How can you overcome resistance to change when introducing a corporate entrepreneurship initiative?

I believe engaging the team at early stage to be part of this vision and initiatives; so instead of resisting the change they will have the ownership spirit which will work as a driving motive.

Navigating corporate change is about understanding psychology and strategic planning. Overcoming resistance requires empathy and clear communication, explaining the ‘why’ behind changes and how they align with organizational goals and personal growth. It’s crucial to balance aspirational vision with realistic day-to-day operations, incorporating robust feedback mechanisms and celebrating small wins. This approach fosters an adaptive culture where change is embraced, ensuring every step and voice is valued. #LeverageKnowledge

Vision is invariably communicated through lofty statements. Any change towards corporate entrepreneurship needs to begin with making the Vision sound practical. The Vision at our Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Bennett University (India) is to 'Have Entrepreneurship in the Air'. This is bound to sound lofty & abstract. However, we have found a way to make this Vision sound clear, plausible, and even achievable. We broke down the Vision in its visible effects, for example, freshers discussing start-ups even before being taught, seniors handing down the entrepreneurial culture to juniors, larger no. of students walking into the incubator. This has now resulted in over 50 faculty/staff members volunteering to mentor start-ups!

It is often said that proposing a new business model in a successful large organization is nearly impossible. Yet, in my service industry experience, there's always room for new business models if it fulfills 3 criteria: - Sizeable impact: no one wants a new venture without attractive future benefits, whether a large incumbent or a venture capitalist. - The new model must leverage current key assets: what do you already have, you can rely on to build a new model (customer base, technology, distribution network, etc.)? - The vision must genuinely connect with the current reality. A "from now to tomorrow" plan is essential for people to embrace the project. Above all, it must inspire. So make it big and enchanting!

Here's a fact: the human species loves change and is naturally attracted to it. We call it neophilia and it is a critical part of our evolution. Now, when business literature - such as this article -talks about how to overcome change aversion, it's referring to resistance to "negative" change. The word negative is left out, and some euphemism is given. But what it really means is asking people to do more work for the same money, or to introduce risk into their jobs. People are change-resistant because it’s causing them more effort or financial harm. Now that we have sliced through the fluff, here's the bottom line: communicate the benefits to people as individuals, translated to each one of them. Do that, and the aversions will evaporate.

The senior team need to understand that not all staff is entrepreneurs even those with long service records. The messaging is extremely important to change the mindset of the team, hence real effort and time by experienced entrepreneurs needs to be provided to the team to assist in that mindset transition.

I have run a few successful innovation initiatives in large business and the resistance early on can be a challenge. A couple of things I found helped Firstly, how you frame it. When launching a new innovation unit I even though I accounted for maybe 3% of the company turnover it equated to 50% of company revenue growth and even more of company profit growth. Given the long term incentive was based on earnings per share growth this allowed everyone to see it had a much greater impact than its size might have suggested Secondly, think about the branding. You need to market internally as much as externally. I called my innovation “seed brands” which clearly articulated the idea of someone that starts small but grows fast

I agree, but I have also found that incentives work best. When employees, customers, and stakeholders can clearly see the ROI, along with the mission and values, it drives a willingness to participate, with actions and results. Too often we forget the economy in “circular economy”. Let’s demonstrate how innovation saves everyone time, money, and resources. Then it’s a win-win-win for people, planet, and profit. And how do you say no to that?!

Never underestimate the value of diverse perspectives. When communicating a new vision, it’s still important to get feedback from stakeholders to ensure you have everyone’s buy in. Being inclusive and making people feel heard will help circumvent pitfalls down the road.

Not only just create a vision document and communicate it well but also try it hands on on a smaller scale to showcase small wins that lead up to big picture. Start small with minimal resources and it will automatically scale once people see value in it. You can't make everyone happy so hedge your bets wisely in terms who are the decision makers and influencers. Also be ready to adapt the vision as you experiment. Once scaled enough push for autonomy to run the initiative as a separate business line. Choose the right folks who will give 100% to the vision and mission by tying WIIFM for each of them.

The single best thing I ever did to help with this is get people involved. I ran a “seed brand team” of new brands and got people from across the business to spend time selling from our new van sales fleet. The feeling of involvement this created and the feedback generated were huge reasons why it succeeded You also need to constantly communicate and celebrate wins. I lead the team and described my role as “air cover” to protect them from attack and this often meant creating news and stories of their success which got shared widely. Sometimes this was videos of the team on the street selling our products directly and getting feedback. I used this at company conferences to bring our success to life

In my experience, empowering people is the most effective way to let them lead and embrace change: put them in front of the problem, let them be and feel they are the only one responsible to find a solution, oblige them to find and access their own resources , let them experience that they have the capability, creativity and power to solve unexpected situations. This will increase their self confidence, the feeling that they are in control, and the satisfaction with their work.

