Intrepreneurship; Businesses successfully meet the daily challenges of operations

because of it. They solve problems, grow and become successful because of it. Yet some,
too many, don’t embrace it enough to make their business what they dreamed it would
be. As a result, they become mediocre at best, or part of the 85%-95% that ultimately
fail. Intreprenuership is the product of a excellent workforce.
Intrepreneurship, unlike entrepreneurship, is a concept that says you have the
resources in your employees to solve most of your business challenges. It is more than
just the concept, it is the execution of actions and activities that increase productivity
and profitability within a company. These are not the founder of the company. These
are the people who, unlike an entrepreneur, focus internally on the business. The
entrepreneur focuses externally. Yet the two are very linked.
Intrepreneurs drive innovation in the company. It is through them that problems are
skillfully solved and solutions to the complexities and subtleties of the marketplace are
developed.
Creating a culture of Intrepreneurship is the first step in developing and then harnessing
this powerful tool for business success. It is the entrepreneur, the leader of the business
who envisions this culture and then promotes it. Some things to do to create this
environment are:
Trust your employees – If you want your employees to help build your business then you
have to trust them with information about your company. Financial data, customer
issues and other key measurable areas of your business should be shared. This allows
you to get appropriate feedback and ideas in order to overcome obstacles and
challenges.
Reward the right behaviors – You want your employees to take the initiative, to be
proactive instead of reactive. As a result, you cannot micro-manage and you should get
out of their way so that they can do their job. Those who successfully innovate and solve
problems that add value to the business should be rewarded. This reinforces not only
their responsibility in the process but also your trust in them.
Fix the issues today – When issues surface do not put them off. The old adage “If I
ignore it then it will go away” means literally that if you ignore your issues your business
will go away. The longer these issues remain the more disruption they cause to your
business and the more disruption and stress your employees feel. Fixing things as they
become known reinforces trust and removes unnecessary stress from your business.
Exploit good competitive spirit – Everybody wants to excel. While teams win
together, intrepreneurs often provide individual wins. Let us be honest, everyone likes
to win and as a result, they want something to win for. Healthy competition that
capitalizes on the talents of your employees while keeping them together is a great way
to develop your intrepreneurialspirit. However, it is important that everyone who
contributes understands their parts were also important.
Developing this culture, and standing by it, is critical to entrepreneurial success. In fact,
this Intrepreneurship could even lead to an expansion of the business that allows
these intrepreneurs to potentially run their own business or even a part of yours.
When developing and supporting your intrepreneurs you have to remember a couple of
points:
Allow them autonomy and independence – Intrepreneurs solve problems through
investigation and experimentation. Allowing them to do this, without you hovering over
them as they do, helps ensure that ideas become solutions and solutions make your
business more productive and profitable.
Help them grow – Growth is important to Intrepreneurs. Not only do they want to
increase their skills and experience, they want to learn new things. Showing them what
you know, giving them the opportunity for educational and personal development is
critical to fostering a strong environment for Intrepreneurship. A great example of this is
the creation of Velcro. In 1948, George de Mestral went hiking in the woods with his
dog. Arriving back at his home, he saw the burrs that clung his dog and to his clothes.
Looking at a burr under a microscope he saw that they were covered in tiny hooks,
which allowed them to grab onto clothes and fur that brushed in passing. After more
than eight years of research and work, he created Velcro.
Companies and business leaders who understand the tremendous value
ofIntrepreneurship will be the business stars of the future. Tapping into this incredibly
powerful and profit-making concept will help your business on its journey to success
and sustainable growth and profitability.
intrapreneurs and Corporate Management

Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a corporate management style that

integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches. It also incorporates the reward and
motivational techniques that are traditionally thought of as being the sole province of
entrepreneurship.

The intrapreneur acts as an “inside entrepreneur” who focuses on innovation and

creativity while operating within the goals and environment of an organization.
Intrapreneurs bring their ideas to the firm to generate new products, processes, or
services and thereby act as a force for change within the organization. Capturing a little
of the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial management (trying things until successful,
learning from failures, attempting to conserve resources, and so on) adds to the
innovation potential of an otherwise static organization without exposing those
employees to the risks or accountability normally associated with entrepreneurship.

