intrapreneurship by dr peter kelly

1
40 41 companies can be killed with one no. e paradox is that independent entrepreneurs face a resource challenge, overcoming what are called liabilities of newness. Resources are typically not a problem for intrapreneurs but the issue of strategic misfit oſten stifles the developing of promising, but often radical, new opportunities in the corporate. COLLABORATION It seems to me that entrepreneurs who are the agents of radical innovation and intrapreneurs who try to introduce an innovative spark into established companies have a potentially fruitful basis to work together. Yet, for the longest time, the discussion has been framed in terms that entrepreneurs and established companies are working at cross purposes. My message is simple – they need each other. To overcome liabilities of newness, entrepreneurs should look to corporates for resources. To explore new routines, perspectives and approaches that could inform strategic development, corporates should look to entrepreneurs for inspiration and fresh strategic insights. We have coined a term for this, co-creation. CO-CREATION Let’s keep in mind that the “co-” means working with others and “creation” implies novelty. We know who co-creators are (founders, investors, partners, suppliers, customers) but we have very little idea what motivates the decision to co-create and what makes for a good match. The young startups that I have seen developed through the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society typically gravitate toward an independent ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEFINED To me entrepreneurship involves a situation where someone perceives an opportunity but does not have all the resources in hand to exploit it. Viewed in this way, entrepreneurship occurs in very different contexts: new businesses, family businesses, small businesses, large public companies, and not-for-profit organizations, including universities. A special label, intrapreneurship, is attached to the large corporate context, but the key point is that the elements involved in the process of exploiting entrepreneurial opportunity share many similarities regardless of context. e key challenge for entrepreneurial types within companies is that opportunities get framed by corporate strategic lenses. Entrepreneurs have the freedom of challenging everything; provided they can get some resource providers to say yes. However, intrapreneurs need to be very careful in challenging corporate strategic wisdom; entrepreneurial projects in Dr. Peter Kelly teaches creative entrepreneurship at Aalto University. In mid-April 2012 he shared his views on intrapreneurship with us. e following provides the highlights he presented based on his experience as an educator, practitioner and investor in entrepreneurial opportunities globally. route – raise some equity from outside investors to challenge corporate incumbents. Challenging corporate conventional wisdom is both exciting and potentially risky – raising resources and achieving staying power are very real issues that entrepreneurs adopting the “go-it-alone” approach face. Rather than viewing corporate as the enemy, I see tremendous potential from exploring how entrepreneurs and established players can co-create together. To work, this implies a degree of openness on both sides to have a dialogue, to genuinely listen and work to shape the entrepreneurial opportunity together. Our students have a great deal of experience working with companies on projects, too often, however, the project brief has been driven by, and represents the interests of, the company sponsor. I am calling for a new approach where the entrepreneur and the company jointly determine the brief together. CONTEXT For many years, I have been struck by the often superficial awareness of and appreciation for the context within which businesses are started by young students. Many come into my classes with ill defined answers to the critical question I always ask: “what makes you the right person to exploit this opportunity?” By default, many of our recent graduates do not have an extensive base of experience of the work world and it shows. I see tremendous potential to explore ways in which corporates can attract graduates who have an interest in, and a deep knowledge of, the entrepreneurial process but have not yet uncovered the right opportunity for them. It is precisely this kind of entrepreneurial spark plug that I believe corporates need to challenge conventional strategic wisdom and ask the inconvenient but oſten insightful questions that may guide corporates to discover and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities going forward. DESIGN & INNOVATION IN CONTEXT This coming fall a new course will be launched at Aalto: Design & Innovation In Context which will be challenged based. We want to provide an opportunity for young students to deepen their understanding of a particular context and in so doing, provide a platform for ideation. Working with a company on a challenge of interest to them, students will develop and explore creative ideas to address the challenge. We expect students to gain a deeper perspective of the challenges of innovating in the corporate world. In return, corporate gain fresh perspectives and insights that could help guide their own efforts to innovate. Co- creation in action! If you have no dialogue you cannot co-create.

