p><p><br></p><p>It usually isn’t.</p><p><br></p><p>Most of the time, it is a decision-making problem.</p><p><br></p><p>Because when the answer is not obvious, companies tend to do one of two things.</p><p><br></p><p>They either drift.</p><p><br></p><p>“Let’s come back to this.”</p><p>“We need more information.”</p><p>“We’ll see how it develops.”</p><p><br></p><p>Pure avoidance!</p><p><br></p><p>Or another option: they overcompensate.</p><p><br></p><p>They protect everything because uncertainty feels uncomfortable and filing something feels like doing something.</p><p><br></p><p>Also hardly a strategy.</p><p><br></p><p>But the thing is… It’s not easy!</p><p><br></p><p>You are being asked to evaluate future value with present information.</p><p><br></p><p>That will always be uncomfortable.</p><p><br></p><p>On the other hand, waiting for certainty is not a plan. It is just letting TIME make the decision for you and time is a terrible decision-maker. </p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, I talk about what I would actually do when you are not sure something is worth protecting.</p><p><br></p><p>I am not going to give you vague “build a strong IP portfolio” advice.</p><p><br></p><p>Essentially, TL,DR: here is the practical recap:</p><p><br></p><p>define the trigger </p><p>map the window </p><p>classify the asset honestly </p><p>make a real decision</p><p><br></p><p>And the real decision is one of the following three:</p><p><br></p><ol><li>Protect it.</li><li>Delay with intent and a review date.</li><li>Or consciously decide not to protect it.</li></ol><p><br></p><p>All three can be perfectly valid.</p><p><br></p><p>What usually costs the most is leaving the question unresolved and calling that caution.</p><p><br></p><p>And this is already episode 10 of What Would You Do?</p><p><br></p><p>Now, I will take a summer break from a podcast, so you will have time to review the previous episodes, before I come back with Season 2.</p>
June 15, 2026
<p>“Are we protected?” Is that the right question for the board to ask? </p><p><br></p><p>I don’t think so. </p><p><br></p><p>It sounds responsible, adult. It sounds like governance.</p><p><br></p><p>And maybe… five or ten years ago, that question was enough.</p><p><br></p><p>Legal checked the portfolio. The CFO checked the budget. And… The CEO moved on.</p><p><br></p><p>But hey, not anymore. </p><p><br></p><p>IP is not just a downstream legal hygiene function. It never was, but nowadays it certainly isn’t.</p><p><br></p><p>IP sits inside decisions about:</p><p>-AI vendors.<br>-Data and content assets.<br>-M&A value.<br>-Brand visibility in algorithmic markets.<br>-Investor confidence.<br>-Pricing power.<br>-Competitive friction.<br>-Exit leverage.</p><p><br></p><p>And the majority of those decisions are NOT being made by Legal.</p><p><br></p><p>They are being made by founders, CEOs, boards, investors and deal teams.</p><p><br></p><p>Sometimes in rooms where the IP function is not even present.</p><p><br></p><p>That is the danger.</p><p><br></p><p>Not that the IP work is bad.</p><p><br></p><p>The filings may be fine. The register may be tidy. The clearance work may be solid. The budget may even be perfectly reasonable. But the company may still be running…yesterday’s IP model in today’s market.</p><p><br></p><p>The better question to ask is:</p><p><br></p><p>“What is our IP doing for us?”</p><p><br></p><p>Did it help us win a deal?<br>Did it support pricing?<br>Did it deter a competitor?<br>Did it strengthen our investor story?<br>Did it change the negotiation?<br>Did it preserve optionality?<br>Did it expose a risk before someone else priced it against us?</p><p><br></p><p>If the answer is only a list of filings, that tells you something.</p><p><br></p><p>You may have administrative IP.</p><p><br></p><p>Useful. Necessary. Often important.</p><p><br></p><p>But not yet strategic.</p><p><br></p><p>In Episode 9 of What Would You Do?, I talk about the boardroom version of the sunk cost trap:</p><p><br></p><p>This is not staying in a losing game, but staying in a (so far still) winning game that has quietly become… yesterday’s game.</p><p><br></p><p>The hardest part is that nothing looks broken. Yet.</p><p><br></p><p>The portfolio performs against the expectations that were set… years ago.</p><p><br></p><p>And the problem is that the expectations have changed.</p><p><br></p><p>Just… the world has changed. </p><p><br></p><p>The companies that notice this early will ask better questions before acquirers, investors or competitors ask them first.</p>
June 8, 2026
<p>"We've come too far to pivot."</p><p><br></p><p>Few sentences have destroyed more value.</p><p><br></p><p>It sounds reasonable. Responsible, even.</p><p><br></p><p>Until you realise that "we've already invested so much" tells you absolutely nothing about what you should do next.</p><p><br></p><p>Past investments are facts; future decisions are choices.</p><p><br></p><p>Yet companies keep funding underperforming projects, renewing irrelevant IP rights, defending outdated positions and chasing strategies that stopped making sense years ago.</p><p><br></p><p>Why?</p><p><br></p><p>Because abandoning a path is rarely just a financial decision.</p><p><br></p><p>It is an identity decision.</p><p><br></p><p>Walking away from a patent family, a product line, a market expansion, or a strategic initiative often feels like admitting that the earlier decision was wrong.</p><p><br></p><p>And human beings are remarkably creative when it comes to avoiding that feeling.</p><p><br></p><p>In Episode 8 of What Would You Do?, I explore one of the most expensive cognitive traps in business: the sunk cost fallacy.</p><p><br></p><p>I talk about:</p><p>• Why intelligent people fall for it<br>• Why experience does not protect you from it<br>• How sunk costs hide behind words like "vision", "commitment" and "long-term thinking"<br>• Why the real issue is often psychological, not financial<br>• The question that helps separate persistence from stubbornness</p><p><br></p><p>Because there is a difference between staying the course and refusing to look at reality.</p><p>And that difference can be worth millions.</p><p><br></p><p>🎙️ Episode 8: What Would You Do If You've Already Invested Too Much to Stop?</p><p><br></p><p>Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaboicovawynants</p>
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Most strategic failures are decision failures. What Would You Do? explores how real decisions are made under pressure, by the people behind IP, innovation and strategy. Not theory. Not generic leadership advice.
Each episode focuses on the moment of choice, where information is incomplete, incentives conflict, and consequences unfold over time.
This podcast makes those decision patterns visible.
Think clearly. Decide better.
This podcast updates daily.
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