What is an Intrapreneur
An intrapreneur is an employee who embodies an entrepreneurial mindset within their organization. They use creativity, problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking to navigate uncertainty, driving innovation and acting as catalysts for change and growth in their company.
Naturally, entrepreneurial individuals find themselves at odds with the traditional corporate structure. They are creative problem-solvers who are unafraid of change and thrive in an environment of ambiguity. In other words, they are intrapreneurs.
An intrapreneur is “a person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation.” In short, intrapreneurs are change-makers, innovators, and disruptors.
While the corporate world has historically been resistant to change, there is a growing movement of corporations embracing intrapreneurship to spur innovation and drive growth. Here’s why your corporation should be one of them.
What is Intrapreneurship
At its heart, intrapreneurship is about encouraging employees to think like entrepreneurs. This means giving them the freedom to experiment with new ideas, take risks, and fail without repercussions. Of course, not all corporations are equally receptive to this thinking; in fact, many traditional corporations are downright hostile to it. That’s because they tend to value conformity over creativity and punish failure instead of rewarding it.
In these rapidly changing times, it is more important than ever for corporations to embrace employees with an entrepreneurial mindset. Intrapreneurial individuals are risk-takers who are not afraid to think outside the box and challenge the status quo.
They see opportunities where others see problems and always look for ways to improve existing systems and processes. Intrapreneurs are often passionate, driven, and highly motivated individuals who are relentless in their pursuit of innovation.
Why Corporations Should Embrace Intrapreneurship
With the ever-changing landscape of the business world, corporations need to be agile and adaptable to survive and thrive. Encouraging intrapreneurship within your corporation will allow you to tap into your employees’ creativity and innovative thinking to stay ahead of the curve.
Additionally, intrapreneurship has increased employee satisfaction and retention rates while fostering a culture of creativity and collaboration. There are many reasons why corporations should embrace intrapreneurship, but here are three of the most important ones:
- Intrapreneurship drives innovation
- Intrapreneurship attracts top talent
- Intrapreneurship fosters a culture of engagement
Intrapreneurship allows companies to tap into their employees’ creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. By encouraging employees to think outside the box and take risks, companies can host an innovative culture that leads to new products, services, and ways of doing business
The Benefits of Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship offers countless benefits to both corporations and employees alike. For businesses, intrapreneurship drives innovation and growth. For individuals, it provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment that comes from taking the initiative and being constantly challenged. Some of the other benefits of intrapreneurship include the following:
- Improved communication and collaboration among employees: Intrapreneurship fosters a culture of collaboration as employees learn to work together towards a common goal. This collaborative culture can lead to improved communication and teamwork, which are essential for any successful organization.
- Increased creativity and innovation: By encouraging employees to think outside the box, you will create an environment where creativity and innovation can flourish. This will lead to new products, services, and ways of doing things that can give your corporation a competitive edge.
- Greater engagement and buy-in from employees: When employees feel invested in their work and see the impact of their efforts, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated. This increased engagement can lead to improved performance and loyalty from employees.
- Improved employee satisfaction and retention rates: When employees feel like their voices are heard and that they have a role in shaping the company’s future, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and less likely to leave for greener pastures.
Therefore, intrapreneurship drives innovation and growth within a corporation and provides numerous employee benefits.
How corporations & companies struggle to embrace Intrapreneurship
One of the most significant challenges corporations face when embracing intrapreneurship is changing the corporate culture. As mentioned earlier, many traditional corporations value conformity over creativity and punish failure instead of rewarding it. This type of thinking needs to be changed for intrapreneurship to thrive.
Additionally, some corporations may struggle with giving employees the freedom to experiment and take risks. Many businesses operate under a “fail fast, often fail” mindset, but this is not always possible or realistic within a corporation.
Another challenge that corporations face is that they may not have the resources or infrastructure to support intrapreneurship. Here are some examples of how corporations have failed to embrace intrapreneurship:
Too Much Red Tape
One of the biggest obstacles corporations face when trying to encourage intrapreneurship is red tape. By its very nature, intrapreneurship requires employees to take the initiative and be creative in their work. However, this can often be stifled by excessive bureaucracy and inefficient processes. Unnecessary procedures so bog down many corporations that it’s difficult for employees to take the initiative necessary to innovate.
Rigid Meetings and Schedules
Another factor that can inhibit intrapreneurship is rigid meetings and schedules. Often, a company’s corporate culture does not allow for much flexibility regarding brainstorming sessions or creative thinking time. Employees are often so hung up by meetings and deadlines that they don’t have the time or space to think outside the box. As a result, innovation is stifled, and new ideas never have a chance to take root.
Unnecessary Procedures
One of the reasons why corporations and companies often struggle to embrace intrapreneurship is because of unnecessary procedures. Many businesses have too many systems that do not help the company move forward. This can make it difficult for employees to act like entrepreneurs because they feel restricted by all rules. Instead of encouraging creativity, these procedures often suffocate it.
Lack of Rewards
In some cases, companies don’t do enough to reward employees who come up with innovative ideas. Intrapreneurship often requires employees to put in extra time and effort outside their regular job duties. If they aren’t adequately compensated for their actions, they’ll likely be reluctant to continue putting forth the extra effort. Furthermore, if employees have no incentive to be innovative, they will probably stick with the status quo instead of taking risks and trying something new.
How to Encourage and Support Intrapreneurship in Your Corporation
Many corporations these days are interested in encouraging intrapreneurship within their organizations. Intrapreneurship is when employees bring new ideas to life within an established company. This can lead to innovative new products, services, or processes that can help the company grow and succeed.
So, how can you encourage and support intrapreneurship in your corporation? Here are a few tips.