Upload: aalto-executive-education-singapore

Post on 22-Mar-2016

216 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

DESCRIPTION

Let’s keep in mind that the “co-” means working with others and “creation” implies novelty. We know who co-creators are (founders, investors, partners, suppliers, customers) but we have very little idea what motivates the decision to co-create and what makes for a good match.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Intrapreneurship by Dr Peter Kelly

40

41

com

pan

ies

can

be

kill

ed w

ith

on

e n

o. �

e p

arad

ox i

s th

at i

nd

epen

den

t en

trep

ren

eurs

fa

ce a

res

ourc

e ch

alle

nge

, ove

rcom

ing

wh

at

are

call

ed l

iab

ilit

ies

of

new

nes

s. R

eso

urc

es

are

typ

ical

ly n

ot a

pro

blem

for

intr

apre

neu

rs

bu

t th

e is

sue

of s

trat

egic

mis

�t

o�en

sti

�es

th

e d

evel

op

ing

of

pro

mis

ing

, b

ut

oft

en

rad

ical

, new

opp

ortu

nit

ies

in t

he

corp

orat

e. C

OLLA

BO

RAT

IO

N

It s

eem

s to

me

that

en

trep

ren

eurs

wh

o ar

e th

e ag

ents

of

rad

ical

in

no

vati

on

an

d

intr

apre

neu

rs w

ho

try

to

in

tro

du

ce a

n

inn

ovat

ive

spar

k in

to e

stab

lish

ed c

omp

anie

s h

ave

a p

ote

nti

ally

fru

itfu

l b

asis

to

wo

rk

toge

ther

. Y

et,

for

the

lon

gest

tim

e, t

he

dis

cuss

ion

has

bee

n f

ram

ed i

n t

erm

s th

at

entr

epre

neu

rs a

nd

est

abli

shed

co

mp

anie

s ar

e w

orki

ng

at c

ross

pur

pos

es. M

y m

essa

ge is

si

mp

le –

th

ey n

eed

eac

h o

ther

. To

over

com

e li

abil

itie

s of

new

nes

s, e

ntr

epre

neu

rs s

hou

ld

look

to

corp

orat

es f

or r

esou

rces

. To

exp

lore

n

ew r

ou

tin

es, p

ersp

ecti

ves

and

ap

pro

ach

es

that

co

uld

in

form

str

ateg

ic d

evel

op

men

t,

corp

orat

es s

hou

ld lo

ok t

o en

trep

ren

eurs

for

in

spir

atio

n a

nd

fre

sh s

trat

egic

in

sigh

ts. W

e h

ave

coin

ed a

ter

m fo

r th

is, c

o-c

reat

ion

. C

O-C

REAT

IO

N

Let

’s ke

ep i

n m

ind

th

at t

he

“co

-” m

ean

s w

orki

ng

wit

h o

ther

s an

d “

crea

tion

” im

pli

es

no

velt

y. W

e k

no

w w

ho

co

-cre

ato

rs a

re

(fo

un

der

s, i

nve

sto

rs,

par

tner

s, s

up

pli

ers,

cu

sto

mer

s) b

ut

we

hav

e ve

ry l

ittl

e id

ea

wh

at m

oti

vate

s th

e d

ecis

ion

to

co

-cre

ate

and

wh

at m

akes

fo

r a

goo

d m

atch

. T

he

you

ng

star

tup

s th

at I

hav

e se

en d

evel

oped

th

roug

h t

he

Aal

to E

ntr

epre

neu

rsh

ip S

ocie

ty

typ

ical

ly g

ravi

tate

tow

ard

an

in

dep

end

ent

EN

TR

EPR

EN

EU

RSH

IP D

EFIN

ED

To

me

entr

epre

neu

rsh

ip in

volv

es a

sit

uati

on

wh

ere

som

eon

e p

erce

ives

an

op

po

rtu

nit

y b

ut

do

es n

ot

hav

e al

l th

e re

sou

rces

in

h

and

to

exp

loit

it.

