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MBA blog: Corporate entrepreneurshipis neededStereotypically, big corporate organisations dont encourage entrepreneurism but thisattitude is changing says Hemant Chandran

Hemant Chandran

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Most conventional definitions of entrepreneurship miss the contours of corporateentrepreneurship. This dimension of entrepreneurship is sometimes covered in the term:intrapreneurship .

An intrapreneur is a person who takes the entrepreneurial initiative within an organisation.Such behaviour can be a competitive advantage and sometimes a key differentiatorbetween firms, yet too often businesses rigid structure can limit employees creativity andability to strive outside of the accepted limits.

The company 3M is an exemplary example demonstrating what companies can achieve if they choose to embrace this different side of employee productivity. As one of the veryfew ambidextrous organisations in the world that allow organisational slack, employeesspend 15 per cent of their time on their pet projects and are rewarded for theirinnovations. Entrepreneurship and innovation does not necessarily need to be a one-off big bang mind-blowing invention. It can be a small incremental change, which isnevertheless revolutionary and undoubtedly c reative and useful, suc h as the post- it note!

While it is challenging for large dinosaur-like organisations to keep the intrapreneurialflavour in the organisation, it is imperative for them to infuse new talent. Further,generation Y are eager and ready to constantly seek challenges at work.

Some big organisations have responded to this rising challenge by introducingentrepreneurial contests that in some ways answer to the generation Ys yen for risk andthoughtful adventure. Entrepreneurial firms not only do themselves a favour by employingsuch self-motivated and performing talents, but they also contribute to society since thechallenges contestants bring to bear on their work and the productive labour it yields spureco nomic growth. Entrepreneurship, viewed in this light, is a trait that applies only toorg anisations or to certain types of individuals.

Diff erent organisations follow widely varying strategie s in order to be effectivelyent repreneurial. Some follow the SCAMPER model as a star ter to generate ideas among itsemployees. The SCAMPER mnemonic stands for: substitute, combine, adapt, modify, putto another use, eliminate, reverse, and obviously works best when representatives from alldepartments are present and participate actively at brainstorming sessions. Some otherorganizations harness what they call innovation radar. This tool displays twelvedimensions of business innovation anchored by the offerings a company creates. This isoften used by companies to benchmark competitors who reveal the relative strengths and

weaknesses of each company.

It is not unusual for many companies to look up to the middle manager as theentrepreneurial person. However, middle managers can be inflexible, and are often theintractable bureaucrats who prefer the tried-and-tested status quo . Companies need toidentify the entrepreneurial middle manager and hone their innovative skills to keep them

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1/24/2014 MBA blog: Corporate entrepreneurship is needed

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engaged with the company. Otherwise, such middle managers may either lose theirinterest or worse, turn rogue managers whose behaviour may become detrimental tocolleagues.

Considering all of this, it is more important than ever to follow methodical steps andmeasures in order to build sustainable corporate entrepreneurship. Breaking all the silosthat exist within the departments perhaps comes first. Identifying and fosteringappropriate talents is equally essential. But it is creating the right environment for buddingintrapreneurs that is the most important step in the process. It involves taking calculatedand imaginative risks, and even then success is not guaranteed. Companies need tocontinually assess the environment in order to keep the creative juices flowing. Get all of this right, and the organisation will certainly reap the creative benefits.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are the only ways for business to survive meaningfully inthis fiercely competitive environment. With more start-ups than ever, all buzzing anddetermined to succeed, companies need to reform their internal outlook and engender acreative, flexible intrapreneurial attitude. Its only then that the real results can be seen.

Hemant Chandran is a finance professional and MBA from Strathclyde Business School. Hehas more than 5 years of experience in U.S. real estate and securitization. He is also

an AMBA Global AMBAssador

http://www.mbaworld.com/globalambassadors