To be or not to be - An Intrapreneur

Entrepreneurship Vs Employment - The Mindset

Enough and more has been written about this subject and I invite you to read up these fantastic articles.

1.      9 'Mindsets' You Need to Switch from Employee to Entrepreneur (6 mins)

2.      8 Differences Between 'Entrepreneurs' and 'Employees' (6 mins)

3.      12 Important Differences Between Employees and Entrepreneurs (7 mins)

4.      Employee Entrepreneur Mindset (12 min Video)

I’d like to focus on Intrapreneurship. Most likely, you have chosen the path of employment. Congratulations! You will learn how scaled organizations work, have the opportunity to try your hand on various projects, experience growth as you perform and deliver. More importantly, you will be surrounded by brilliant peers, experienced managers who will teach you a great deal.

Intrapreneurship is the art & skill of acting like an Entrepreneur within an organization. I’ve been an Intrapreneur for almost my entire career - being a part of start-up teams within large organizations or projects where you have the mandate & freedom to make it happen. It’s not a free run per say, you still need to operate within a framework. The framework is empowering.

Here is what it takes to be an Intrapreneur

1.      Take ownership

Your managers have enough and more on their plate. Take on as much as you can and take ‘full’ ownership. The operative word here is ‘full’. Do not be a part of the process, elevate yourself. If something is not done – you are responsible. Yes! Even if your colleague misses the task or deadline, you are responsible. As an employee, you would say – that’s not fair. But remember, that one paragraph ago you opened your mind up to Intrapreneurship. So, act like an Intrapreneur. Help your colleague to finish the task so that the ultimate goal you are responsible for is accomplished. And do not take credit for helping!

 2.      Give it all that you have

When you take ownership, you are no longer bound by work hours or excuses. You have to make it happen. It’s that simple, it’s that tough! As an intrapreneur, you have access to several resources at your disposal. Use all of them to make things work. Be resourceful and leverage jugaad (frugal innovation).

3.      Collaborate

Collaboration is extremely key to your success. When things are business-as-usual, team work will help you accelerate things and when matters are under stress, it’s the team that will come to your rescue. Do not hesitate to seek help. By and large, people love to help, so, by all means, ask for it.

4.      Stay focused

A whole bunch of distractions and attractions will come your way during the course of accomplishing your objectives. Do not lose focus, when things are under stress you will be tempted to bail out and sign up for another project. But resist the temptation and follow through. Leverage your coach, managers and peers to help you stay focused.

5.      Report to your stakeholders

Remember, you are an Intrapreneur and therefore you are not operating in isolation. You have to adhere to a framework and report progress periodically to your stakeholders – managers, peers and juniors. Develop the habit of breaking the bad news early and straight. Take full responsibility for things going wrong and share the credit when things go well.

All the best for the exciting journey ahead. I'd love to hear your comments.