Theory and Practice

Incorporating entrepreneurial concepts into traditional corporate environments is easy to

promote in theory: capturing the innovative attitudes of small start-ups within the larger
organizational context (i.e., with more resources) seems intuitive. In reality,
entrepreneurship is often much easier to discuss in a classroom than to integrate into
an actual organization. There are many reasons for this that generally boil down to
simple issues of size and corporate inertia.

Companies are built on structures and hierarchies which in turn create a dependable
and repeatable operational process. This process leads to value creation, and efficiency
is always a focal point in operational contexts. When innovation and intrepreneurship
enters this equation they are often seen as costs without tangible and definite benefits,
and as lacking consistency and applicability to the current model. In many ways, the
benefits of intrepreneurship are difficult to forecast and thus difficult to justify. As a
result, good managers must be long-term oriented and open-minded in order to capture
the benefits of instilling an intrepreneurial spirit.

By Carter Caldwell

We all know about entrepreneurs and their goal of building a successful company around the
development of some new product or service. However, an established company’s growth
strategy often involves developing new products internally as well. While there is no perfect
recipe, some things remain consistent when developing a new product, either by an entrepreneur
or an entrepreneur within a company, called an intrepreneur.

For an intrepreneur, it is critical to always keep an eye on the future (trends, technology
developments, etc.), to identify gaps in the future needs of clients, to articulate how your idea can
fit into “solving” the company’s gap, to “sell” the intrepreneurial idea to the company’s
leadership, to find the sponsor within the company’s leadership, and ultimately, to deliver.

Culture Is Critical

For individuals to feel comfortable bringing and promoting innovative and entrepreneurial ideas
within a company, a feeling of support must be ingrained in the organization’s culture.
Encouragement for internal innovation must also come from a company’s senior management
because, without a culture that truly supports and encourages innovation, internal innovators will
just find themselves frustrated. Companies can encounter a stall point without such a culture,
because a firm and its individuals become complacent with the business and do not develop
additional skills. Ultimately, without supporting and encouraging intrepreneurs, there becomes a
horizon past which a company can no longer grow from innovation.

This was no more apparent than when IBM’s Chairman and CEO, Lou Gerstner Jr., correctly felt
that innovation was going to be a key to the company’s growth and, as a result, started IBM’s
“Emerging-Business Opportunities” (EBO) program from scratch in 1999. The goal of this
division was to identify areas that were new to IBM and grow them into profitable businesses in
5-7 years. In its first 5 years, IBM launched 25 EBOs, of which three failed. But the remaining
22 were producing annual revenue of $15 billion and growing at more than 40% a year.

This was also seen in the early days of the R.R. Donnelley company, which had been focused
entirely on its core business of commercial printing. However, the culture of the company
supported its team members in developing innovative concepts and, as a result, was ultimately
open to the concept of digital printing. This culture was demonstrated when the company
supported Rory Cowan in forming the Digital Division that enabled the company to expand
further within the printing industry and not be left behind as it would have if it had continued to
focus entirely on its historical core business.

Another example of this was the newspaper publishing company, Knight Ridder. The company
had been an innovative one for several decades, and its culture had encouraged evolution through
innovation, particularly when it came to technology. Its early support of videotext (which was
somewhat of an early derivation of the Internet) and the various evolutions thereof enabled it to
ultimately be open to the various emergences of such technology.

The videotext project never got the necessary adoption it needed and, after 6 years and $50
million, became a write-off. Yet, the support from Knight Ridder’s leadership along the way –
internally, externally and financially – allowed Knight Ridder Digital’s CEO Hilary Schneider to
grow the division and, ultimately, develop products that had significant and positive impacts on
the company. Without such a culture, the company might have remained focused solely on its
core business of print publications, which have suffered an incredible decline in sales and
readership since electronic communications and digital printing have taken over.

Sponsorship and Mentorship

In nearly every case, it is key for the primary individuals driving the entrepreneurial efforts to
have both an internal sponsor and, in numerous cases, a mentor for any intrepreneurial effort. A
corporate sponsor is one who shares a commitment to the project, and also has access to the
various executives necessary to foster a project’s development. A mentor is an individual who is
committed to the intrepreneur as an individual, and provides career and objective advice.

Ideally, the company’s CEO publicly embraces, supports and tangibly commits to such
innovation-driven growth.

For Knight Ridder’s intrepreneurial efforts, Tony Ridder initially served as a sponsor for Bob
Ingle and his initial forays into digital media distribution. Tony Ridder continued to provide
support and served as a sponsor to Hilary Schneider when she ultimately took control of the
KRD group.

