{"id":16310,"date":"2018-05-14T12:05:23","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T12:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sparkvisionnow.com\/?p=16310"},"modified":"2018-05-14T12:05:23","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T12:05:23","slug":"fostering-intrapreneurs-two-tips-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunneez.com\/sparkvision\/fostering-intrapreneurs-two-tips-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Fostering Intrapreneurs: Two Tips for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Foster Intrapreneurship: Transforming Employees into Internal Entrepreneurs for Innovation and Growth<\/h1>\n

You\u2019ve likely heard the term <\/span>entrepreneur<\/span><\/i> before, but have you heard of an <\/span>intrapreneur<\/span><\/i>? Did you know you just might be one?<\/span><\/p>\n

An intrapreneur is an internal entrepreneur. In the United States, there are about <\/span>25M<\/span><\/a> entrepreneurs starting and running businesses, leaving 90 percent of the workforce working <\/span>within<\/span><\/i> a company. <\/span><\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re one of those driven employees, or if you\u2019re a leader looking to spark innovation and drive in your employees, how can you become more entrepreneurial within a larger organization? As a former intrapreneur turned entrepreneur, here are my top tips.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Build a culture that embraces and explores failure.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You may have heard the saying \u201c<\/span>Disrupt, or be disrupted.<\/span><\/i>\u201d And that is key. As reducing risk is a major part of what companies do, embracing failure can seem very scary to a leader within an organization. In the short run, it is easier to become more efficient, make it faster, cheaper or higher quality\u2013you may not believe you have room for failure and mistakes. But the reality is, most long-running companies have actually <\/span>changed<\/span><\/i> what they do along the way. And it\u2019s likely due to a failure of some kind. For example, 3M started out making abrasives, but now make flat sticky things like scotch tape and post-it notes. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Start by sharing a failure you made and why it was considered to be one. <\/span><\/i>When sharing your failure story, give context to the failure and frame it as a learning experience. Then encourage others to do so, perhaps start by sharing a failure from when they were young, in school or early in career. This may take a few tries as people are naturally averse to share failures but with time it will become normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

    With failure, comes experimentation. Think about the<\/span> scientific method<\/span><\/i>\u2013the very thing scientists use when they conduct experiments.<\/span> A true experiment is when you don\u2019t know the result that may occur, which by definition means it could fail and not give the result you hope for. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Think of a problem your customers have and develop several questions that may lead you to a solution. Then for each question, write it in a way that can be answered in yes or no (this is your hypothesis) then develop a small (low cost, quick) experiment. <\/span>Examples: a small-batch formula tweak, A\/B testing an ad, or building a mockup to show customers. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Create structure and use tools.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      It may seem counterintuitive to use structure and tools to be more creative and entrepreneurial, but it actually helps get things started. You can always dial back the structure once the intrapreneurial spirit starts to kick in. Two structured events I\u2019ve found which foster intrapreneurship are hackathons and pitch sessions (think <\/span>Shark Tank<\/span><\/i>). <\/span><\/p>\n

      With a <\/span>hackathon<\/b>, the key is a multidisciplinary team, a time crunch and prizes. Other best practices include:<\/span><\/p>\n