We work to empower employees to take decisions based on their personal beliefs and values keeping them involved in creating the future of our organization.

The ideal Yin/Yang of entrepreneurial involvement is: - You & at most 1 other create & articulate the idea - Iterate/simplify/dramatize the idea before sharing - Then share with just 7 others for feedback & ideas - Be genuinely open to their feedback/ideas & adapt - Share improvements with the others & enroll them - ONLY then share the idea with a wider group of 20 - Listen to their feedback but less than the first 7 - I.E. DON'T OVER COMPROMISE but enroll & adapt - Invest time creating the most emotive story/pitch - ONLY THEN share the idea with decision-makers - Keep every1 who's contributed involved/informed

A major roadblock for change and organization transformation is that groups of stakeholders feel left out or not truly part of it. Based on my consulting and banking experience, it is important to remember the ABC’s of driving change effectively. A - Articulate. Be upfront & clear with the key benefits and rationale of change B - Build. Develop engagement and interaction. It is a process of building trust C - Collaboration. Any change management will demand diverse stakeholders to come together and deliver their parts. If A and B were done properly , C should follow as a by-product.

Envolver para comprometer! Durante muito tempo escutei essa frase de uma grande conselheiro. A criação de um ambiente de confiança é primordial para a companhia alcançar resultados extraordinários. A liderança tem papel fundamental, através do exemplo ela arrasta todos para a mesma direção e dissemina a cultura e valores da organização. Um dos grandes valores que acredito é investir e oportunizar a prata da casa. É um grande investimento a longo prazo.

As a leader, what you have to remember is you have to give your employees room to fail or they will never be empowered to take chances and will never do anything inventive or innovative. Your people need space for creative thinking. That doesn't mean its a free for all. Share your vision, provide a task that contributes to the execution of that vision, and allow them space and time to work on that task/s. Have regular 1:1 meetings or team meetings to check in on progress to help solve problems and recalibrate focus.

In my experience, to overcome resistance in corporate initiative, We at Kidbea, involve employees in the corporate entrepreneurship initiative. We share success stories of other startups that embraced change and thrived. We empower employees by seeking their input, making them feel valued, and offering training to build their confidence in the new initiative. We recently rewarded our valuable employees with ESOPs. I would say, create a supportive environment where their ideas are welcomed, fostering a sense of ownership and excitement for the positive changes ahead and keep rewarding your team or someone else will do this.

How to start and build entrepreneurship mindset is quite simple: - allow people bring their ideas, - give them the guidance how to validate ideas and experiment, - give them time and room to experiment (within daily operation tasks) - and do not punish your employees if their experiment fails. It is so simple. Management leadership therefore matters a lot as it is quite hard not to mention lost time, money or another resources connected to not working experiment.

The one thing you can count on is people will always join an initiative when it benefits them. I recommend engineering rewards into your vision and goals - once others see a tangible and obtainable reward, they will execute to achieve it.

This one is huge. I ran a very successful innovation unit at a large corporate company but left 3 years after setting it up because no matter how successful I was it didn’t align to my corporate share scheme I think as per Clayton Christensen’s “Innovators dilemma” incentives for innovation must be separately calibrated than the overall company objectives otherwise innovation will never succeed The critical thing is the timescale. Innovation will always be small in the short term but “potentially” large in the long term. Therefore reward should be more aligned the success of the innovation rather than overall company, have a larger upside for the risk taken and be given more time to succeed

To overcome resistance when incorporating corporate entrepreneurship, it's vital to foster a collective vision, a common goal that guides everyone like a North Star. Creating an environment that embraces inclusivity and acknowledges the potential for failure is essential. In the realm of innovation and entrepreneurship, allowing room for experimentation and learning from setbacks is key. However, this often requires a shift in mindset within systems that tend to prioritize competition and individual rewards over the values of teamwork and collaboration.

The benefits need to be tangible - allow people to see how this can benefit them in the short and long term with clear metrics and aligned expectations.