Ian Telford at Dow Chemical recognized in 2000 that the company was ignoring a significant
amount of the market — lower volume, lower margin customers. To address this market, but
compensate for the lower margins, Telford utilized the rapidly growing Internet to create e-
epoxy.com. Ian Telford was able to initiate the e-epoxy.com project not just because he was an
intrepreneur, but also because the project had an initial sponsor in Henry Vermaak, the chairman
of the Epoxy Leadership Team, the group from which Telford needed support. Regardless of the
fact that Vermaak called himself a “concerned supporter,” his involvement served as a sponsor
for the program. During the course of the project’s development, Vermaak also became a mentor
to Telford and, in Vermaak’s own words, had “coached him privately.” As the company’s
evolution impacted its leadership, other members of the company’s leadership became sponsors
of the project as well. As such, e-epoxy.com and Ian Telford had both sponsors and mentors
during the project’s early lifecycle.

However, this support structure disappeared quickly because of a change in the company’s
leadership. Within a month of the e-epoxy.com project getting approval for a $1M launch, one of
Telford’s executive supporters got promoted to a bigger job and was replaced with a new
individual. And then Henry Vermaak retired, Vernaak’s boss retired, and the new leader, Bob
Wood, put the e-epoxy.com project on indefinite hold.

Access to Capital

A company can have a maverick, intrepreneur and strong project sponsors, but no innovation or
intrepreneurial project will occur without capital. Providing access to capital is a visible
indication and extension of a corporate culture that supports innovation. As it relates to Dow
Chemical, Ian Telford was able to convince the Epoxy Leadership Team to conduct an initial test
of the project and secured $100,000 as a result. Once the project reached another milestone, it
became apparent that it would need another infusion of capital if it were to mature further. As a
result, Telford was able to secure another $1 million from the company to pursue the project.

The Digital Division at Knight Ridder had consistent access to capital and, as a result, was able
to continue to grow its projects. Hilary Schneider had come to a decision point about whether or
not to undertake new projects in order to support the company’s expansion. However, these
projects were going to require capital. Access to capital was also one of the key elements to
ensuring that IBM created emerging businesses. The company’s internally developed EBO
program had access to enough capital that it was able to identify, fund, and shepherd 25 new
business opportunities.
Without access to capital, intrepreneurial and innovative opportunities within companies will not
have a chance to emerge into viable projects or related companies.

Target Identification, Approach Planning and Time for Failure

No business or project can effectively become profitable and sustain growth without carefully
identifying the target market and planning the correct approach to reach that target. Some people
suggest that finding the target audience and determining the most applicable business model is a
start-and-stop process that requires plenty of time for failure. However, this does not take away
from the fact that, ultimately, a successful and profitable opportunity requires that it showcase
value to the target audience.

R.R. Donnelley had undertaken a detailed effort to identify its target customers by developing a
matrix from potential customer interviews and mapping that against the technology that would
best address these customers’ needs. However, despite having identified its target customers,
R.R. Donnelley had to convince its targets that they had a problem, which they did not yet know.
Through this collaboration, the company was able to develop and grow this opportunity.

In 2010, ING was able to identify its ideal target audience by first isolating what its highest-
margin services were and then determining ways to improve their offering relative to those of its
competitors. Ways of improving the appeal of their product was by eliminating fees and
minimum balances. By identifying its strengths, ING was able to pinpoint its target audience:
Internet-friendly households wanting to increase interest income and eliminate minimum account
balances. Having identified its target audience, ING Direct’s product had a near-perfect
opportunity to reach this audience because the users were already Internet-friendly; as a result,
ING Direct was able to leverage the Internet to undertake a low-cost advertising plan. This was
then supplemented by other methods. ING was also an example of a company that allowed time
for failure. The company shaped its product offering and then undertook a trial in Canada before
seeing the results and rolling it out further.

Knight Ridder, by contrast, failed to identify its precise target audience for the videotex product
and, as a result, had to take a $50 million loss. The company had correctly identified that digital
products were a threat to its newspapers and, as a result, developed videotex by thinking that it
was going to be the solution and would be used by the audience in the intended manner.
However, Knight Ridder had not properly identified its target audience because, if it had, then its
users would have used the product in its intended manner, instead of using it for e-mail, bulletin
board discussions and games. The company could have leveraged its first-mover advantage if it
had done more accurate target audience identification and learned what the audience’s use of the
product was going to be.