Vie

wed

in

th

is w

ay,

entr

epre

neu

rsh

ip o

ccu

rs i

n v

ery

dif

fere

nt

con

text

s: n

ew b

usi

nes

ses,

fam

ily

busi

nes

ses,

sm

all

bu

sin

esse

s, l

arge

pu

bli

c co

mp

anie

s,

and

not

-for

-pro

�t

orga

niz

atio

ns,

in

clu

din

g un

iver

siti

es. A

spec

ial l

abel

, in

trap

ren

eurs

hip

, is

att

ach

ed t

o t

he

larg

e co

rpor

ate

con

text

, b

ut

the

key

po

int

is t

hat

th

e el

emen

ts

invo

lved

in

th

e p

roce

ss

of

exp

loit

ing

entr

epre

neu

rial

op

po

rtu

nit

y sh

are

man

y si

mila

riti

es r

egar

dle

ss o

f con

text

.

�e

key

chal

len

ge f

or e

ntr

epre

neu

rial

typ

es

wit

hin

co

mp

anie

s is

th

at o

pp

ort

un

itie

s ge

t fr

amed

by

corp

ora

te s

trat

egic

len

ses.

E

ntr

epre

neu

rs

hav

e th

e fr

eed

om

o

f ch

alle

ngi

ng

ever

yth

ing

; p

rovi

ded

th

ey

can

get

som

e re

sour

ce p

rovi

der

s to

say

yes

. H

ow

ever

, in

trap

ren

eurs

nee

d t

o b

e ve

ry

care

ful

in c

hal

len

gin

g co

rpo

rate

str

ateg

ic

wis

do

m;

entr

epre

neu

rial

p

roje

cts

in

Dr.

Pet

er K

elly

tea

ches

cre

ativ

e en

trep

ren

eurs

hip

at

Aal

to

Un

iver

sity

. In

mid

-Apr

il

20

12

he

shar

ed h

is v

iew

s on

intr

apre

neu

rsh

ip w

ith

u

s. �

e fo

llow

ing

prov

ides

th

e h

ighl

igh

ts h

e pr

esen

ted

base

d on

his

exp

erie

nce

as a

n

edu

cato

r, p

ract

itio

ner

an

d in

vest

or in

en

trep

ren

euri

al

oppo

rtu

nit

ies g

loba

lly.

rou

te –

rai

se s

om

e eq

uit

y fr

om

ou

tsid

e in

vest

ors t

o ch

alle

nge

cor

por

ate

incu

mbe

nts

. C

hal

len

gin

g co

rpor

ate

con

ven

tion

al w

isd

om

is b

oth

exc

itin

g an

d p

oten

tial

ly ri

sky

– ra

isin

g re

sou

rces

an

d a

chie

vin

g st

ayin

g p

ower

are

ve

ry r

eal i

ssu

es t

hat

en

trep

ren

eurs

ad

opti

ng

the

“go

-it-

alon

e” a

ppro

ach

fac

e.

Rat

her

th

an v

iew

ing

corp

orat

e as

th

e en

emy,

I

see

trem

end

ou

s p

ote

nti

al f

rom

exp

lori

ng

how

en

trep

ren

eurs

an

d e

stab

lish

ed p

laye

rs

can

co

-cre

ate

toge

ther

. To

wor

k, t

his

imp

lies

a

deg

ree

of o

pen

nes

s on

bot

h s

ides

to

hav

e a

dia

logu

e, t

o g

enu

inel

y li

sten

an

d w

ork

to

sh

ape

the

entr

epre

neu

rial

op

po

rtu

nit

y to

geth

er.