The best instrument for me to operationally steer a business is the OKR-methodology. While some articles sumarize the core of this method as “aligning and agreeing on outcomes that should be achieved”, the magic of this instrument for me goes far beyond: it’s based on the philosophy, that everybody in a company (employee or team) should have a clear area of accountability. For this product / unit / process the assigned person / team is “the CEO”. Philosophy of full-accountability - that has to be given as well as taken (!) - fosters high motivation and unleashes the full potential of employees and teams - and thus ensures maximal outcomes.

To mitigate resistance arising from conflicting incentives and systems, aligning them with your corporate entrepreneurship initiative is crucial. Recognize and reward employees for their innovation efforts, emphasizing not only outcomes but also the creative process. Adapt performance metrics, evaluation criteria, and feedback mechanisms to mirror innovation goals and values. Simplify processes, policies, and procedures to foster innovation, minimizing bureaucratic barriers. Ensure organizational structure, culture, and leadership harmonize with your innovation strategy and vision, creating a cohesive environment conducive to change acceptance.

My experiences over hundreds of companies often is not that the incentives are misaligned or systems fail to capture results--but that the communication, the internalization of performance is left to chance. The continual change of innovation and a coupled with a culture of adaptability, will greatly improve adoption by employees, contractors, and outsourcers. To make it successful, the entire process needs to be simple, easy to understand, consistently communicated, and "repeated" when changes occur and new individuals are on-boarded.

Une des bonnes pratiques de la gestion des attentes est la notion de "under promise, over deliver". Il ne sert à rien de promettre des choses que l'on ne peut pas tenir. Au contraire, il vaut mieux être modeste dans les promesses que nous formulons mais tout mettre en oeuvre pour dépasser nos objectifs.

The simplest way i found to mitigate risk is to humanize risk by turning the risk factor into a quantifiable dollar sign and playing the hangman game against it … simply put , you ask “what is the cost of this risk factor? ” ,, i.e. lets create a budget for the maximum damage we will end up writing off or suffering from once this risk factor materializes .. once a total amount is in place our role is ti make sure we have a short,medium,and long term potential return that will be achieved by the proposed initiative at stake .. our task is to simply balance the risk and reward in the eyes/mind of the decision maker and show a brighter future that can be achieved despite the risk factor materializing (which has a price we are willing to pay)

Teach your people that managing risk means doing your due diligence so you can be comfortable with the outcome good or bad. Follow the data. Take your time with the most important decisions, the decisions that are hard to come back from, analyze them repeatedly from multiple perspectives to ensure you are moving forward with the best idea or strategy. If/when you hit a set back, know its just apart of the game. Stay Hungry - Stay Relentless

Having run a few successful innovations the one thing I wish I had done was build in more risk in year one. A top top here is doing a “pre mortem” It’s human nature to only see upside but you need to anticipate something going wrong. Every time I have had some kind of disaster in the first year like a major de-list, factory closure or external event (pandemic!) Instead create a “pre mortem” of what people will say caused the failure of your innovation and then create a plan to mitigate against it. Although it sounds negative it’s incredibly therapeutic and should give you confidence knowing you have anticipated potential reasons for failure

Risk of abject failure goes with the territory. Start by accepting failure is the most likely outcome. Accept there will be many failures prior to success. Have the grit to survive long enough to succeed. Be generous to those that help you. Avoid becoming a horrible human if you succeed!

Expectation management is key: What can be achieved. Not in theory, but realistically by your organization. What are your goals? Incremental innovation, reputation, employer branding, business transformation, to name a just a few. Only if you truly know what you and the rest of executive management are aiming for, you should start.

It has been said that one picture tells more than 1000 words, however sometimes words are also immensely evocative and open a way to delineate complex issues. Here I would cite one magnificent quote which is related to Michael Jordan: "I have never lost a game, I just run out of time". This kind of attitude and even organizational culture is the best possible emotional capital in the middle of changes. It gives freedom to try and learn and always move on. Hence in your organization always support the unyielding spirit of trying and learning, and in case everything does not work out as planned this time, then take a firm stance that we do together a better job next time.

When leading an innovative project, your mind will be attuned to all of the positive possibilities that come with its implementation. However, your stakeholders will often focus on risk mitigation, and might take an opposite stance to your optimism. A major tip for dealing with these differing perspectives on change is to call on each stakeholder’s strengths. When dealing with those who are risk averse, invite them to share the risks they see within your project. Ironically, by allowing them to point out the risks, they might feel more comfortable with the project, and your capability to lead. In sum, people want to feel heard. At the project initiation stage, it is integral to lean into differing voices, and not shy way from them.

