Create: A practitioner's guide to the perfect intra-Program!

Alright! You are in the business to roll up your sleeves and craft a state of the art intrapreneurship program for your company? Well, you're in for a treat because here is a great little guide that will get you startet. Buckle up, and let's dive in!

1. Grass Roots: The Rebel Approach

Let's start with the rebel yell! In this approach, you're giving a big shout-out to individual innovators. No fancy frameworks, limited budgets, and minimal hand-holding. It's all about lighting a fire under your colleagues' creativity and letting them run wild with their ideas. Think of it as the "punk rock" version of intrapreneurship - it's raw, it's passionate, and it's all about the people. You will make a lot of noise, and probably create some confusion. Don't worry, this will create a great opportunity to start a serious discussion with the leaders of your company to transfer into a more structured approach.

2. Test in a Small Group: The Sneak Peek

Now, let's take it to the next level. If you have some senior management support on your side, it is time for a sneak peek at intrapreneurship. Pitch for a clearly defined budget, time and commiit to a clear outcome. E.g. Pick five promising ideas and give them a six-month whirlwind of experimentation. This approach is ideal for organisations who want to dip their toes in the water without diving into the deep end. After this peek, make sure to reflect on how it went and discuss it with senior management. I am sure you had some highlights as well as lowlights. Take this as an opportunity to learn, focus on how to learn for the next round, and maybe you are ready for the big show!

3. Full Integration: The Intrapreneurship Extravaganza

Are you ready for the grand spectacle of intrapreneurship? This approach is all about going big or going home. Here you will fully integrate intrapreneurship into your copmany's innovation strategy and culture. The firm will commit serious money, build a dedicated team, and mobilize loads of communication resources behind you and your team. This is intrapreneurship on steroids - it's not just a program; it's a way of life. You'll need a dedicated platform and a process to manage your ideas like a pro. Think dedicated KPIs and budget for marketing, validation, piloting and scaling - including venture money. No more "everyone does everything a little bit". Your team consists of true experts and management expects clear results on areas such as culture change, strategic innovation targets and financial returns.

Design Principles

Now, whether you're a punk rock rebel, a curious sneak peeker, or an extravaganza enthusiast, some things never change. Think of them as your guiding stars through tricky decisions. You don't always have to be perfect, but having a strong bias to living up to them will keep you on track. They also allow you to build a reputation of consistency and determination within your company and beyond:

1. Embrace Failure and Uncertainty: Hug the Chaos

Picture intrapreneurship as a wild adventure through uncharted territory. In this realm, failure is not a roadblock; it's a stepping stone. Embrace it! The uncertain path you're treading is where the magic happens. So, be a champion of chaos, encourage your intrapreneurs to take risks, and let them know that failure is a rite of passage, not a career-ender.

Remember, the iconic inventors and entrepreneurs of our time didn't succeed by playing it safe. They embraced failure, learned from it, and emerged even stronger. Ed Sheeran, one of the greatest philosophers to ever walk the face of the earth, recently said: "You Learn Nothing From Success, You Only Learn From Failures" - the man is right!

Of course you should not glorify making silly mistakes. But if your intrapreneurs never push it too far, never upset anyone, and never bend the rules, then your program is falling behind on its potential.

2. Be Value-Driven: Avoid the "Chair" Syndrome

In the world of design, there's a recurring mantra that, despite the appeal of creating another innovative chair, the world does not really need it. The same can be found in corporate innovation. The "chair" syndrome, where companies create something just for the sake of it, is the enemy of meaningful innovation. Do we really need another loyalty app, Chatbot assistant or subscription model? Instead, focus on delivering value that strikes a chord with your customers. Intriguingly, value is not always about revolutionary breakthroughs; it can be found in the smallest details. So, when building your intrapreneurship program, prioritise solutions that genuinely solve problems and add value that people care about. Encourage your intrapreneurs to ask the vital question: "How can we make lives better?"

Furthermore, really consider the questions: what is the goal of your intrapreneurship program? Can you dare to go beyond making money? Can you enrich the jobs of your employees? Improve the impact you have on your customers? Preserve natural resources throughout your supply chain?

3. Control as Little as Possible: Don't Be a Fun-Killer

Intrapreneurship is like a thrilling ride at an amusement park; it loses its magic when there are too many rules and regulations. As an innovation manager, resist the temptation to stifle creativity by over-controlling the process. Intriguingly, the best intrapreneurial ideas often emerge in an environment of freedom.

If you're in doubt, opt for simplification over complication. Reducing barriers and constraints will encourage your intrapreneurs to take bold steps, foster collaboration, and ultimately lead to more brilliant innovations. Cultivate a mindset of seeing your intrapreneurs as inherently creative, motivated and capable. They are held back by implicit and explicit rules in their environment. Now, your role is to help them overcome these barriers in order to create something new. When creating your program, consider whether elements such as checkpoints, gateways, decision boards, or reporting templates truly aid the innovator in achieving success, or if they are simply included to create a (potentially misleading) feeling of control for management.

Conclusion

As you have noticed, the three ways build on one another. But an organisation does not necessarily have to go through all of them. Intrapreneurship is a safe enough concept that you can jump right into the extravaganza. As you dive into the challenge to design a program, remember that you are not expected to have all the answers. However, with this framework, you have a foundation for discussing how much your company can handle without getting overwhelmed.

So, get ready to shake things up and ignite the entrepreneurial spark within your organization. Choose your path, stick to the principles and create the perfect intrapreneurship program that will have your team innovating like there's no tomorrow. 🚀🤘

About

This is part 1 of a 3 part series about how to create, maintain and destroy your intrapreneurship program. Stay tuned for the next chapter.