The American dream for many if not most Americans are the right to own a home, the right to vote, and the right to own their own business. Over the last three decades, the latter of these rights, business ownership has consistently been on the rise.
Most large organizations have failed to address this growing phenomenon; even though the loss of key personnel to this trend has untold financial costs. Some leading edge companies have been on the forefront of keeping some of their best assets and brain trust. These companies have discovered the advantages of intrapreneuring.
What is intrapreneuring? Most people are aware of entrepreneurs; the difference between the two are an intrapreneur is an individual who works within an organization to take advantage of new market segments or business opportunities that may exist within the organization’s market scope. The organization supplies all the necessary funding and infrastructure for the intrapreneur. The return on investment for the organization is the retention of key personnel whom will lead the venture and the hope of a new viable business enterprise. The entrepreneur is completely on their own, using their own resources.
The term intrapreneur may sound like a new entry into the business lexicon; however, the truth is that this trend is not new. Many world class organizations are involved in this unique practice. The leader in business intelligence software, Business Objects is the result of an intrapreneur from Oracle. A former marketing manager in France for Oracle is the founder of Business Objects. The corporate icon IBM benefited handsomely when a group of its senior Germany employees founded SAP. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing is renowned for several of its products coming from the innovation of key employees turned intrapreneurs.
The highly competitive global market necessitates that organizations must do everything in its power to retain key personnel. Intrapreneuring can be a viable option for these organizations, if done right. Intrapreneuring is not a utopia and can be a very costly proposition for an organization. With no guarantee that any project will be successful, organizations must be selective. Funding in most organizations is sacred and a highly competitive process. Competition is fierce, within most organizations with too many projects and too few funds.
Organizations that are considering using intrapreneuring should consider a vetting process to determine the viability of each project. Questions such as, is there a viable market for such a product or a service? What is the risk for undertaking the project? What is the risk of not undertaking the project? Obviously many more questions will need to be asked and many different departments within the organization would be involved in the decision making process. This line of questioning should open up some very lively brainstorming sessions and opportunities for an organization to help determine whether the venture is a go or no go.
Equally as important is to determine the qualifications of the intrapreneur who will lead the prospective new entity. Generally, this is an individual or individuals who is, a senior executive, engineer, chemist, or possess some type of unique expertise. Individuals should possess a solid working knowledge of their industry and be prepared to present a workable business plan that is in line with the overall strategic plan for the proposed parent organization. Skills that would be useful for an intrapreneur would be accountancy, finance, economics, management, project management, networking, leadership, and a working understanding of Six Sigma.
As corporate competition continues to soar, this author's opinion is that although intrapreneuring has been with us for decades, the process and procedures of implementing intrapreneuring is still in its embryonic stage. Future opportunities that exist for both organizations and individuals will only be limited by the imagination of organizations and individuals themselves.
Mack Chapman MBA is an entrepreneur, consultant, noted public speaker, and works for a major private university. He has a passion for inspiring and challenging organizations and individuals reach their full potential by creating an environment of success through collaboration and team work. Mr. Chapman can be reached at mchapman@mypherox.com
