The word intrapreneur is not yet commonly used in our language and will often trigger spell check to suggest you’re looking for a different word — namely entrepreneur.
It’s easy to see how the two could become confused without some clarification and distinction of their definition.
According to dictionary.com the origin of intrapreneur began surfacing in our vocabulary in the late 1970s. It is used to clarify how the unique characteristics of an entrepreneur (creativity, innovation, product design, service enhancements, etc.) can be effectively applied in a large corporation.
By definition, “the intrapreneur is an employee within a large firm given the freedom and financial support to create and does not follow the corporation’s usual routines or protocol.”
Let’s compare this with what we know of the entrepreneur.
John E. Hughes, CEO of the Coleman Foundation, offers a succinct and focused definition that is core to the Entrepreneurship program at Everett Community College.
According to Hughes, “entrepreneurship is self employment through business ownership which has significant elements of risk, control and reward.” This simple definition is similar to many dictionary definitions, yet is purposeful to emphasize the element of self employment.
So how do large companies find within their massive infrastructure the room to innovate, improve and create? Such activities are typically assigned to departments like research and development and often involve a list of projects outside the scope of routine operations.
The challenge for large corporations is to establish a high priority to integrate the work with the overall organization to help intrapreneurs locate business challenges and opportunities.
That means to be the most effective, intrapreneurs shouldn’t be sent to an obscure department, but scattered throughout the entire enterprise.
Looking at routine business operations often sparks new and better ways to get things done. Unfortunately, with many large corporations there are barriers to change that will stall new ideas. In some cases, an intrapreneur may be perceived by fellow employees as a threat to the status quo. And since intrapreneurs are offered the opportunity to “color outside the lines” their contribution may be discounted or sometimes even sabotaged.
We’re not advocating that large outfits like the Boeing Co. hire 5,000 new intrapreneurs with ambiguous job descriptions to make changes. In fact, many large corporations will find a treasure trove of intrapreneurs already in place: they’re in sales, marketing, manufacturing and engineering. What they require is a skillful manager who sees the potential and offers professional growth opportunities that are beyond the scope of the employee’s job description.
This strategy makes business sense because intrapreneurs, much like entrepreneurs, thrive when given a chance to be creative without the limits of a job title. Some large firms could save on consulting and outside expertise if they were to unleash the brilliance within.
Consider the immediate challenges facing BP.
Since the catastrophic explosion of the Horizon 2 rig in the Gulf and the ensuing oil spill, BP is taking enormous heat for the lack of planning, preparation and training for a potential disaster. In fact, news accounts of the disaster expose an entire industry that lacks safeguards to adequately respond to such an event and to protect the environment.
The cookie-cutter emergency response plans for all the major oil companies seem to have been written to satisfy the lowest common denominator: What does the EPA require?
Since the spill, thousands of ideas from entrepreneurs worldwide have been submitted to BP and the EPA. Many of the ideas show promise for expediting the cleanup and restoring the fragile environment.
What this crisis is proving to many is that we’re not short on entrepreneurs, creativity and ingenuity. We’re short on intrapreneurs in large corporations who are by design charged with thinking outside the box and bringing innovation to the enterprise.
We expect that there were and still are plenty of intrapreneurs at BP. They should be encouraged to innovate and create.
One final observation. There are many entrepreneurs who also hold day jobs while they develop their small businesses. And there are intrapreneurs who also own small businesses.
The qualities and passion that drive them both are the key to our economy.
Pat Sisneros is the Vice President of College Services at Everett Community College. Juergen Kneifel is an Associate Faculty in the EvCC Entrepreneurship program. Please send your comments to entrepreneurship@everettcc.edu.
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