Teach Intrapreneurship Principles
Teaching intrapreneurship principles in your company should start by:
Give everyone an equal opportunity
Giving all employees an equal opportunity to participate in intrapreneurship initiatives is essential. If only senior management is encouraged to develop new ideas, you’re missing out on a wealth of creativity from other employees. Make sure that everyone knows they are valued team members and that their input is welcome. Doing so will create a more collaborative environment where people feel comfortable sharing their ideas.
Create a safe space
Intrapreneurship can be scary for some people because it requires taking risks. So, creating a safe space where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of judgment or repercussions is crucial. This could involve setting up an anonymous feedback system or holding regular “idea generation” sessions where people are free to share whatever comes to mind. Whatever you do, make sure that people feel like they can speak up without fear of retaliation.
Strengthen leadership and management within
Last but not least, it’s essential to have strong leadership and management within your corporation if you want to encourage intrapreneurship. This means having leaders who are open-minded and willing to take risks, as well as managers who are supportive and empowering. When employees see that their leaders actively encourage innovation, they’ll be more likely to take risks themselves.
Follow the right procedures
One of the most comprehensive approaches to intrapreneurship is proposed by John Kotter, who has been researching subjects for his studies for many years. Here are just a few notable steps in the process that he used to show how to accelerate the transformation within a company.
Form strategic initiatives
One of the best ways to encourage intrapreneurship is to form strategic initiatives around it. That means setting aside a budget and some resources specifically for employee-side projects. Google does this with its famous “20% time” policy, which allows employees to spend 20% of their time working on whatever they want.
Removing barriers & enabling action
Another way to encourage intrapreneurship is to remove barriers preventing employees from taking risks and experimenting with new ideas. One common barrier is a lack of resources; if your employees don’t have the budget or manpower to turn their ideas into reality, they will not bother trying in the first place.
Sustain success
Once you’ve created a culture of innovation within your corporation, it’s crucial to maintain that culture over the long term. That means continually investing in resources like R&D, training and development, and employee retention. It also means setting aside time and budget for innovation initiatives like hackathons and Idea Days.
Develop an institution of change
Becoming an institution of change is not something that happens overnight. It takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error. But if you’re serious about encouraging intrapreneurship within your corporation, it’s worth the effort. When you become an institution of change, you create a culture where innovation is the norm and employees constantly develop new ideas.
Intrapreneurship is vital to any successful corporation; it allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in today’s ever-changing marketplace. If you want your corporation to thrive, you need to Encourage and Support intrapreneurship within your ranks. By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to fostering a culture of innovation within your corporation.
Success Stories from Companies That Embraced Intrapreneurship
Apple
One company that has embraced Intrapreneurship is Apple. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 after being ousted 12 years earlier, he realized that the culture had changed and that Apple needed to embrace intrapreneurship to survive. Jobs implemented several changes designed to promote creativity and risk-taking.
One of the first things Jobs did was bring in Jonathan Ive, an industrial designer who would design many of Apple’s most iconic products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Ive was given much freedom to experiment with new designs, and he eventually built a team of designers who shared his vision. This team would come to be known as the “iPhone team” because their work eventually led to the development of the iPhone.
The iPhone team was given free rein to explore new ideas, and they were allowed to fail without consequence. This culture of experimentation led to the development of groundbreaking new products that helped Apple regain its position as a market leader.
Sony
Another company that has benefited from Intrapreneurship is Sony. In the early 2000s, Sony faced stiff competition from Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console. Sony realized it needed to think outside the box to take on Microsoft. That’s when an intrapreneurial team within Sony came up with the idea for the PlayStation, which featured cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray drive and built-in Wi-Fi. The PlayStation 3 was a huge success, selling over 80 million units worldwide and solidifying Sony’s position in the gaming market.
Because of this hands-off approach from management, the PlayStation team could move quickly and efficiently. They also developed groundbreaking new technologies that helped set the PlayStation apart from its competitors. The success of the PlayStation proved that intrapreneurship could lead to great things if companies are willing to give their employees the freedom to experiment.
Airbus
In 2015, Airbus launched Crowdcraft, a platform that crowdsources ideas from employees throughout the company. Anyone with an employee login can submit an idea and vote on which ideas they think are worth pursuing. The Crowdcraft team then works with the submitters of winning ideas to help them bring their concepts to life. Airbus is currently testing several submitted proposals, and the company plans to get one or two electric aircraft projects to market by 2035.
All businesses face challenges—it’s just part of being in operation. However, embracing intrapreneurship can help you turn those challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation. By encouraging your team members to think differently, giving them ownership over their projects, and leveraging their expertise, you can position your company for continued success well into the future.
Final Thoughts on the Future of Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship isn’t just for startups anymore—it’s for established businesses too. In these fast-paced times, intrapreneurialism is more vital than ever for companies to embrace if they wish to thrive (and grow).
There are countless reasons why companies should embrace intrapreneurship, from fostering innovation to developing new products and services. According to Bruce Fisher, approximately 20% of employees in a typical organization will be responsible for 80% of the innovations. This is because the individuals in this group are typically more curious and passionate about improving their environment. They also aren’t afraid of failure, which is essential to any successful entrepreneurial venture. Consequently, by embracing intrapreneurship, companies can encourage innovation and create an environment conducive to success.
MEDIARS Studio / M Accelerator
Unlock Innovation and Empower Your Team
At MEDIARS Studio / M Accelerator, we specialize in helping businesses develop innovation while strengthening the soft skills of intrapreneurs within your organization. Whether you’re looking to foster creative problem-solving, improve communication, or drive impactful change, we provide tailored programs to inspire and empower your team to lead with confidence.
Ready to innovate? Contact us today to explore how we can help transform your business and build a future-ready workforce!