Ultimately…
Ultimately, these cases are examples of important elements for creating viable and profitable
intrepreneurial ventures within companies. However, the fact that not all of these important
elements are apparent in all successful intrepreneurial projects demonstrates that there is no
perfect formula. The necessary elements depend upon the company within which the efforts are
going to occur and, as a result, showcase the most important attribute: a person inside a company
who has an entrepreneurial idea, can best identify and navigate the barriers involved within that
company, and find the best solutions for these barriers in order to find success. Without the
adequate personality traits, corporate experience and capabilities to navigate the barriers within a
company, it will be difficult to find success.
What Is Intrapreneurship?

Intrapreneurship is a system that allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur within a

company or other organization.

Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, proactive, and action-oriented people who take the initiative to
pursue an innovative product or service. An intrapreneur knows failure does not have a personal
cost as it does for an entrepreneur since the organization absorbs losses that arise from failure.

Understanding Intrapreneurships

An intrapreneurship creates an entrepreneurial environment by allowing employees to use their

entrepreneurial skills. It allows the freedom of experimentation and growth within an
organization.

Intrapreneurship fosters autonomy and independence while attempting to find the best resolution.
For example, intrapreneurship may require employee research and recommend a more efficient
workflow chart to a company’s brand within a target group or implement a way to benefit
company culture.

Intrapreneurs are able to resolve specific issues such as increasing productivity or cutting costs.
This requires a high level of skill—namely leadership skills and thinking outside the box—
directly applicable to the assignment. An intrapreneur also takes risks and drives innovation
within a business to better serve the marketplace through increased goods and services.

A successful intrapreneur is comfortable being uncomfortable while testing his or her ideas until
achieving the desired results. He or she is also able to interpret trends in the marketplace and
visualize how the company needs to evolve to stay ahead of its competition. The intrapreneur is
part of a company's backbone and the driving force mapping out the organization’s future.

[Important: Intrapreneurs are tasked with using the company's resources, while entrepreneurs use
their own.]
Key Takeaways

Intrapreneurship is a system which allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur within an

organization.

Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, proactive, and action-oriented people who have leadership
skills and think outside the box.

Intrapreneurship is one step toward entrepreneurship—intrepreneurs can use what they've

learned as part of a team to develop their own businesses.

Intrapreneurship Leading to Entrepreneurship

Intrapreneurship is one step toward entrepreneurship. Intrapreneurs can develop and use their
creativity to enhance existing goods and services within the context of the business, all without
any of the risk attached to being an entrepreneur. Using these skills as part of a team lets the
intrapreneur test theories and determine which methods are most effective for solving problems.

Intrapreneurs may use what they've learned as part of an organization's team to create their own
company and reap the benefits of their hard work rather than letting another organization profit
from their ideas.

Intrapreneurship and Millennials

A majority of Millennials are embracing the intrapreneurial style of work. They desire meaning,
creativity and autonomy when working. Millennials want their own projects to develop as they
help their companies grow.

By including employees from every age group when resolving issues, a variety of answers are
proposed and resolutions determined in a more efficient manner, benefiting everyone in the
organization.

Example of Intrapreneurship

Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies, decided to do away with individual offices
within three months of starting his job in 2014. He believed an open office led to more sharing of
ideas and added greater value to the organization. Haidamus interviewed more than 100
engineers individually to determine which technologies had the greatest chance of being
successful in the marketplace at the time.

Related Terms

What Is an Entrepreneur?

Learn what an entrepreneur is, what they do, how they affect the economy, how to become one,
and what you need to ask yourself before you commit to the path. more

Sizing up Knowledge Capital

Knowledge capital is an intangible value of an organization made up of its knowledge,

relationships, learned techniques, procedures, and innovations. more

What Is Organizational Behavior (OB)?

Organizational behavior is the study of the way people interact within groups. Its principles are
used in attempts to make businesses operate more effectively. more

Factors Of Production Definition

Factors of production is an economic term to describe the inputs that are used in the production
of goods or services in the attempt to make a profit. more

How Organizational Structures Work

An organizational structure is a system for how an organization's activities are directed in order
to achieve its goals. more

Capitalism Definition

Capitalism is an economic system whereby monetary goods are owned by individuals or

companies. The purest form of capitalism is free market or laissez-faire capitalism. Here, private
individuals are unrestrained in determining where to invest, what to produce, and at which prices
to exchange goods and services. more

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