Intrapreneurship: Things To Note
Ijeoma Santus Etozie - MBA,PHRi?
Human Resources Generalist|Capacity Resource Person|Voice Over Expert|Available for consulting jobs
Getting onboard a new organization with the energy to add value is one thing, putting into good use your skills, and competency while maintaining focus on the organization’s overall goal and strategy is another, and where the organization encourages Innovation and growth, then you should bring your *Intrapreneurial* skill onboard.??
Most employers have moved from having employees do the same thing over and over, so some employees especially the ‘Millennials and Gen Zs’ are getting bored with doing the same thing over and over every wonderful day of their work lives. They are willing and ready to explore new things.
Hearing about ‘Intrapreneurship’ for the first time??
Not a problem at all, just read. This won’t take much of your time, I promise.?
Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a small or large organization. It refers to?a system that allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur within a company or other organization.
Simply put, Intrapreneurship is simply entrepreneurship in an existing organization.
When you are innovative in an existing organization, you have a support system that entrepreneurs may not have. If you fail, you won’t suffer financially. Kindly note that a “failure†is a developmental experience that prepares you for your next venture.
Intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship with a safety net.
Someone asked:
- Would you imagine this as an option to support the narrative that owning one's business is not necessarily everyone's calling? The fact that everyone should own their business for independence and control over their lives and their times can be such drowning noise sometimes.
- Would/can intrapreneurship save more from the burden and guilt of not being self-employed??
I believe one MUST not be self-employed (Entrepreneurship) to be successful. Not everyone is wired to own and run a business, but most people are meant to bring in their skills and expertise to help other businesses grow. In so doing, they are properly compensated or own a stake in the business.
In response, one shouldn’t bear the guilt of not being self-employed, nor should it be a burden, because there are people that are wired to remain Intrapreneurs, while to some people,?#Intrapreneurship?is a process to becoming an?#Entrepreneur.
Talking about #Intrapreneurship, examples of great Entrepreneurs that started as Intrapreneurs are:
- Paul Buchheit: made the most of the initiative of dedicating 20% of their work time at Google, working on personal projects, and began creating Gmail as part of his ‘20% time’. Over four years, he launched what is today the world’s most popular email platform due to unique factors such as the search function and extra storage capacity.
- Ken Kutaragi: A Japanese engineering technologist created and launched the PlayStation for Sony in the ’90s. Sony didn’t originally plan to enter the gaming world but the CEO at the time, Chairman Ohga, was impressed by Kutaragi’s business idea and invested in his plan. In 2020, a whopping 158 million PlayStation 2 consoles had been sold, not to mention the other 4 PlayStations available on the market, so you could say this was a good call.
These to mention a few have become a piece of public knowledge.?
We believe that there are other #Intrapreneurs out there doing exploits in their field, but are yet to be known by the public. It will be great to have them mentioned in the comment section, by letting us know about these innovations.
Although #Intrpreneurship may be lacking in some organizations, businesses need to do more to create the environment for #Intrapreneurs to flourish.?
Certain characteristics of an intrapreneur that might make you more suited to this style of working, are:
- Thrives working independently.
- Works well with others and towards a shared goal.
- Self-motivated and disciplined.
- Entrepreneurial at heart.
- Growth mindset and loves to learn.
- Intrinsically motivated.
Benefits:
- Less risk than starting your own company
- Stable income and pre-backed investment for making your vision a reality
- Flexible working hours are common
- Entrepreneurial activity and skillset are actively encouraged
- Learn valuable skills from your team
- Organizations often embrace remote working
Thinking of becoming an Intrapreneur? You can start this way:
- Demonstrate the positives for both you and your company to your boss.?If they’re not familiar with the term intrapreneur then share with them.
- Become an expert problem solver.?Get to know your company's pain points, flaws, and where things could become more streamlined, effective, or profitable, and set to work fixing those problems.
The pro of becoming an intrapreneur within your current job is that you already know the company, role, and industry and can build on that existing knowledge to create change.
Becoming an intrapreneur for a new company means you can start your journey with a fresh slate and perspective and quickly get a name for yourself as a problem solver and high achiever.?
Differences between Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship:
The important distinguishing points between entrepreneur and intrapreneur, are given in the following points:
- An entrepreneur is defined as a person who establishes a new business with an innovative idea or concept. An employee of the organisation who is authorised to undertake innovations in product, service, process, system, etc. is known as Intrapreneur.
- An entrepreneur is intuitive, whereas an intrapreneur is restorative.
- An entrepreneur uses his resources, i.e. man, machine, money, etc. while in the case of an intrapreneur the resources are readily available, as they are provided to him by the company.
- An entrepreneur raises capital himself. Conversely, an intrapreneur does not need to raise funds himself; rather it is provided by the company.
- An entrepreneur works in a newly established company. On the other hand, an intrapreneur is a part of an existing organisation.
- An entrepreneur is his boss, so he is independent in taking decisions. As opposed to an intrapreneur, who works for the organisation, he cannot take independent decisions.
- This is one of the salient features of an entrepreneur; he is capable of bearing risks and uncertainties of the business. Unlike intrapreneur, in which the company bears all the risks.
- The entrepreneur works hard to enter the market successfully and create a place subsequently. In contrast to Intrapreneur, who works for organization-wide change to bring innovation, creativity and productivity.??
Often intrapreneurs comfortably move to become practising entrepreneurs while still working in organizations. Things must be properly managed so that your entrepreneurial activities wouldn’t pose a threat or be a thing of conflict of interest in your existing organization.?