There are some examples of technics and initiatives developed at Tech Nomads. We conduct a thorough risk assessment with employee by Identifying potential risks related to technical feasibility, market acceptance, regulatory compliance, financial constraints, or cultural barriers. We establish open channels of communication by encouraging teams to openly discuss challenges, setbacks, and concerns related to the initiative. We embrace agility in planning by allowing for flexibility in the project roadmap to adapt to unforeseen challenges or changing market conditions. We define achievable milestones by set clear, attainable goals that consider potential setbacks and delays. LEAN START UP :)

Crear una cultura de comunicación abierta donde los colaboradores se sientan cómodos expresando sus preocupaciones e inquietudes es crucial. Construir un circulo de absoluta confianza es vital para el éxito de la gestión del cambio, ya que ayuda a crear un ambiente positivo, de apoyo y co-creación. Si el cambio es visto como una evolución personal y empresarial será mas exitoso que si es visto como una necesidad para sobrevivir en el mercado o en el ambiente laboral mismo. Cambiar por convicción, no por obligación.

It takes 7 years to become an overnight success, so: - Hold the faith in your idea succeeding long-term. - Be smart about monitoring/evaluation metrics. - DON'T IGNORE the metrics if they're bad. - BUT DON'T accept everything at face value. - DECIDE QUICKLY what to change & what to keep. - THEN RINSE-&-REPEAT until successful :-)

Performance Measurement: Measure and track the impact and value of innovation projects, considering factors like customer satisfaction, market share, revenue growth, cost reduction, and social impact. Data Collection and Analysis: Collect and analyze data and feedback from employees, customers, and stakeholders to gain insights into the success and areas for improvement in innovation processes. Continuous Improvement: Use the collected data to iteratively improve innovation processes and practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Communication and Recognition: Celebrate achievements and milestones, reinforcing a positive narrative around the corporate entrepreneurship initiative.

What gets measured, gets managed and gets done. In the beginning of a project, we are motivated by seeing how much we have done. In the end of the project, we get motivated by tackling the remaining things that still need to get done. Provide a clear view on both.

Overcoming Change Resistance: Measure & Celebrate Innovation Success Change often faces doubts about its effectiveness. To combat this, actively monitor and evaluate your corporate entrepreneurship initiatives. Track tangible impacts: customer satisfaction, market share, revenue growth, cost reduction, or social good. Gather data & feedback: employees, customers, stakeholders. Use it to refine your innovation processes. Share & celebrate your successes: results, learnings, milestones. Build momentum & inspire others. By demonstrating value and progress, you'll fuel confidence and support for impactful change. #innovation #changemanagement #entrepreneurship #corporateculture

Once you start the innovative initiative, it's essential to monitor it to determine whether it's generating profit or worsening the situation. This way, you can make changes accordingly, learn from it, and turn it into something positive.

Measuring outcomes is crucial for entrepreneurs as it provides tangible and objective insights into the effectiveness of their strategies and decisions. This allows them to identify what works and what doesn't, leading them to refine their approaches and allocate resources efficiently. This data-driven approach not only enhances the overall performance of the business but also facilitates informed decision-making, helping entrepreneurs adapt to changing market conditions and customer preferences. Additionally, outcome measurement fosters accountability, especially if there is no board in place. Having key performance Indicators (KPI) allows entrepreneurs to demonstrate the value of their company to stakeholders and attract investment.

Wir müssen es nicht jedem recht machen. Auch wenn Wandel und Veränderungen oft mit großen Verlusten und Schmerzen einher gehen so darf die Lösung nicht sein es allen unter allen Umständen recht zu machen.

I'm a big believer in fact-based leadership... by this, I mean the opposite of emotional leadership. Emotional leaders let their emotions help them make decisions, and it isn't easy to measure emotions as a metric on any given day. Suppose you build a fact-based culture where your team collects specific and measurable data about the business and change outcomes. In that case, the emotions can't cloud up the decision process, and you can effectively monitor and inspect your results.

I remember when I was Operations Manager and I realize for the first time how deep the data universe can be. I was in charge of make sure that all decisions was made respecting a data driven process and the follow up to connect the results with the forecast made before. In addition we create a culture to share data, with dashboards spread for all the company’s site with the main business KPIs, this way everyone knew every deal closed, every churn and every news relevant to the business. The Ops team and some companies ás known as Data or BI is a key team for companie’s strategy and culture reach the next level.

