People often ask us if they can use the Action Design materials back in their organizations or in their consulting work. In thinking through how to respond to these requests, we have two sets of interests. First, we want our work to make a contribution, and that means we want our materials to be used widely. Second, we have invested many years in developing the intellectual property offered here, and we want to be compensated fairly so that we can continue to invest. Seeking to meet each of these interests, we ask that you who receive our materials follow these guidelines with respect to their further use:
 

• Please use them for your own learning and development whenever you see the opportunity.

• If you wish to show them to colleagues to see if they have an interest in learning more, please do.

• If you wish to share them with your work group so that they understand what you are learning and so that you and your group can work with these ideas together, that’s fine. Please keep our name and copyright on the material.

• If you want to use two or three of our graphics in a presentation, that’s okay too. We do feel strongly that our name should appear on them and that you should say that you got them from us.

• If you want to use our material in a course on coaching or conflict resolution or communication, etc., and offer it inside your company, please call us first to discuss royalties or a licensing arrangement.

• If you want to use our material in your consulting or in a course being offered commercially, please call us first to discuss royalties or a licensing arrangement.

• If you find yourself pressured by colleagues or clients to make a few changes to our materials so that maybe they can pass without crediting or compensating us, please take a stand. We have put years into this work, and we seek arrangements that are fair to all parties.

Thank you,

Phil McArthur, Bob Putnam, Diana M. Smith