10 Reasons for Corporate Entrepreneurship – Fad or No Fad!

by: Susan Foley - February 22nd, 2013   Filed under: Corporate Entrepreneurs, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Intrapreneurs, Intrapreneurship 1 Comment

A question that many executives ask me; “Is corporate entrepreneurship just the latest management fad.”  Fad or no fad the real question is why now!

iStock_000012707016XSmallRead 10 reasons why corporate entrepreneurship is needed now.  Then let me know if you think corporate entrepreneurship (Intrapreneurship) is a management fad or here to stay.

1)  Inadequate Growth:  The current reality is that most organizations have spent the last decade investing in existing or mature products that are not providing adequate growth.

2)  Failure Rate:  The failure rate for new business initiatives remains high for new products and services, more than ninety percent for transformational efforts.

3)  Lack of Capabilities:  A majority of CEOs do not feel like they have the skills or capabilities inside their organization to achieve their growth agenda, they are probably right.

4)  Few Role Models:  Only four percent of executives in large organizations are entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial, most executives have achieved their success by managing the core business not building new ones.

5)  Major Barriers:  After a decade of cost cutting and streamlining operations, organizations have created rigid and inflexible systems that have created roadblocks and barriers to growth.

6)  Inability to Change:  Risk adverse cultures, resistance to change and fear of the unknown are impeding an organizations ability to respond to a rapidly changing world.

7)  Reliance on the Past:  Increasing uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity are putting pressure on organizations to rely on practices that worked well for them in the past, but may not now.

8)  Poor Execution:  Three out of five organizations say they are weak when it comes to execution and they see corporate entrepreneurship as a way to close the gap between idea generation and execution.

9)  Business Benefits:  Corporate entrepreneurship is linked to higher levels of productivity, engagement, growth, innovation and financial returns. It is also linked to intangible outcomes like knowledge, skill development and job satisfaction.

10)  Accelerate Growth:  Sixty five percent of the top one hundred innovative companies are instituting corporate entrepreneurship as a way to increase their ability to accelerate new business growth.

Is corporate entrepreneurship the latest management fad or a business imperative? You decide!

Challenge Facing Intrapreneurs

by: Susan Foley - January 15th, 2013   Filed under: Business Growth, Intrapreneurs, Intrapreneurship Add Comment

One of the greatest challenges facing Intrapreneurs is finding an organization that has the entrepreneurial mindset and infrastructure to support what they do and how they do it.

Organizations think they know what it takes to be entrepreneurial.  In truth they don’t.

Entrepreneurship for many organizations is etched in words, not actions.  The intent is there, it is the entrepreneurial leadership and operational support that is missing.

This makes it more difficult for Intrapreneurs to succeed.  They must not only deal with the nuances of building a new business, they must also deal with the obstacles that the current operating environment puts in their way.

Entrepreneurship Sign - CroppedIntrapreneurs often find themselves trapped in organizations that claim they are entrepreneurial when in fact they are not.  Finding an organization that truly embraces entrepreneurship is difficult.  Knowing what to look for is critical.  Read More

A New Era Begins – Intrapreneurship

by: Susan Foley - December 18th, 2012   Filed under: Business Growth, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Intrapreneurs, Intrapreneurship, Social Intrapreneurs, Uncategorized 1 Comment

As the Mayan calendar comes to an end we are reminded that each ending brings a new beginning. Despite the claims that the world will end, a more popular belief is that we are at the beginning of a new era.

An era that is full of opportunity, hope and new challenges. The old ways are no longer working.  We’ve reached a point of diminishing returns.  It is not only society that is facing massive problems, our governments, and our businesses as well.

After teaching a semester on Social Change at Suffolk University I realized that the world is changing at an accelerated pace and that most individuals and organizations are not keeping pace with that change.  Most of us resist and fear change, we are threatened by it.

We look for answers outside of us, when in fact the answers lie within us. We are responsible for the problems that exist and for finding the solutions that will fix them.

Many organizations are struggling to grow in the current economic climate.  The issue is that for far too long organizations have relied on exploiting the core business.  They have failed to fully embrace the value of exploring new ones.  They have let the past guide them to a point that is no longer productive, sustainable or profitable.  They have become trapped by their own success.

Intrapreneurship is now seen as an answer to this situation. Organizations that are instituting Intrapreneurship are taking advantage of the opportunity to change their business model and set out in a new direction. They are putting the words of Peter Drucker into action, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Intrapreneurship (corporate entrepreneurship) is the key to unlocking the huge potential that still exists in large organizations.  It requires a new type of person, new processes and systems and a culture that is conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship.  It requires new thinking, new behaviors and a different approach to decision making.  It requires looking at the world through a new lens.

As the Mayan calendar ends we see the beginning of a new era in business.  An era where large organizations act more like start-ups, engage their employees in exploration and find new and innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Organizations will find themselves going back to their roots.  To the entrepreneurial infrastructure and mindset that was the foundation for their growth

In doing this these organizations will renew themselves and re-energize their employees to achieve things that seemed beyond their reach.  Employees will find new meaning and purpose in work. They will be creating a new era of business for the next generation to follow.