I'm a "pro-troublemaker". I've been shaking things up for a while now. Over the door into my groups area there was a sign that said "20% better AND 20% cheaper". When we took the project to production, their was red paint over the sign, and it was 30% and 30%. Those were over arching goals. There were so many steps getting there, and every team member knew them all. Clearly articulated by leadership. Precisely understood by the team. Measured and shared every step of the way. Just like golf. Where's your scorecard?

The number 1 thing not covered in these points is you must be OBSESSED with execution! I cannot tell you how important this is. An average plan brilliantly executed will beat a brilliant plan averagely executed It is amazing what you can achieve if you focus on a few things but do them exceptionally well. I launched a range of new soft drinks and carefully selected a channel to dominate and sent sales reps into store every day to build displays and sample the product The results were incredible and as a new brand we saw our sales match well established brand leaders Whatever the tactic is you must commit x2, x3 or x4 the level of effort of the brand leader As Avis used to say “we’re number 2 so we try harder”

You can't overcome resistance to change, you can only minimize resistance! And if you do it really well, you will build momentum and a ground swell of support. Once you reach a tipping point there will be no looking back and you will be well on your way. The key is to: 1) Remain steadfast 2) Remain committed 3) Maintain consistent and open communications (to all levels within the organisation) 4) Know that you cannot change everyone so be decisive to make the necessary changes in personnel 5) Ensure you have change agents and champions (in key roles and departments within the organisation) 6) Hold people accountable

Be patient with teething problems, and don't expect everyone to jump on board at the same time. Allow people to respond in their own way and learn from experience. We are not machines with on/off switches, but humans with different strategies for coping with change. Squashing those strategies will not make the change happen any faster, but create more obstacles along the way.

Show what’s in it for #employees! When asking people to “think like #entrepreneurs “ it’s best to break it down into #skills, #attitudes & #behaviors they can practice to directly benefit them and their #families. For example- when I’ve taught #sales skills that mirror those of the #entrepreneur #founder- I explain how #thinking and #behaving like a #prospector, #technical #expert and #closer contribute to a predictable company wide #sales #pipeline. The more people understand how they can support the #sales team - the more secure the #jobs are of those the company employs! Additionally, the #skills the #entrepreneurial founder used to start the company are the EXACT SAME SKILLS people need to uncover #internships & launch #startups.

First, let’s address the problem: Managers do not know how to think like Entrepreneurs. Second, it’s not very well understood that corporations are in and of themselves Entrepreneurs. The managers and employees are fractals of the Entrepreneur(s) who founded the company. Many companies like to tell stories about their founders, but they fail to share the story in a participatory way. The culture becomes something outside of the story rather than an exercise in continuing the story generationally. This brings us full circle to branding and marketing. Both are verbs that organizations like to treat as nouns. Marketing is the act of doing business. While branding is the follow through on the promise made transacting in the economy.

Be iterative. Build small teams to champion the new approach. Communicate on their success and build a cohort of followers. The rest will follow

Firstly, leadership must embody the entrepreneurial spirit they wish to instill. Implementing small but visible changes that show quick wins can help build momentum and demonstrate the benefits of the new approach. This can sway skeptics and rally support for the initiative. But overcoming resistance sometimes demands directly challenging the status quo, disrupting the conventions and breaking the mold, rather than sticking to conventional wisdom and safe plays. Such a bold approach also encourages unconventional thinking and can drive real innovation.

Recognizing the significance of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is pivotal for the long-term viability of businesses. However, not all senior executives grasp this concept, presenting the initial challenge. CE acts as the catalyst for innovation, a crucial element in developing new products and services. It's imperative to convey this understanding to employees. Effective leadership is indispensable in guiding, emphasizing, implementing facilitative policies, empowering employees to take risks, and instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in decision-making. Creating successful outcomes through prototyping fosters participation and garners buy-ins. Patience remains a key factor in this transformative process.

People want clarity and no surprises. That is why Technology & Marketing Ventures, inc. starts with clarity of the problem and holistically via 4 pillar intersection analysis discovers the aha outcome. Further, What does entrepreneurship translate to in your corporation: x days/week in office? Remote only? Zoom meetings with your manager? Day in life of remote employee working on a corporate PC with tracking software? Consulting contract for project deliverables with a deadline?

Leaders must be the champions of change, embodying the entrepreneurial spirit and inspiring their teams to embrace new challenges. Let's be those leaders, guiding our teams towards a future rich with innovation and success.