Can you think of a business that doesn’t pride itself on being innovative?
Most big companies talk a good game about their entrepreneurial mindsets. Their aspirations don’t match their reality. Talk is cheap.
In today’s world of billion-dollar startups, established organizations need to remain on the cutting edge of their industries and verticals to remain relevant.
It’s one thing for an organization to say it embraces innovation – it’s another thing to put those words into action.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
Entrepreneurs are known for their ability to create and drive action. They are never satisfied.
The best ones are always thinking of the next big thing – while executing the current one.
More specifically, entrepreneurs:
- Take ownership despite bureaucracy. They drive projects from conception to completion. They don’t sit around waiting for projects to get moving.
- Deal with ambiguity well. They strive to succeed no matter how difficult the conditions are – facing uncertainty with determination.
- Promote change – but don’t force it. Entrepreneurs lead their teams toward their visions, gradually yet completely. They understand that the entire team can’t shift gears in a split second.
- Take risks and find more effective ways to accomplish tasks. Unsatisfied with the status quo, they question everything, always looking for better ways to do things.
Think this mindset could benefit your organization?
The Subdued Spirit
Stuck in their “tried-and-true” ways, many companies don’t know what to do with a startup mindset.
It can be very difficult to let the entrepreneurial spirit fly at larger organizations because traditional corporate culture doesn’t value those kinds of skills. Although this is slowly starting to change as many companies are losing out on talented individuals who seek an entrepreneurial environment.
It’s a problem – especially for folks who want to innovate and create. A lot of big companies “value” innovation, but they don’t fully understand how to implement it or embed it in their culture.
Enter the Intrapreneur
Inspired by today’s startups, many employees are taking innovation into their hands.
Instead of waiting for superiors to tell them what to do, they take action on their own.
Taking ownership of some small corner of their organizations, these forward-thinking managers and leaders – intrapreneurs – can be rewarded with brand-new departments of their own.
Intrapreneurship has been successful at leading companies like Barclays and Deloitte. It’s subtly, but effectively, promoted similar behavior among their employees at large.
Intrapreneurs focus on driving the company forward by solving specific problems on a smaller scale .
In fact, successful intrapreneurs become entrepreneurs eventually. They learn the mindset with the comfort of a steady paycheck.
How to Transform Large Organizations
Start small and show results. You’re certain to meet resistance when you try to implement entrepreneurial practices at a large company. Change can still come, but it might take a while.
If you find yourself trying to enact change at your organization, channel your instincts. Your goal should be to push the startup mindset, starting with the work you do and the people you manage. Challenge the status quo but not at the expense of making others look bad.
Don’t force things and try to change your organization overnight, because that’s not going to happen. Build your organization’s entrepreneurial mindset brick by brick, empower your team to take action and you’ll see real transformation.
Lastly,
“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.” – Niccolo Machiavelli
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michael Iacona has 20+ years’ cross-industry experience within large multinational companies, works with start-ups and earned dual Masters degrees – an MBA from Columbia Business School and an MS in Information Systems from Pace University. Having built, led and managed small and large teams, Michael continual evolves his management style. He leads by example and fosters open communication and enjoys coaching team members, capitalizing on their unique talents.