Ou

r st

ud

ents

hav

e a

grea

t d

eal

of

exp

erie

nce

wor

kin

g w

ith

com

pan

ies

on

pro

ject

s, t

oo

oft

en,

ho

wev

er,

the

pro

ject

br

ief

has

bee

n d

rive

n b

y, a

nd

rep

rese

nts

th

e in

tere

sts o

f, th

e co

mpa

ny sp

onso

r. I a

m c

allin

g fo

r a

new

ap

pro

ach

wh

ere

the

entr

epre

neu

r an

d t

he

com

pan

y jo

intl

y d

eter

min

e th

e br

ief

toge

ther

.

CO

NT

EX

T

Fo

r m

any

year

s, I

hav

e b

een

str

uck

by

the

oft

en s

up

erfi

cial

aw

aren

ess

of

and

ap

pre

ciat

ion

for

th

e co

nte

xt w

ith

in w

hic

h

bu

sin

esse

s ar

e st

arte

d b

y yo

un

g st

ud

ents

. M

any

com

e in

to m

y cl

asse

s w

ith

ill d

e�n

ed

answ

ers

to t

he

crit

ical

qu

esti

on I

alw

ays

ask

: “w

hat

mak

es y

ou t

he

righ

t p

erso

n t

o ex

plo

it

this

op

por

tun

ity?

” B

y d

efau

lt, m

any

of o

ur

rece

nt

grad

uat

es d

o n

ot

hav

e an

ext

ensi

ve

bas

e o

f ex

per

ien

ce o

f th

e w

ork

wo

rld

an

d

it s

ho

ws.

I s

ee t

rem

end

ou

s p

ote

nti

al t

o ex

plo

re w

ays

in w

hic

h c

orp

orat

es c

an a

ttra

ct

grad

uat

es w

ho

hav

e an

in

tere

st i

n,

and

a

dee

p k

no

wle

dge

of,

th

e en

trep

ren

euri

al

proc

ess

but

hav

e n

ot y

et u

nco

vere

d t

he

righ

t o

pp

ort

un

ity

for

them

. It

is

pre

cise

ly t

his

k

ind

of

entr

epre

neu

rial

sp

ark

plu

g th

at

I b

elie

ve c

orp

ora

tes

nee

d t

o c

hal

len

ge

con

ven

tion

al s

trat

egic

wis

dom

an

d a

sk t

he

inco

nve

nie

nt

but

o�en

insi

ghtf

ul q

ues

tion

s th

at m

ay g

uid

e co

rpor

ates

to

dis

cove

r an

d

exp

loit

en

trep

ren

euri

al o

pp

ortu

nit

ies

goin

g fo

rwar

d.

DESIG

N &

IN

NO

VATIO

N IN

CO

NTEX

T

Th

is c

om

ing

fall

a n

ew c

ou

rse

wil

l b

e la

unch

ed a

t A

alto

: Des

ign

& I

nn

ovat

ion

In

C

onte

xt w

hic

h w

ill b

e ch

alle

nge

d b

ased

. We

wan

t to

pro

vid

e an

op

por

tun

ity

for

you

ng

stu

den

ts t

o d

eep

en t

hei

r un

der

stan

din

g of

a

par

ticu

lar

con

text

an

d in

so

do

ing,

pro

vid

e a

pla

tfo

rm f

or

idea

tio

n.

Wo

rkin

g w

ith

a

com

pan

y on

a c

hal

len

ge o

f in

tere

st t

o th

em,

stu

den

ts w

ill

dev

elo

p a

nd

exp

lore

cre

ativ

e id

eas

to a

dd

ress

th

e ch

alle

nge

. W

e ex

pec

t st

ud

ents

to

gain

a d

eep

er p

ersp

ecti

ve o

f th

e ch

alle

nge

s o

f in

no

vati

ng

in t

he

corp

ora

te

wo

rld

. In

ret

urn

, co

rpo

rate

gai

n f

resh

p

ersp

ecti

ves

and

in

sigh

ts t

hat

co

uld

hel

p

guid

e th

eir

ow

n e

ffo

rts

to i

nn

ova

te.

Co

-cr

eati

on in

act

ion

!

“ If

yo

u h

ave

no

dia

logu

e yo

u

can

no

t co

-cre

ate.