Entrepreneurship from within

Who has never heard a success story that resulted from taking a risk, experimenting, or turning a mistake into an achievement?

If Nike hadn’t taken risks, the most famous basketball shoe in history wouldn’t exist. If Google hadn’t taken a chance, it would have never acquired the world’s most popular video-sharing platform. If 3M hadn’t failed in its attempt to create a super-strong adhesive, we wouldn’t have nowadays our beloved post-it notes.  😂

Without risks, experimentation, or failures along the way, there are no success stories.

But the reality is that it was neither Mr. Nike, nor Mr. Google, or Mr. 3M who came up with the risky idea that would become a great success for those giant companies. Those who put their jobs on the line, those who dared to go a little further, those who transformed the history of these organizations, were collaborators of whom little is known, but who were transcendental to these success stories. Without Sonny Vaccaro, a marketing executive, Nike would have never worked with one of the greatest basketball players of all times: Michael Jordan. Without Susan Wojcicki, a marketing manager, Google wouldn’t have considered buying YouTube, which, at the time, wasn’t a solid brand. Without Spencer Silver and Art Fry, 3M would have never produced post-it notes, which began as a failed attempt to create a different product.

Adaptation and innovation are crucial in a world where change is constant, and technological evolution knows no bounds. However, most of the time, innovation entails risk, and someone has to be willing to take it.

 In other words, behind every risk, there’s someone who dared to take it. A person with an idea, a supportive direction, a team that supported its execution. An entire organizational culture that allowed them to raise their hand and propose something that might have sounded ridiculous at the time. 

These people, those who seek and identify new opportunities, those who innovate, those who create value for companies, are known as  “intrapreneurs”. In other words, individuals with the ability to think and act like entrepreneurs within corporate environments.

Who wouldn’t want to have several of those in their organization? Of course! Everyone… 

For these individuals to exist, there must be a culture that encourages them to be proactive, creative, and innovative. A culture that provides them with the freedom and autonomy to generate ideas, take risks, and develop projects that can improve the company, increase efficiency, or create a new product or service. A culture that promotes continuous learning, allows for experimentation, even if it’s not successful. A culture that empowers its employees, establishes horizontal leadership, and fosters collaboration and teamwork. 

The challenge for organizations today is to develop and promote this culture.

How do we develop and promote an intrapreneurial culture?

Create agile and flexible environments. Allow everyone to propose ideas without fear of judgment, try ideas instead of debating them, and prioritize agility over bureaucracy.

Encourage experimentation and embrace mistakes. Those who are afraid to make mistakes won’t dare to take risks. Encourage people to take risks, understanding that not all endeavors will be successful, but they will be valuable learning experiences.

Dedicate time. Clearly, most working hours can’t be devoted to proposing, developing, and executing new ideas. But without allowing people to dedicate at least some time, innovation is impossible.

Lead by example. What do we mean by this? It’s not enough for the leadership to preach about developing this culture; their behavior and conduct must reflect the intrapreneurial spirit.

“The only way for companies to stay young and relevant is through intrapreneurship,” said one of the greatest examples of intrapreneurship we know, Gabriel Allasia.

Spoiler Alert!

An intrapreneurial culture isn’t built overnight. Going from zero to one hundred is rarely possible. But that shouldn’t stop you from going from zero to one, from one to two, from two to three, and so on until you reach one hundred. It doesn’t matter how long it takes; what matters is starting. You just have to dare to take the first step.

Would you like to develop an intrapreneurial mindset in your organization? We know how to do it! Contact us to learn more.