everyone’s had it happen to them at some point, whether it’s that homework that the school bully copied or the css being stolen from your site, we’ve all experienced having our hard graft stolen and other people taking the credit for it. infuriating doesn’t even begin to explain the emotions involved when you experience this for the first time, infact come to think of it, at any time.

however what happens when your ideas are stolen when you’re pitching for work? how much should you give away? before now, the focus has been on code that some cheeky blighters have copied and pasted but what about when you’re consulting for strategies and marketing?

you obviously want to go in there prepared, to show that you’ve given THAT specific company thought and attention and that your recommendations are tailored to their needs. but, what happens when you give away lots of your ideas (i.e. specifics that you’d implement and ideas for viral activity) and then they choose not to hire you but implement your ideas themselves?

go in to the pitch with high level ideas and no specifics and you risk looking “fluffy” and without giving any indication of what they’d actually be getting for their money, so where’s the happy balance?

the answer is that i’m still trying to establish this – i want to give good value for money, to show that i know my stuff and to prove that they’ll be getting the personal attention with me that they wouldn’t with a big agency. i guess you just have to accept that you might run in to some rotten apples along the way but it’s all a learning experience and they aren’t the type of people you’d want to be working with anyway.

in my eyes, the most effective projects are those where the company and the consultant are singing from the same hymn sheet… i know for sure that i wouldn’t just put my name to just anything, i work with ethics and i want to work with companies that have ethics too… it’s just such a shame when you give it your heart and soul.

i’d love to get your thoughts…